Transport for the North responds to the news that the Treasury could reassess how value for money is calculated on infrastructure investment, boosting economic wellbeing in the North and rebalancing the UK economy.
A spokesperson for Transport for the North said: “We welcome the suggestion that the Treasury is to consider new assessment models for infrastructure investment. Transport for the North have long been developing the case for a more transformational model that looks at value beyond a straightforward financial return on investment.
“The current approach clearly isn’t working. The effects of decades of underinvestment in our region are clear to see in the creaking infrastructure and lack of connectivity that our people and businesses are putting up with every day. The North has been at the back of the investment queue for too long and it is crucial that this underfunding be addressed in order to support the North’s ambitions.
“Now is the time to invest in the North and set out a devolved, multi-mode budget that will allow Northern leaders the flexibility to tackle regional transport issues most effectively.
“Moving away from traditional funding models, which result in money being focused in areas that are already the most successful, towards the transformational models we’re demonstrating in our businesses cases for projects including Northern Powerhouse Rail, would truly rebalance the UK economy and boost the productivity, wellbeing and opportunities of our region’s 15 million people.”
Find out more about transformational funding models in our Insight article “Making the case for investment“.