Chris Ames 12 October 2023

£1.3bn local road upgrade pledge unravels

£1.3bn local road upgrade pledge unravels image
Image: Matt Sheppard / Shutterstock.com.

Doubts have arisen over the Government's pledge that it will deliver 70 local authority road schemes after the Department for Transport (DfT) declined to confirm that it had the cash to fund the schemes and the Treasury said it could not commit to continuing the National Roads Fund (NRF) beyond 2025.

The DfT has backtracked on a claim that more than a billion pounds of new funding will ‘ensure' the delivery of the schemes as the prime minister insisted that schemes in its 'Network North' announcement were just 'examples' of what might happen with cash saved from the curtailment of HS2.

As part of its Network North announcement last week, the Government said that money 'redirected' from the scrapped section of HS2 north of Birmingham would include funding totalling £1,320m for road schemes in all regions of the country.

The basis on which it calculated these sums, how many schemes the cash covers and whether it represents full or top-up funding all remain unclear. Alongside other anomalies and inaccuracies in what appeared to be a hastily-prepared document, it used different language to set out the effect of the cash in different regions.

To continue reading visit Highways.

SIGN UP
For your free daily news bulletin
Highways jobs

Early Help Family Practitioner - 12 month FTC

The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Council
£39150.00 - £42861.00 per annum
Be the support that helps families find their strength and move forward.Be the support that helps families find their strength and move forward. As England, London
Recuriter: The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Council

Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development

Swansea Council
£73,908 - £85,884
As Head of HR and OD Swansea (Abertawe)
Recuriter: Swansea Council

Early Help Practitioner

Durham County Council
Grade 6, £28,142 - £31,022 per annum
Durham County Council are on a continuous improvement journey in relation to its Early Help service. We are one of 75 Local Authorities who are part o Durham
Recuriter: Durham County Council

Legal Clerical Assistant

Durham County Council
£26,403 to £28,598 p.a. (Grade 5)
A vacancy has arisen within Business Services for a full time, permanent Legal Clerical Assistant to provide legal clerical support to solicitors and Durham
Recuriter: Durham County Council

Practice Coordinator

Durham County Council
Grade 13 - £47,181 - £51,356
Do you love supporting practitioners to bring their best selves to their work? We are looking for a Practice Coordinator to support our Social Worker Spennymoor
Recuriter: Durham County Council
Linkedin Banner