The Minister for Universities, Science and Cities (Greg Clark)
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Southend West (Sir David Amess) on securing this debate, and it is fantastic to see our friend and colleague my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge) restored to health and back with us today. They are both real champions for that wonderful town of Southend, and my hon. Friend the Member for Southend West was unduly modest in not recognising their roles in securing the investments. As the Minister responsible for the city deal and the growth deal I know that the advocacy for Southend from both of them was essential to getting the investment in and the deals signed. The success Southend is enjoying is a reflection of their efforts over the years.
My hon. Friend the Member for Southend West referred to some of the remarkable statistics. Southend has seen a 53% cut in unemployment, which is remarkable by any standards, but it does not surprise us because I have long known, as have many other Members, that Southend has a very special entrepreneurial spirit, and when economic opportunities are available we can rely on the people of Southend to avail themselves of them with alacrity. That is one reason why we were so keen to forge this city deal and to make sure there was support for the small businesses that we knew were going to be created and which would create jobs in the numbers that they are doing now. As my hon. Friend attested, there are many encouraging signs of real confidence in Southend at the moment. The investments and innovations he listed are all contributing to that resurgence.
It was in part as a result of the representations of my hon. Friends that Southend was offered a city deal. The first wave of city deals was offered to the eight biggest cities outside London by population. They were finalised in September 2012. That programme was acknowledged as a success, and there was some demand to extend it to other parts of the country. So in October 2012 we did precisely that, inviting 20 cities and their wider areas to negotiate for a second wave of city deals. Fourteen of those cities were selected based on the size of their population, as the first wave had been, but we wanted to recognise the backing that is appropriate and due to cities that are not as big as the large industrial ones but are, nevertheless, growing strongly. Of course, a growing city has its own demands and needs for investment. So Southend was chosen as one of those six. Population growth usually indicates that a place has something going for it, as more people want to live there than before.
The city deal programme is about transferring resources previously tied up in Whitehall into the hands of local people and reflecting their local priorities. That is the proposition of city deals. My hon. Friend mentioned the signing of the city deal in Southend, and I was delighted to sign it. I still have my copy here with me; it has the signatures of Nigel Holdcroft and Peter Jones, the chair of the local enterprise partnership. It was a very promising day, and I am thrilled that what was promised has turned into a reality, exactly as my hon. Friend said. Support has been provided for the growing number of businesses, mainly small and medium-sized ones, in Southend and across south Essex. It is appropriate that when a business is founded and is growing, it should benefit from help and advice from people who have been there before and can share some of that experience. It is also important that there should be incubator space—premises in which growing businesses can locate. Those were the elements of the city deal and, as he said, the Southend growth hub is now being used as the model for business support right across the south-east and beyond. It is seen, correctly, as being very successful.
The city deal in Southend, as with those elsewhere, has uncorked a new spirit of municipal purpose; the idea that everyone locally should join the attempts to revive the local economy is absolutely as things should be. My hon. Friend mentioned the scheme to transform some of the rather tired old buildings along Victoria avenue, close to the centre of Southend, many of which are no longer fit for purpose. Investment there can provide opportunities and locations for businesses. Like him, I was delighted to read in the Southend Echo in recent days that the transforming effect of the deal is remodelling those buildings to satisfy housing demand and provide premises for businesses. It is clear even in these early days that the city deal process is proving good for Southend; it is having a major effect, empowering local businesses and civic leaders to back their aspirations to create more jobs in that very important town. I pay tribute to my hon. Friends for their advocacy.
But we have gone further than that. As my hon. Friends know, we have built on the city deal experience and embarked on an even greater enterprise, through agreeing with all 39 of England’s LEPs growth deals that transfer even more money and powers from central Government to local areas. The south-east local enterprise partnership covers a large area and naturally has one of the largest allocations of local growth funding. So far, nearly £500 million has been devolved to that LEP. The growth deal is being signed today—possibly even as we speak—in Purfleet by the chairman of the LEP. The funding comes into effect from April—in other words in just a few days’ time.
In July 2014, we announced a package that comprised significant transport infrastructure spending. As my hon. Friends the Members for Southend West and for Rochford and Southend East have said—they have both been advocates of this—the connections around south Essex and in Southend in particular are important. If we are to have jobs as never before and businesses are to be created in larger numbers, people need to be able to get to work and to get around the area. Southend is a critical anchor at the eastern end of the Thames Gateway. The growth deal commitments include upgrades to both the A127 and, over the longer term, the A13.
Specifically in Southend, the growth deal will extend the Southend and Rochford growth hub and will further invest in the Victoria avenue gateway. Some £3.2 million has been committed to develop the business park adjacent to the airport. We recognise the very positive effects that regional airports can have on economic growth. London Southend airport has certainly been a success. With more than 1 million passengers a year, it has scooped industry awards for growth.
I wish to emphasise that we have allocated only about two thirds of the £12 billion of funding that is available under the local growth fund. When it comes to the requests of my hon. Friend the Member for Southend West—I was confident that he would come to those in his speech—whether it be for the pier or for other transport improvements, the growth deal is an ideal vehicle in which to deliver them. The negotiations for the next phase of growth deals will take place shortly after the general election if, as I hope, we are returned to continue this very important programme. They offer the opportunity for many, if not all, of the proposals that my hon. Friends mention, and they should make a vigorous case for them in the negotiations. The money that was in Whitehall is available to be invested in Southend and in Essex more generally.
I hope that, with the good sense of the electorate in Southend, both of my hon. Friends will be returned in style to this House to continue their magnificent advocacy for their great town, and that we can proceed with this amazing momentum that has established itself in Southend, confident that there is much more to come.
The future for Southend is bright. I think it was Sir John Betjeman who famously said of the pier:
“Southend is the pier; the pier is Southend.”
There is much more now to Southend than the pier, marvellous though it is, and I want to see the area go from strength to strength. I thank my hon. Friend for his warm words. I am delighted that he has been able to bring my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East into this important debate today. Between them they have made a signal contribution to the prosperity of Southend during this Parliament, and I hope that they will have the chance to do so in the next one.
Question put and agreed to.