(7 months, 1 week ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Guy Opperman)
Will my hon. Friend give way?
Guy Opperman
I wanted to try to assist my hon. Friend, because he is referring to two key things. First, by reason of the HS2 funding, for the very first time, local authorities up and down the country—but particularly Devon and Somerset—are being given seven-year funding. They have a certainty of supply of funding, which allows them to purchase new equipment and machinery.
[Official Report, 23 April 2024; Vol. 748, c. 273WH.]
Written correction submitted by the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, the hon. Member for Hexham (Guy Opperman):
Guy Opperman
I wanted to try to assist my hon. Friend, because he is referring to two key things. First, by reason of the HS2 funding, for the very first time, local authorities up and down the country—but particularly Devon and Somerset—are being given 11-year funding. They have a certainty of supply of funding, which allows them to purchase new equipment and machinery.
Guy Opperman
The reality is that Devon and Somerset received a further funding uplift of approximately £15 million in the spring Budget of 2023, and then £10 million of additional maintenance funding in 2023-24. The point I was trying to make to my hon. Friend is that anyone who has ever worked as a parish, district or county councillor, as a Member of Parliament, or who has run a Department knows that having a long-term, seven-year budget is transformational. Any local authority leader will ask, “Could I have some more money and could I know what I am going to get over the next two to seven years?” That is transformational, that is exactly what the PM has done, and that is why local authorities can do different types of investment.
[Official Report, 23 April 2024; Vol. 748, c. 277WH.]
Written correction submitted by the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, the hon. Member for Hexham (Guy Opperman):
Guy Opperman
The reality is that Devon and Somerset received a further funding uplift of approximately £15 million in the spring Budget of 2023, and then £10 million of additional maintenance funding in 2023-24. The point I was trying to make to my hon. Friend is that anyone who has ever worked as a parish, district or county councillor, as a Member of Parliament, or who has run a Department knows that having a long-term, 11-year budget is transformational. Any local authority leader will ask, “Could I have some more money and could I know what I am going to get over the next two to 11 years?” That is transformational, that is exactly what the PM has done, and that is why local authorities can do different types of investment.