Rachel Reeves is ‘turning up the pressure’ on councils
The money will go towards fixing roads
The government has revealed how much money Greater Manchester will get to fix potholes and repair roads next year. Rachel Reeves has unveiled a £7.3bn investment in local roads across the country over the next four years after delivering her budget this week.
It comes after the Chancellor unveiled a raft of measures aimed at easing the cost of living in her budget while also increasing the tax take. This includes freezing income tax and national insurance thresholds – a decision she admitted would affect ‘working people’.
The Treasury says that Ms Reeves is also ‘turning up the pressure’ on councils by more than tripling the share of roads funding that is ‘tied to transparency’. Councils can only ‘unlock’ the cash if they publish clear pothole and maintenance data and ‘follow best practice’.
In total, the North West of England will receive £800m over the next four years. Greater Manchester’s share next year will be £15.6m.
Ms Reeves said: “We promised to fix an extra million potholes a year by the end of this Parliament – we’re doing exactly that. We are doubling the funding promised by the previous government, making sure well maintained roads keep businesses moving, communities connected and growth reaching every part of the country.”
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “We’re delivering the biggest-ever investment in road maintenance to fix Britain’s broken roads. We’re putting our money where our mouth is, giving councils the long-term investment they need to plan properly and get things right first time, saving you money on costly repairs and making a visible difference in our communities.
“This isn’t patchwork politics, we are starting the hard work of fixing Britain’s roads for good.”
Each local authority will be able to use its share of the £7.3bn to identify the roads most in need of repair and deliver immediate improvements for communities and residents. Councils will still get their core funding, but a much bigger slice of extra cash will now depend on publishing this information. Those that do so will be able to unlock their full share; those that don’t will miss out.