Oral Answers to Questions

Andy MacNae Excerpts

Tuesday 20th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Darren Jones]

A meeting of that nature has already taken place as part of our mission-led approach to Government. We continue to engage with the Departments for Energy Security and Net Zero and for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on these issues, as the right hon. Gentleman suggests—it is exactly what we mean when we talk about cross-departmental collaboration. As the right hon. Gentleman knows, further details will be set out in the spending review in due course.

[Andy MacNae (Rossendale and Darwen) (Lab)]

9. What steps she is taking to increase levels of funding for northern towns.

[The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Rachel Reeves)]

I was pleased to go with my hon. Friend to Darwen to visit the 100th banking hub, which was rolled out just a few months ago. We also visited the thriving Darwen market in one of his local towns. We will set out at the spending review how we will spend the £113 billion extra that we are putting in to capital spending, compared with the plans we inherited from the Conservatives. Of course, we will ensure that towns and cities, including across the north of England, benefit from that investment.

[Andy MacNae]

I thank the Chancellor for that answer—the Government’s commitment to the north is absolutely clear. We very much enjoyed our visit to Darwen market. At the same time, however, history tells us that small towns, like those that make up Rossendale and Darwen, can far too easily get left behind and not feel the benefits of major infrastructure investment, despite being the very communities that need to see and feel change the most. Does the Chancellor agree that as we implement our investment and growth strategy, and deliver the review of the Green Book, we must put our left-behind communities first? As part of every major investment decision, we should ask the question: what does this do for our most deprived and left-behind neighbourhoods? It is only by targeting investment where it is needed most that we can ensure that every community feels the benefit of the growth that this Government will bring.

[Rachel Reeves]

My hon. Friend is a proud champion of the towns and villages of Rossendale and Darwen. We will make sure that we use our Green Book review to properly assess the benefit of all this Government’s investments. On top of that capital investment, the people of Rossendale and Darwen are benefiting from the 3 million additional appointments that we have delivered, which have led to reductions in NHS waiting lists, and also the increase in the national living wage, which will make working people in his constituency and across the country better off.