Autumn Statement: Hand the North rail investment decisions, says business

Closing the gap in investment between London and the North in the Autumn Statement to better connect Northern cities and outlying areas would provide a £97bn  boost to the economy, businesses argue.

Transport appraisal methods and Whitehall funding decisions are holding the North back according to a report by engineering consultancy Atkins, law firm Addleshaw Goddard and accounting firm Grant Thornton that is the result of roundtable discussions involving companies based in Northern England. They argue that future investment decisions should be made by Transport for the North as they point to a £1,620 per person per year investment shortfall compared to London. But they also say that while making Transport for the North the rail commissioning body, reliance on subsidy should be reduced by using business rates to help pay for infrastructure.

And they push for the overhaul of traditional methods for calculating benefit-cost-ratios when appraising investment in infrastructure, pointing to such moves in Scotland with the result that the Border Rail project outstripped forecast demand.