Hundreds of millions of pounds of local transport funding in England could be cut in next week's spending review despite having been agreed with regional mayors, putting improvements to buses, tubes and trams at risk.
Mayors, most of whom are Labour, are engaged in a last-minute foyer campaign to stop the Treasury from raiding their transport budgets as Rachel Reeves seeks immediate savings.
Officials say that without this money, plans such as expanding London's night tube, electric buses and plans to increase walking and cycling could be delayed or halted.
“Mayors have been rejecting the idea that their sustainable budgets should be cut, not least because many of them thought the money was guaranteed until 2027,” one official said.
An aide to the mayor said: “We are concerned about what could happen in the budget on transportation funding. “There are rumors circulating out there and it is destabilizing.”
A government source said there were no plans to change the city region's so-called sustainable transport agreements, which offer multi-year packages for some transport schemes, but declined to speculate on what else might happen.
The chancellor will announce a review of spending to cover this financial year and next at the same time as her October 30 budget, and is seeking billions of pounds in cuts to cover what she says is a £22bn shortfall. millions of pounds in the government's accounts.
Negotiations have been tense, not least as cabinet ministers have argued their capital spending allocations should be protected given Reeves has promised to invest in long-term infrastructure.
Last week, three cabinet ministers – Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood; deputy party leader and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner; and Transport Secretary Louise Haigh wrote to Keir Starmer to complain about the spending cuts they were being asked to make.
Secretaries of State have already agreed their overall funding arrangements, although not all individual programs have been committed yet.
Mayors are pushing hard to ensure their transport budgets are not cut, especially in areas where money has already been allocated as part of nationally agreed sustainable transport schemes.
Billions of pounds have already been allocated in deals that will last until 2027 – funding schemes such as train upgrades and electrification of bus stations to charge new zero-emission buses.
Industry sources believe Reeves is specifically seeking to reduce the extra £5bn that Rishi Sunak promised to city regions after scrapping the northern leg of HS2.
Sunak then called the scheme a “new transport plan that will transform roads, rail and buses across the north”. However, experts said at the time that their promises had not been adequately funded.
In London, Sadiq Khan is said to be concerned that the cuts could delay extensions to tube lines and a plan to increase the number of night services. The capital's mayor has asked the Treasury for what he believes will be enough money to fulfill contracts that have already been signed, including upgrades to the Bakerloo and Piccadilly lines, as well as new buses.
Khan is one of several mayors concerned about having to raise rates to pay for needed work.
The government has provided money to several council authorities to cap bus fares at £2, and some fear the funding will not be renewed once it runs out at the end of the year, leaving them with the option of raising fares or cutting other programmes.
Mayors in several urban regions have been reallocating capital expenditures to cover daily costs, such as the fare cap, and fear they will not be able to do so in the future.
West Midlands Labor mayor Richard Parker is understood to be particularly concerned about bus services, which the combined authority is subsidizing between £50m and £70m a year.
Although the current budget for sustainable transportation is not being cut, local leaders believe the Department of Transportation hopes that part of the agreed budget can be used to continue filling the funding gap for bus revenue, which means cuts elsewhere. .
Jason Prince, director of the Urban Transport Group, which represents transport authorities across the UK, said: “It is imperative that the chancellor confirms core transport funding. Without it, the opportunity for our urban regions to generate economic growth and support the broader missions of government could be undermined.”
A Treasury spokesperson said: “Boosting transport remains key to growth, and sustainable transport settlements in city regions will continue to play a key role in achieving this.”
duD">Source link