The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Jeremy Quin)
Let me start by congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Southend West (Sir David Amess) on securing the debate. It is a pleasure to see that his neighbour and colleague my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge) is also present.
My hon. Friend the Member for Southend West has managed to do something amazing by being both first and last. This is one of the first Adjournment debates in the current Parliament, and, as is traditional, he has also managed to get the last word in before the House rises for the recess. In July, as the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) will also recall, it was my privilege to reply to the debate on matters to be raised before the summer Adjournment. In doing so, I remarked that it appeared that the House could not rise for a recess without my hon. Friend’s pressing the case for city status for Southend-on-Sea—and here we are again. I attribute that not to any gift of prophecy on my part, but to the assiduity with which my hon. Friend pushes his case. It is no surprise that his perseverance is recognised by his constituents, and I am delighted to welcome him back to the House after he secured an increased majority and more than 59% of the votes cast. No wonder Leigh-on-Sea is the happiest of places in which to live, and no wonder even the seals appear to clap my hon. Friend.
As a Minister in the Cabinet Office and on behalf of the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich North (Chloe Smith)—the Minister for the Constitution—I am delighted to be able to share with my hon. Friend and the House the process by which Southend, and indeed other candidates around the United Kingdom, may seek to achieve city status. As ever, my hon. Friend has also used this opportunity to speak about the many achievements, and also the aspirations, of Southend. He will forgive me if I do not respond in detail to each of the points that lie more appropriately under the remit of other Departments, but he has set out a clear set of priorities which I know will be flagged in the Departments concerned.
Among the many advantages of a decisive Government majority—as a former member of the Whips Office, I shall repeat that! Among the many advantages of a decisive Government majority, and a clear sense of stability and purpose, is the opportunity for constituency MPs to pursue single-mindedly their action plans for their communities. I know my ministerial colleagues and I can look forward to hearing a lot more from my hon. Friend over what I hope will be a long and productive Parliament.
As my hon. Friend is aware, city status is one of the civic honours granted by the Queen under the royal prerogative on the advice of Ministers. It is a rare distinction. Only 14 new cities were created during the 20th century. Indeed, since the 1970s there have been only five competitions, as a result of which a total of 13 towns were awarded city status, with each competition seeing an increase in applications. With the exception of the competition held in 2000 to mark the millennium, all were held to mark significant anniversaries of Her Majesty’s accession to the throne. I am sure my hon. Friend will understand the need to preserve the special status of such an honour by ensuring that competitions are held to mark anniversaries of sufficient significance. As my hon. Friend is very aware from his interaction with my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, his determination on this issue is very much recognised. We will continue to consider when it might be appropriate to hold another city status competition. I know my hon. Friend is alert to possible opportunities and is certainly not shy in drawing them to the attention of Government, for which we are grateful.
Today there are currently 69 cities in the United Kingdom: 51 in England, seven in Scotland, six in Wales and five in Northern Ireland. Competitions are fair and open to protect the value of city status. There are no specific criteria against which progress can be measured, but entries are considered on the merits of their contents rather than on the standard of presentation. I appreciate why, with a population of 175,000, some 5,600 businesses and an economy valued at over £2.6 billion, Southend views itself as a suitable candidate, even before one takes into account its role as a transport hub, to which my hon. Friend referred, and as a tourist destination, amid many sources of justifiable civic pride. It is wonderful to hear again about Music Man and what a phenomenal success it is.
I know that Southend-on-Sea entered the 2012 city status contest but was, along with a number of other towns, unfortunately unsuccessful. Granting city status is purely about the honour, with no additional funding or powers attached to it, but I entirely understand my hon. Friend’s continuing endeavours to secure city status for Southend. We will never tire of his speaking about it in this Chamber—he is very wrong to suggest that that might be the case. I know he will continue to pursue the cause with great assiduity. However, I do want to take this opportunity to reassure him that, whatever its civic status, the Government are committed to investing in and supporting Southend, and the local area, on issues that matter to his constituents.
A colleague at the Department of Health and Social Care informed me that significant investment is already under way at Southend Hospital. Clearly, my hon. Friend was briefed on that in his role as Father Christmas only this morning. That includes the installation of new radiotherapy machines and—he referred to this—in particular the use of a surgical robot to undertake prostate cancer surgery. That is an important issue, which I recall my hon. Friend raising in the summer recess debate. Those improvements will greatly expand the availability of robotic surgery to patients suffering from cancer and will both reduce waiting times and give patients the option of receiving care in mid and south Essex who may otherwise have to travel outside the area for treatment. This will secure Southend Hospital’s position as a centre of excellence in cancer care and treatment for the people of Essex.
We are also investing in the local economy. In 2014, we signed off on the Southend city deal and put in funding of about £1.5 million towards a growth hub to offer support to local businesses. I trust that the ripple effect of that continues to benefit the local economy. Southend, which, as my hon. Friend mentioned, boasts the longest pleasure pier in the world, received some 367,000 visitors last year. Southend has also received £1.3 million from the coastal communities fund to expand tourism services. I understand that Southend has also benefited from funding from its local enterprise partnership, including £23 million for a new business park, to which my hon. Friend referred, adjacent to London Southend Airport. There will be many opportunities for Southend to seize as we achieve our exit from the European Union, opportunities stemming from our focus on the Thames Estuary 2050 growth board, to which the new chair, Kate Willard, was appointed on 30 October.
My hon. Friend raised concerns about the rail franchise and ticket machines. I know that he has raised those concerns along with the frustration of his constituents on a number of occasions. He will be aware of this Government’s commitment to end the complicated franchising model and to create a simpler, more effective rail system. I am sure that we can look forward to progress on that area.
I suggest that my hon. Friend take up with other Ministers the specifics of the section 106 agreement to which he referred. As an MP with a constituency in close proximity to Gatwick, I recognise some of the concerns that he has raised. I trust that he is aware of the Independent Commission on Civil Aviation Noise, which is a relatively new body, providing independent advice to the Government, including on how to improve public confidence and trust in the management of aviation noise. If my hon. Friend has not done so already—he may well have done this—I recommend a discussion with ICCAN, which he might find of interest.
In conclusion, I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important issue. He is indeed a doughty champion for his constituents and his constituency. These last few minutes as one closes a parliamentary period would not be the same without his contribution on the issue.
Finally, may I thank you, Sir Roger, for your comments on behalf of the Speaker, wishing us all a happy Christmas? May I extend that wish on behalf of the House and the Government to you and to all the Clerks and the staff of this place who work hard throughout the year, but particularly over the past few days supporting new and returning Members, and I would like to wish everyone a happy Christmas.
Question put and agreed to.