Overview

• Northern and Midlands councils to receive £4.7 billion from scrapped HS2 funds for local transport improvements.
• Funding aimed at smaller cities, towns, and rural areas, with a focus on road repairs, mass transit, and electric vehicle infrastructure.
• Prime Minister Rishi Sunak describes the reallocation as 'levelling up in action', promising more immediate benefits than HS2.
• Critics, including Labour, label the plan as another broken promise, questioning the transformative impact on regional transport.
• The funding will be available from April 2025, raising concerns about its effectiveness in addressing current transport issues.