PRESS RELEASE : Rishi Sunak to host Cabinet meeting in Yorkshire and the Humber [February 2024]

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 25 February 2024.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will chair Cabinet meeting in Yorkshire and the Humber on Monday, confirming unprecedented transport funding package for areas in the North and Midlands.

The Prime Minister is set to chair a Cabinet meeting in the Yorkshire & Humber region tomorrow (Monday 26 February).

It comes as the Transport Secretary is set to announce the funding allocations of the Local Transport Fund across the North and Midlands which empowers local authorities to invest in the transport projects that matter most to their communities.

This investment package has been made possible through reallocated HS2 funding and will deliver an unprecedented long term transport funding uplift across the North and Midlands.

At Cabinet, the Prime Minister will call on ministers and MPs to hold local authorities to account to ensure the funding is used appropriately and that the voices of local people are heard when decisions are made on where this funding goes and how this funding is spent.

The Transport Secretary is expected to update Cabinet on the delivery of Network North and how the Government is sticking to the plan to better connect communities through improved transport infrastructure across the country.

The Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers and ministers across government will also meet with communities, businesses, and organisations across the North and Midlands to discuss their priorities for the Local Transport Fund and how their area can best benefit from the funding.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

Local transport is at the heart of connecting our communities and this government has a clear plan to level up our country with greater transport links that people need right across the UK.

The long term decision to reallocate funding from HS2 marked a step change in how we invest in transport infrastructure across the country. It gave us the opportunity to put £36 billion into projects that will make a real difference – benefiting more people, in more places, more quickly.

Tomorrow marks a historic moment for the North and Midlands. We are investing billions directly across the region through the first of its kind Local Transport Fund – which fully empowers local people to invest in the transport priorities that matter most to them and their communities.

Whether it’s repaired roads, or refurbished train and bus stations – it will be local leaders who decide what transport projects to invest in based on local needs. This is part of our long-term plan to build a brighter future for generations to come.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said:

Tomorrow’s multi-billion-pound investment is unprecedented and will be transformational for smaller cities, towns, and rural communities across the North and the Midlands. This funding increase is only possible because this government is willing to take tough decisions like reallocating funding from the second phase of HS2.

We are sticking to our plan to level up communities with greater transport links right across the country. This investment is going to make a real difference to millions of people for years to come, empowering local authorities to drive economic growth, level up communities, and improve the daily transport connections that people rely on.

This investment demonstrates our commitment to reinvest all of the £19.8 billion from the Northern leg of HS2 in the North and all of the £9.6 billion from the Midlands leg in the Midlands, while the £6.5 billion saved through the new approach at Euston will be spread across every other region in the country.

This government recognises that investing in the right transport projects in the right places is key to spreading opportunity across the country.

We have a clear plan to better connect the country and we’re already making progress by delivering the biggest ever increase in funding for local road improvements with an extra £8.3 billion, enough to resurface more than 5,000 miles of local roads across England, with the first tranche of funding already delivered from this financial year.

We’ve also invested over £200 million to extend the £2 bus fare cap in England outside London until the end of 2024 and £1 billion to improve bus services in the North and the Midlands, with £150 million delivered from April this year. Since the £2 bus fare cap was introduced across England on 1 January 2023, millions of passengers have benefitted from lower fares.

Taken together, this shows that the Government is delivering on our plan to improve local transport and drive better connectivity across the country – building a brighter future for generations to come.