Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood said Transport Secretary Louise Haigh was right to review funding as the Government looks to plug a £22 billion hole in public finances.
The minister, who visited York on Thursday, August 1, added a pledge to mend up to 1 million potholes a year still stands and backed local plans to cut car use.
Ms Greenwood’s visit to York came after the council said it was seeking further clarity on how this week’s funding announcements would affect two local projects.
The council has said it remains committed to a new train station in Haxby and the York Outer Ring Road dualling scheme despite the review of Government transport funding.
But the moves from Government prompted the local Liberal Democrat opposition to call for urgent clarity on the future of funding for schemes they said were vital to York.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) during a visit to Fulford Cross road works, Ms Greenwood the Labour government’s commitment to transport was not in question.
But she added there was no getting around the national funding gap and gave no guarantees about the funding for York projects specifically.
The minister said: “I cannot underline enough Labour’s commitment to having a really good, integrated transport strategy.
“We want to invest in transport that works for local people and communities.
“But we’ve been left with a £22 billion funding gap so it’s right that Transport Secretary Louise Haigh is looking at our spending programme along with external experts.”
The minister said the Government wanted to empower local authorities to deal with the challenges on roads, including by repairing potholes.
Ministers are due to set out more details about funding to repair up to 1m potholes a year in a spending review later this year.
Ms Greenwood said: “We’ve been left roads in a terrible state.
“We’re absolutely committed to filling up to 1 million pot holes every year so that everyone can enjoy better, safer and more comfortable journeys.
“We’ve also seen the way Millennium Bridge has been improved so that people can make more greener and cleaner travel choices.”
The minister praised the Labour-run council’s recently-approved Transport Strategy, which aims to boost public transport use and walking and cycling, saying their goals were shared by Whitehall.
The council’s strategy, which runs until 2024 aims to cut car use by a fifth in the coming years in order free up roads and tackle pollution.
Ms Greenwood said: “It’s really brilliant to see the level of ambition in York to both improve air quality and local transport so that people can get to where they need to go.
“We want to see more people travelling by bus and cycling and walking.
“We will support places like York on that through devolution, because it’s people here who know what’s best for their communities.”
The minister also pledged to hand power over local buses to local and combined authorities, allowing them to take services into public ownership.
Council deputy leader Cllr Pete Kilbane told LDRS all options for running buses including a franchising model and local partnerships were on the table.
The Better Buses Bill was announced in the King’s Speech, the Government’s legislative agenda for the forthcoming parliament, after Labour took power in July.
“One of the most important things in terms of devolution is our Better Buses Bill which will remove the block on mayoral combined authorities setting up publicly-owned bus companies.
“Those are discussions for the mayors to have with local people, to make sure they deliver to support growth, jobs and opportunities.”
