Your northern transport spending questions answered

We asked for your questions on investment in transport in the north of England.

It followed a call by a cross-party group of politicians for the government to spend £100bn in road and rail improvements across the North.

More than 80 MPs and peers said the money was needed to "reverse decades of underinvestment".

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said the North would get the "lion's share" of future transport investment.

In an interview in Leeds on Thursday Mr Grayling said it was "a myth to say London gets a lot more money".

"Actually the independent figures produced for government now show that investment in the North per head of population is greater than in the South," he added.

The figures Mr Grayling referred to were from a Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) report produced in December 2017 outlining the government's transport spending plans over the coming years.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said that IPA figures showed "the North will receive more investment per person (£1,039) than the South (£1,029) over the years 2017/18 to 2020/21".

However, think-tank the Institute for Public Policy Research North (IPPR) said many people might consider the figures "misleading", claiming the IPA figures "manage to disregard large amounts spent in London".

Using its own analysis of the figures the IPPR said if all central and local government spending is included, along with other public and private investment beyond 2021, then "planned transport investment in London is almost 2.6 times higher per capita than in the North".

The DfT has disputed the IPPR's findings and added: "This government is spending over £13bn - more than any other in history - to transform northern transport by 2020, boosting economic growth and unlocking the incredible potential of the great towns and cities of the north."

In response, Highways England said work is due to start in 2021 upgrading the road between Morpeth and Felton and Alnwick and Ellingham, with the road expected to open in 2023.

The agency has just completed a public consultation on the proposed route.

Senior project manager Tsuwun Bevan said: "Highways England is planning to upgrade the sections of single carriageway in Northumberland as part of a £290m investment, creating a dual carriageway on the entire stretch of the route between Newcastle and Ellingham.

"These improvements will provide additional capacity, and improve journey times and safety while supporting economic growth in the region."

Plans to link the M67 motorway east of Manchester to the M1 north of Sheffield were announced in August 2016.

The proposal would see a tunnel used on part of the route.

The Department for Transport said a study was "currently examining the strategic and economic case" for the road.

The report is expected to be completed by the end of the year.