Transport for the North 'faces challenge to sustainability' amid funding fears

Transport for the North (TfN) hopes to get as much as £900m in the Autumn's spending review for the early stages of the landmark Northern Powerhouse Rail scheme and around £200m for its smart transport vision.

But a report reveals that a lack of core funding from the Government and an inability to recover VAT like other similar organisations means the strategic body faces what it describes as "a sustainability challenge".

It was described as a "cause for concern" by one northern councillor, who warned that TfN faced potentially being abolished amid what he described as a "bonfire of the quangos".

The future of TfN remains unclear after Transport Secretary Grant Shapps revealed plans to set up a new body, the Northern Transport Acceleration Council, to deliver major projects more quickly.

When TfN was given statutory status under Theresa May's government in 2017, Ministers said the strategic body would "transform transport across the North of England". But it remains reliant on central government for funding and is unable to levy taxes to pay for projects.

A report discussed last week by senior leaders sets out what TfN will ask for in the Comprehensive Spending Review to be delivered by Rishi Sunak amid reports that a number of government departments will be subject to spending cuts due to the state of the public finances.