Fears have been raised about transport support for the Government’s ‘northern powerhouse’ after it emerged £13bn of funding commitments included cash for pothole repairs and road maintenance.
Transport minister Patrick McLoughlin has maintained the Government’s multi-billion pound transport allocation for the next five years is ‘at the heart’ of its plan to boost growth in the north of England.
However the £13bn commitments have this week been condemned as ‘pre-election spin’ after it came to light that £5bn of the sum is made up of allocations to councils through the Integrated Transport Block Capital Grant for projects including bus lanes, traffic calming and ‘local highways maintenance including filling potholes.
A further £5bn of the sum is for major road schemes, including the M62, M1 and A1 which connects London with Newcastle and Edinburgh.
The Department for Transport (DfT) told Transport-Network that such allocations would improve economic growth in the north of England by ‘making great improvements to the way hard working people get around’.
Despite communities secretary James Wharton last week informing the Commons that the Government was ‘investing £13bn in rail in the north’, rail schemes in the north east, Yorkshire and North West are in fact due to receive just £3bn from the total allocation.
Andy Burnham, Labour leadership candidate and MP for Leigh in Greater Manchester, told the Observer: ‘George Osborne’s much-vaunted northern powerhouse has been exposed for what it is: cynical, pre-election spin. It is getting the same from the Tories that it’s always had: a northern powercut.
‘If Osborne’s commitment to the north is to have any credibility, he must put his money where his mouth is and listen to long-suffering rail passengers.’
A DfT spokesperson said: ‘We are transforming transport in the north, with £13bn of improvements.
‘This includes the roll-out of state of the art Intercity Express trains on the East Coast route. We are spending an additional £1bn on electrifying key routes in the North West and improving journeys across the north.
‘We will further transform rail services across the region with more services, more capacity and the scrapping of Pacers through the new Northern and Transpennine franchises.
‘With £5bn for strategic road schemes and a further £5bn for local transport and highways maintenance, we will boost the region’s economic growth by making great improvements to the way hard working people get around.’
