Transport: East Midlands

(asked on 23rd March 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make a comparative assessment of the Government's per capita transport spending in (a) the East Midlands and (b) Lincolnshire in relation to other UK regions and counties in the most recent period for which that information is available.


Answered by
Rachel Maclean Portrait
Rachel Maclean
This question was answered on 31st March 2021

When comparing expenditure across regions several factors should be considered. The benefits from spend on transport interventions will often accrue to passengers far beyond the residents of the immediate local area or region. This is particularly the case for spending on the railways which connect cities and regions across the country and deliver broader benefits beyond the region concerned.

During 2019-20 there was £289 of public expenditure on transport per head in the East Midlands, this compares to an average of £497 per head for the UK.

As we look to level up our country, we are committed to further investment across the country. That is why this Government recently announced the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund to provide the opportunity for local areas to bid for their priority investment projects.

A further breakdown of spend in 2019-20 is given in this table, which shows identifiable public expenditure (in £s) on all modes of transport per head of population, by region.

Region

2019-20

North East

315

North West

438

Yorkshire & the Humber

309

East Midlands

289

West Midlands

492

East of England

470

London

882

South East

521

South West

329

UK

497

We do not make comparative assessments between UK counties but some recent examples of Government transport investment in Lincolnshire include:

  • £54m in 2020/21 for routine road maintenance and small transport projects.
  • £50m of Large Local Major funding towards the recently-opened Lincoln Eastern Bypass.
  • A further £110m from the Large Local Major fund towards the North Hykeham Relief Road, which is currently in the detailed design and planning phase, prior to construction starting in the coming years.
  • £13m of Local Growth Fund for the Lincoln Transport Hub – a new bus station and multi-storey car park opened in 2018.
  • £3.6m from the Local Highways Maintenance Challenge Fund towards the current reconstruction of the A52 Roman Bank in Skegness.
  • £900,000 from the Active Travel Fund in 2020/21 to improve cycling and walking facilities.
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