Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Jones and Stephen Crabb

Wednesday 3rd December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Crabb]

Decisions on how the Welsh Government use Barnett consequentials are a matter for them, but it is true that a great many people in Wales would be baffled, bemused and hugely disappointed if Welsh Ministers chose not to use every single penny of the £70 million that we have made available to them by protecting and increasing NHS budgets here at Westminster.

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

3. What assessment he has made of the level of infrastructure investment in Wales since 2010.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Secretary of State for Wales (Stephen Crabb)]

For too long, Wales has suffered from under-investment in infrastructure, so I am proud to be part of a Government who are putting that right. By working closely with the Welsh Government and providing additional economic resources, we have been able to set out a long-term vision for how first-class infrastructure will make Wales a more attractive place in which to invest, benefiting the people of Wales for generations to come.

[Andrew Jones]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his answer and commend him on his work in securing the valley lines electrification. Does he agree that this project will have a transformative effect on those communities that were often left behind by previous Labour Governments?

[Stephen Crabb]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question and his kind remarks. He is absolutely right. It was precisely because we did not want to leave those valley communities behind that we worked so hard with the Welsh Government to secure the full electrification package, electrifying the great western line all the way through to Swansea, plus electrifying those valley lines, which, as he says, will have a transformative economic and social impact for many years to come.