Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the correspondence from the Chair of Northern Powerhouse Rail to the Prime Minister of 7 September 2022, if he will make it his policy to provide £43 billion of funding for the construction of Northern Powerhouse Rail.

The Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) for the North and the Midlands sets out a £96 billion package to overhaul and modernise rail connections across the North and Midlands over the next 30 years.

As set out in the IRP, the Government will deliver our core commitments first. This includes the first phase of Northern Powerhouse Rail, which will improve journeys from Manchester to Leeds, and from Leeds onto Bradford and York. We will keep options to expand the network under consideration, looking at the delivery of our core commitments, and depending on how demand and economic growth recover.