Cash for north’s transport axed
LEADERS QUESTION VALUE OF TORIES’ ELECTION PLEDGE TO ‘LEVEL UP’ THE ECONOMY IN THE NORTH AND SOUTH
THE Government has slashed funding to the body that oversees transport in the north – throwing into jeopardy a plan for London-style smart ticketing and hitting other projects ‘across the board.’
Transport for the North, which oversees transport planning including the £39bn Northern Powerhouse Rail scheme to cut travel times between big cities, will lose 40 per cent of its core funding and a fifth of its total annual support for the next financial year.
The most significant let-down is the retraction of a promise of £105m for smart ticketing.
It has led northern leaders, who are seeking urgent talks with transport secretary Grant Shapps, to question Boris Johnson’s election pledge to ‘level up’ the economy in the north and south.
Iain Craven, finance director at Transport for the North, said: “Transport for the North has clearly indicated its disappointment and concern that, at a time when the Government’s levelling-up agenda is needed most, funding is being cut, putting northern investment and jobs at risk.
“It falls substantially short of what we outlined the north would need to level up infrastructure, help our economic recovery and accelerate benefits to the north.”
The Department for Transport had originally allocated £150m for smart ticketing. £45m has already been spent on new gates at stations and ‘tap-in’ points currently allowing smart card use. But the remaining £105m is no longer available.
This was made clear after TfN’s request to draw down £33.4m for the next financial year was refused.
The development budget for NPR is frozen at £75m for 2021-22, with £8m of that given to HS2, the high-speed rail line from London to the north.
TfN’s core budget will be cut to £6m from £10m. It’s understood this could mean a reduction in the workforce.
At a meeting on Thursday, Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester Mayor, said this was a ‘critical moment’ for the north of England and all the work of recent years.
He added: “If anything this is the time to be strengthening the role of this board and this organisation to get the right solution for the north.
“We are prepared to take difficult decisions and I think we’ve shown we can do that but what we shouldn’t accept is having our capacity effectively cut in half.
“All of this does bring into question the role of Transport for the North. “It looks like levelling down”. A Department for Transport spokesman said “TfN was allocated up to £150m at the 2015 Spending Review to support its Integrated and Smart Travel programme. To date, £24m has been utilised to enable the roll-out of smart ticketing across the north.
“We are focused on delivering more modern journeys for passengers”.