Budget ‘failed to deliver long-term vision for North’
MAJOR RAIL PROJECTS HAVE HIT THE
CHANCELLOR Rishi Sunak’s Budget was “frustrating for the North as a whole,” according to his Labour opposite number.
Anneliese Dodds, Labour’s shadow chancellor, accused the Government of promising to build new rail projects in the North but failing to deliver.
In an interview with The Chronicle, she said: “We’ve seen over the past 10 years, 60 announcements or re-announcements of major rail projects for the North.
“We haven’t had a single spade in the ground as a result of that.”
It follows Mr Sunak’s Budget last week, which included a series of announcements that benefit Teesside but less for Tyne and Wear or Northumberland.
The Budget included an announcement that Teesside had been chosen to become a freeport, an area where special tax rules apply.
Darlington was confirmed as the location for a new Government office or “campus” in the North East of England. At least 750 roles will be based at the campus, including some from the Treasury.
Tees Valley Combined Authority is set to receive £3.5m to help draw up new transport plans, while residents of Hartlepool will benefit from £1.8m investment to refurbish the historic Borough Hall. Middlesbrough will get £21.9m from a scheme called Town Deals, and Thornaby-on-Tees receives £23.9m.
In one of the few announcements to benefit other parts of the region, Sunderland will get a share of a £5.2bn flood defences scheme.
The Treasury says Northumberland will benefit from investment through the Borderlands Growth Deal, designed to boost the economy on the border between England and Scotland. However, no funding details have been announced so far.
Ms Dodds highlighted a £4m cut in the core funding of Transport for the North (TfN), the sub-national transport authority. This is a reduction, from £10m to £6m, in funding for the body itself, rather than money directly for the construction
BUFFERS, SAYS DODDS
of transport projects. However, TfN plays a key role developing and overseeing plans for road and rail schemes.
She said: “The budget for Transport for the North was actually reduced. We are not seeing the longterm vision needed to drive investment in the North.
“We need to have that much stronger programme for the North coming through.
“And it needs to be one that is really focused on living standards, on increasing the number of local jobs and apprenticeships, and using local firms. Central Government could require that as part of the schemes it is introducing, but it’s not doing that.
“This isn’t way to drive the growth that we need right across the country, including in the North of England.”