City Deal Funding (Aberdeen)

Alex Salmond Excerpts

Tuesday 30th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Kirsty Blackman]

Absolutely. That is very important. As I said, there has been a level of concern from some of our residents that we are a bit forgotten about, because we are so far away. We need to work to change that.

The city deal for Aberdeen is a truly excellent example of joint working, not just between the two Governments, where relations have occasionally been strained, but between the two councils, where this level of joint working simply has not been seen before.

One of the most difficult problems for those living in Aberdeen city and shire is the cost of housing. There is a lack of affordable accommodation, and our councils and NHS are finding it difficult to keep key workers. In recent years, we have struggled to recruit and retain teachers, social workers and nurses. With high land values in Aberdeen, it is really difficult for social landlords to fund the building of new social housing. For years, the city’s social housing stock has been reducing, and there are thousands of families on the council’s housing waiting list. Despite some recent new builds, many are still stranded in inappropriate accommodation or forced to consider moving to other parts of the region or country.

The city deal proposal includes a £350 million ring-fenced loan guarantee facility from Infrastructure UK for housing in Aberdeen city and Aberdeenshire. It also proposes a significant increase in the number of homes available for lease from both councils. As I mentioned in my maiden speech, the lack of suitable affordable housing is a huge problem for my constituents, and the issue is exacerbated by the success of the oil and gas sector. I really cannot overstress the importance of this issue to people living in Aberdeen.

[Alex Salmond (Gordon) (SNP)]

My hon. Friend makes a crucial point about social housing in Aberdeen, but does she also accept that the investment in the Inverness-Aberdeen railway line will make realistic commuting possibilities available to a range of people across the community? Does she agree about the importance of that investment and our working together to maximise the opportunity?

[Kirsty Blackman]

I absolutely agree with my right hon. Friend. The infrastructure system in London is so far away from our system. We do not have two railway lines beside each other, meaning that trains can only pass at certain points.

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[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (James Wharton)]

I congratulate the hon. Members for Aberdeen North (Kirsty Blackman) and for Aberdeen South (Callum McCaig) on their speeches. I noted the tone of their contributions with great interest. The hon. Member for Aberdeen North said that she sometimes felt that her area had been forgotten by Westminster, and I understand what she means. As a Teesside Member of Parliament, I sometimes felt the same in years gone by, although, thankfully, not under the present Administration.

I am aware of Aberdeen’s valuable role. Durham Tees Valley airport, half of which is in my constituency, has been partly sustained by regular flights to Aberdeen because of the economic links between the hon. Lady’s constituency, that of her hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeen South, and my own. The hon. Lady has sent a message to someone who is receptive to it, if I may put it that way, and I commend her for the tone in which she has done so.

I have always found that, while there are matters on which we disagree across the House—no doubt more will surface as time progresses—there are also areas of commonality. It is in all our interests to enable every part of our economy to achieve its potential. My experience may be limited in comparison with the experience of others—I look at the right hon. Member for Gordon (Alex Salmond) as I make that comment—but so far I have found that a positive approach which, while recognising the challenges faced by our constituencies, trumpets the opportunities that they present, the great things that they do, and the fact that they are wonderful places that we are fortunate to represent in the House, produces the best reaction from those whom we want to persuade that our own particular constituencies deserve investment and support.

The Government’s economic ambition is to create a fairer and more balanced economy by supporting policies that enable it to grow. We recognise the challenges and opportunities that exist within local economies right across the United Kingdom, and we have been clear that a one-size-fits-all solution from Whitehall will not work: every part of our economy needs to fulfil its potential. That is why we are devolving powers to cities, towns and counties, and allowing local people to take control of the economic levers in their areas. That work started in the previous Parliament, in no small part with the city deals.

The Government recognised that, to improve the performance of our cities, new solutions were needed. Through bespoke city deals, we have seen the right of initiation pass from Whitehall to town hall. It is a fundamental shift in the way in which Whitehall works. City deals were originally negotiated back in 2012 with the eight core cities in England, and that has been followed by a further wave of city deals across the UK.

In August 2014, the Government, alongside the Scottish Government and the Glasgow and Clyde valley local authorities, extended that model up to Glasgow and the Clyde valley. That deal is one of the largest ever agreed, and local partners anticipate that it will create 29,000 jobs and lever in more than £3 billion of private sector investment. That is an example of what can be achieved when all levels of Government, business, universities and the voluntary and community sectors work together to promote economic growth.

City deals are an important part of the Government’s approach to improving economic growth locally, but we should also remember that they are only one part of the entire package. The Scotland Bill, which is being discussed at some length in this place, will make the Scottish Parliament one of the most powerful devolved Parliaments in the world. It will increase the financial accountability of the Scottish Parliament through devolution of the rates and bands of income tax, air passenger duty and the assignment of VAT revenues; increase responsibility for welfare policy and delivery in Scotland; increase the scope for scrutiny by the Scottish Government of a whole range of public bodies; and give significant new responsibility for areas such as roads, speed limits, onshore oil and gas extraction and consumer advocacy and advice. The Bill honours the commitment made to Scottish people before the independence referendum to transfer significant new powers to the Scottish Parliament.

[Alex Salmond]

The Minister has said that under the proposals the Scottish Parliament will be one of the most powerful devolved Parliaments in the world, but the Command Paper said that it would be almost as powerful, in financial terms, as a Swiss canton. Would it be possible to aspire to be more powerful than a Swiss canton in financial terms?

[James Wharton]

I have no doubt that the right hon. Gentleman has grand aspirations and that it is possible for him to hold them, but my contention is that what this Government are delivering is very significant indeed and meets the obligations and promises that were made in the referendum campaign.

I have provided the context, but what about the city deals themselves and where we are going? City deals are very important because our cities can be drivers for growth. UK cities account for 74% of our population and 78% of all jobs, and it is in the interests of everyone in the UK that cities are able to achieve their potential. Economic growth itself does not just happen—it happens in specific places.

Ensuring that our cities are globally successful is not going to be easy, but I believe that it can be done through active collaboration between Whitehall, the Scottish Government and local authorities that recognise its value.