Significant Local Transport Grants
The LEYTR area comes out very notably in the latest round of allocations.
The Department for Transport has now confirmed how it will allocate the £104 million resource element of the Local Transport Grant (LTG). This announcement follows the earlier publication of capital allocations under the same settlement. Together, both capital and resource elements form part of the three-year funding programme worth £2.3 billion, which covers the financial years 2026/27 to 2028/29.
The resource funding is not directed at new construction or the direct purchase of vehicles. Instead, it is designed to help local transport authorities (LTAs) outside the metropolitan combined authority areas with the more practical aspects of scheme preparation and delivery. These activities are often unseen by the public but are essential if capital investment is to be used effectively. The funding can be applied to a wide range of purposes: the detailed design and development of schemes, project and contract management, additional staffing to handle the workload generated by major programmes and work to improve ticketing arrangements, passenger accessibility and enforcement measures. The intention is to ensure that the larger sums of capital investment are properly financed and that local authorities have the capacity to make the most of the opportunities available.
Within the LEYTR area, the largest beneficiary is the newly formed Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority (GLCCA). It has been awarded the second-highest allocation of resource funding in the entire country, amounting to £5.585 million over the three years of the settlement. The profile of payments is £1.063 million in 2026/27, £2.259 million in 2027/28 and £2.263 million in 2028/29. The Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority (H&EYCA) will receive £3.444 million, with annual allocations of £634,000, £1.403 million and £1.407 million respectively.
This represents the first major distribution of transport resource funding to the two combined authorities since their establishment. In the case of Hull and East Yorkshire, the statutory body was formally brought into being during 2024 to cover Hull City Council and East Riding of Yorkshire Council. Its allocation is broadly similar to that provided to the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, which stands at £3.471 million. This parity reflects the comparable responsibilities of these new bodies in managing transport strategy and delivery at sub-regional level.
The structure of the new arrangements means that North Lincolnshire Council, North East Lincolnshire Council and Lincolnshire County Council no longer receive individual allocations. Their functions are now subsumed within the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority and their needs are met through the larger £5.585 million package. Likewise, East Riding of Yorkshire Council is covered within H&EYCA and no longer features as a separate recipient. As a result, the Humber and Greater Lincolnshire area as a whole is now served by two combined authorities which together will administer £9.029 million of resource funding across the three years. This makes the region one of the strongest funded outside the metropolitan conurbations.
Among county councils that remain outside a combined authority structure, the highest funded is Staffordshire at £3.391 million. Other comparators close in scale to the Humber and Greater Lincolnshire settlement include the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority on £2.458 million and Norfolk County Council on £2.112 million.
The Department for Transport has said that detailed guidance will be published during 2025 to advise LTAs on the most effective use of this funding. The Department intends that the resource and capital elements should be employed in tandem, with one supporting the other, so that projects are planned thoroughly and delivered efficiently.
In practice, the availability of this resource funding is likely to prove especially valuable to authorities in the LEYTR area. It will support ongoing development of Bus Service Improvement Plans, allowing staff to continue the process of reconfiguring networks and enhancing passenger experience. It will provide capacity for project management as the roll-out of zero-emission buses gathers pace. It will assist in the preparation of schemes to ease congestion in town centres and on key routes and it will fund design work for new or improved passenger facilities such as shelters, interchanges and waiting areas. These are all activities that do not result in a new bus appearing on the street by themselves, but without which the larger capital programmes could not be delivered successfully.
The scale of the allocations to the GLCCA and H&EYCA also provides reassurance that central government intends to maintain a significant level of support for the transport priorities of the Humber and Greater Lincolnshire. The establishment of the combined authorities has brought about structural changes in how decisions are taken and how funds are distributed, but the outcome in this case is that the area now commands some of the largest allocations of resource funding in the country. This should enable the two new bodies to strengthen their capacity, employ the necessary specialist skills and manage a programme of schemes that will bring tangible benefits to passengers and communities.
The LTG resource funding is not as visible as capital investment, yet it is a vital part of the overall settlement. The Department for Transport’s decision to allocate £104 million across England and to direct more than £9 million of this to the Humber and Greater Lincolnshire underlines the importance placed on ensuring that LTAs are equipped to handle the work required of them. For readers of the LEYTR, the detail is significant. The funding represents the means by which councils in our area will continue to plan and oversee schemes that address the long-term needs of passengers, operators and communities.