Road fund shock

A £500 million regional growth fund, set up to attract private sector jobs to the North, must also pay to build local roads.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg hailed the fund as proof the Con-Lib coalition was determined to “foster a thriving and more balanced economy” when he announced it in June.

But the small print of this week’s comprehensive spending review reveals that one third of the £500m annual fund will come from the Department for Transport.

Small-scale improvements to road and rail have traditionally been funded entirely separately from government cash set aside for economic development.

The department for Business Innovation and Skills defended the decision to fund local road improvements from the growth fund.