PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Transport: East Midlands (23 March 2021)

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.

Asked by:
Sir John Hayes (Conservative)

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.

Answered by:
Rachel Maclean (Conservative)
31 March 2021