George Osborne’s £13bn ‘northern powerhouse’ fund includes routine council spending on potholes

Embarrassment for government as it confirms only 5bn of announced 13bn funding is allocated for major road schemes and 3bn for rail

George Osborne's pledge to build a "northern powerhouse" has been condemned as "cynical pre-election spin" as it emerged that the 13bn committed to build it includes routine spending on potholes and maintenance for the A1, which comes out of London.

In further embarrassment, a communities minister was also accused of misleading parliament over the money after he claimed to MPs in the Commons last week that the government was "investing 13bn in rail in the north" for "more trains, newer trains and more regular journeys". A spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has now confirmed that the money is not just for rail.

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