On the 26 February 2024 the Rt Hon Mark Harper MP, in a written statement to Parliament stated:

I am pleased to inform the House that my department has today published details of the new £4.7 billion Local Transport Fund dedicated to transport funding across the North and Midlands. The Local Transport Fund delivers on a commitment made in our Network North plan and is paid for by savings from High Speed 2 (HS2).

This was, he reminded Parliament, due to the reallocation of the £36 billion that would have been spent on HS2 phase 2 that would be instead invested into transport improvements that as stated would:  "benefit far more people, in far more places, far more quickly".

In terms of the breakdown this means £19.8 billion committed to the Northern leg will go to the North and  £9.6 billion committed to the Midlands leg to the Midlands, the remaining £6.5 billion saved by the new approach to Euston would benefit the 'rest of the country'.

Of the £4.7 billion Local Transport Fund, £2.5 billion will go to the North and £2.2 billion to the Midlands across the next 7 years (2025 to 2032).

In terms of more details to the background: on 4 October 2023, the government announced that local transport authorities (LTAs) in the North and Midlands would benefit from a new Local Transport Fund (LTF) from 2025 to 2026 until 2031 to 2032.  

This funding is additional to the Integrated Transport Block (ITB) allocation that LTAs currently receive. The additional LTF funding has been allocated by formula, based on the population and levelling-up need of each LTA.

LTF will fund a wide range of local transport measures. Local transport authorities will be able to choose from a range of projects such as building new roads, improving road junctions and pavements, improving bus stations, installing or expanding tram lines, or improving train stations.

The government announced the breakdown of LTF funding by local authority on 26 February 2024.

Also announced was the extension of the the national £2 bus fare cap.

To read the statement see here: Local Transport Fund: transforming the North and Midlands - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

For further details of the breakdown of the funding allocations see here: Local Transport Fund allocations - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The Rt Hon Mark Harper MP