East Midlands: Local Authorities and Economic Growth

Catherine Atkinson Excerpts

Monday 7th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Michael Payne]

I thank the hon. Member for sharing his view with me, but I must say that it is not a view we share in the east midlands. We have a partnership approach with our Labour Mayor of the East Midlands, Claire Ward, working with brilliant local Labour councils. I would have a slight degree of sympathy for him if he had not been coming here for the last 14 years and voting for cuts to local councils in the east midlands, taking 60p out of every £1 of their budgets.

Ultimately, where we have good, soundly managed local authorities, with boundaries that local people understand and prefer, such as in my borough of Gedling, do we really want local authority staff to be focused on a multi-year reorganisation process, or do we want them to be getting on with the job and growing their local economies? The Government have rightly pointed out that certainty is essential to economic growth, so may I be so bold as to suggest that certainty in local government—whether it is a planner knowing that they have a job in the future or a local authority knowing that it will exist in two years’ time—is also essential? My constituents have told me loud and clear that they do not want to see a change to their local council. It is important to me that my constituents’ voices are heard and listened to in this Chamber, including in this debate. I share their pride in having a well-run local council in Gedling borough council, with low council tax, low levels of debt and decent, delivered public services, and I will argue for that to the hilt.

It would be remiss of me to speak in this debate without highlighting some local examples of how things can go terribly wrong, and how they affect my constituents. Conservative-controlled Nottinghamshire county council might be the worst council in the country for road repairs. Over 25% of Nottinghamshire’s minor roads required repairs last year, yet Nottinghamshire county council only got around to repairing 2.3% of them. Out of every 10 potholes, Conservatives in Nottinghamshire managed to fix less than one. If we need drivers for any future moon landing, the residents of Nottinghamshire may well volunteer to be first; with the number of craters that we have to dodge on our local roads just to get about our daily lives, everyone in Nottinghamshire is an expert in dodging potholes. Navigating the pothole-ridden roads of Nottinghamshire has gone beyond a joke. It is a daily misery for the people of Gedling, who I serve, but it also impacts our economy.

[Catherine Atkinson (Derby North) (Lab)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate and on his powerful comments about the potholes in Nottinghamshire, but according to the RAC, the worst area for potholes is Conservative-run Derbyshire. Does he agree that it is about time that we got councils that will work with the Government to ensure we have the roads that people need—roads that are not full of potholes?

[Michael Payne]

I thank my hon. Friend for making that powerful argument on behalf of her Derby North constituents. Having a Conservative-run county council is something we have in common, and in less than a month’s time, the residents of our respective constituencies will have a chance to turn the page on that failure and elect Labour councils that will turn a corner.

Potholes on roads impact our economy, because if a trader’s vehicle hits a pothole and needs to be in the repair shop for a week, that is a week in which that trader is not doing business. Their business suffers, their family suffer, and our national economy suffers too. One of my constituents, a new mother, was crossing the road with her newborn daughter in a pram when that pram snagged on a pothole, causing the mother to trip over, and her newborn baby almost ended up in the middle of a busy road. She wrote to me that people slammed on their brakes and jumped out of their cars to check whether her baby had been badly hurt. The mother and the baby had to spend the afternoon at the hospital that day, when they should have been shopping and meeting friends on the local high street. Even without the use of a car, potholes are hurting growth and, at times, physically hurting our constituents. If a parent hits a pothole in their own vehicle and suffers hundreds of pounds of damage, that is money that is not being spent in our local shops or on our local high streets.

Despite record investment by this Labour Government in fixing potholes—£1.6 billion—the Conservatives on Nottinghamshire county council cannot get a grip, and not just on potholes. The county council is also failing to issue education, health and care plans on time, with nearly 1,000 requests for an EHC plan issued late between January and October. Compared with the previous year, 6% fewer annual reviews of EHC plans were conducted. The impact of Conservative-led Nottinghamshire county council failing to deliver on special educational needs and disabilities services, and in many ways going backwards, is that some children are not getting the education they need. That is forcing some parents in my constituency and across the east midlands to stay at home to school their children, rather than going to work. That hurts their livelihoods, it hurts their opportunity to contribute to the economy, and as a result it hurts growth, too.

In contrast, Labour-run Gedling borough council is investing in our high streets by maintaining its popular two hours’ free parking policy across all high street car parks. Labour-run Gedling created the beautiful 365-acre Gedling country park, a boost to the local economy. Gedling Labour saved and refurbished the cherished Bonington theatre, and is investing in CCTV across communities to keep people safe.

The Arnold market place is an example of how to do regeneration well, led by Gedling Labour. I was proud to be part of it on Gedling borough council, and it is things like that that will boost our economy. Beyond the high street, Gedling borough council has shown that investing in our parks and green spaces, our theatres and our leisure centres and keeping our cultural centres open invites local people into the area, which supports local businesses and growth. That is why I am so proud of the hard work being done by our Labour candidates in Gedling: Sarah O’Connor and Henry Wheeler in Arnold North, John Clarke and Liz Clunie in Arnold South, Jim Creamer and Errol Henry in Carlton West, Cate Carmichael in Carlton East and Dean Wilson in Calverton.

The contrast could not be clearer. Under the Nottinghamshire Conservatives, we can have yet more failure and poorly managed services, strangling our local economy and failing to fix our broken roads. Under Gedling Labour, we can have pride restored to our communities by hard-working councillors, growing the economy, bringing back community policing, supporting our high streets and fixing the potholes. That is the choice on offer next month at the local elections, and that is the choice that residents in Gedling can make.

--- Later in debate ---

[Alex Norris]

Our colleagues will have heard a lot from us about the primacy of growth. It is the Government’s firmest belief that economic growth should reach all communities and drive a real rise in living standards throughout the country, particularly in areas that have been left behind following years of declining investment. I agreed with my hon. Friend’s analysis of the lack of investment in the east midlands in recent years, but I also agreed with his analysis of our potential: our resources and our heritage, particularly our industrial heritage, as well as the benefits that our location brings. We know that there is a lot to do and a lot to back in our part of the world.

Let me now talk about some of the actions that we are taking as a Government. I was delighted and proud when last month, as a cornerstone of our plan for change, we announced our new plan for neighbourhoods, a £1.5 billion programme to ignite renewal and fight deprivation, revitalising local communities. The east midlands is at the heart of that programme, with 10 areas selected to receive a long-term investment of up to £20 million of funding and 20 years of support to help them to reach their full potential. Recipients include Boston, Skegness and Spalding in Lincolnshire, Chesterfield in Derbyshire and, in Nottinghamshire, Worksop, Newark-on-Trent, Mansfield, Ashfield, Clifton and indeed Carlton, in my hon. Friend’s constituency. They will all be worthy beneficiaries of this fund to rebuild, restore and rejuvenate neglected infrastructure and fractured communities.

We also believe that driving growth that is sustainable, innovative and green is an anchoring part of our mission to be a clean energy superpower. We in the east midlands, with our heritage in the energy realm, are poised, and brilliantly placed, to lead the green-energy revolution. In January we announced a record £410 million investment to develop cutting-edge clean energy, which will include the creation of a world-leading STEP—spherical tokamak for energy production—prototype fusion energy plant in Nottinghamshire. That investment puts the UK at the forefront of fusion delivery and firmly on the path to net zero, and recognises the east midlands region as a pioneer of the clean energy of the future.

As for housing, in October we allocated nearly £17 million of the £68 million brownfield land release funding to the east midlands. A dozen schemes in Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire have been identified for grants to support the construction of nearly 1,500 homes in the region. These housing developments will revitalise underused sites in our cities and communities, and work is already beginning in some locations.

One housing announcement is particularly close to my heart: I am proud to say from this Dispatch Box, as a Nottingham MP and a Minister, that following the announcement on 31 March, we are delivering a significant milestone boost to the regeneration of Nottingham city centre through the acquisition by Homes England of the Broad Marsh site. That feels good. Many people in Nottingham will say that it is overdue by years if not decades, and I would not fight that contention, but it is a huge step forward for the city.

The project will create 1,000 homes and up to 20,000 square metres of retail, office and community space, and will generate about 2,000 full-time jobs, complementing the establishment of the Nottingham college city hub next door, the opening of the central library, the bus station, the new car parks, and the completion of the Green Heart public realm. As I have said, this has taken too long, but it will be a wonderful development for our community. My hon. Friend mentioned the importance of local leadership, and I commend the leadership of Councillors Neghat Khan and Ethan Radford in driving this development forward.

My hon. Friend also mentioned the important work of the East Midlands combined county authority, and I entirely agree with him about that. As a new Government, we have made a commitment: we fundamentally believe in a new settlement in this country, and at the heart of that is the transfer of money and power from this place, and from Whitehall, to town halls. At the forefront will be our devolved Administrations and combined authorities. The anchor investment fund of £9.5 million will support key projects to break down barriers to opportunity and significantly boost economic growth in our region. The funding will be allocated to projects that invest in homes, jobs, manufacturing, clean energy and greener spaces in order to create thriving local places.

A number of specific projects are set to benefit, including the south Derbyshire growth zone. We have provided a £1.5 million investment for a new junction on the A50 trunk road, which will unlock plans to build 4,500 homes and nearly 3.5 million square feet of commercial floor space. The Trent clean energy supercluster in Bassetlaw will receive £3 million to advance the transformation of three former coal-fired power stations along the Trent into a world-leading clean energy and innovation centre—again, leaning into our past and helping us build our future. Derby will receive £3.75 million to transform priority areas in the city, creating a vibrant, sustainable and accessible urban quarter.

[Catherine Atkinson]

Derby city council is working with partners and beginning to deliver transformative regeneration. Vaillant Live, a new 3,500-capacity performance venue, has just opened. A refurbished market hall is about to open, a new university business school is nearly finished, and the Government are delivering £20 million to our two theatres. Does the Minister agree that regenerating our city centres is key to unlocking economic growth across the region, and can he outline how this Government are supporting council leaders to generate growth in their local areas?

[Alex Norris]

My hon. Friend adds a very thoughtful and well-judged counterweight to my love letter to Nottingham city centre on behalf of Derby city centre. Perhaps she knew it was just too far beyond me to overcome our traditional rivalry, but she did so better than I could have done. Derby has some very exciting days ahead because of the investments, and because of the creativity of local leaders and the local community in enhancing that space. On the final part of her question, it is important that we get them the tools and resources to do so. I will talk a little about local government finance in a second, but we want to make sure that councils have the power—whether through high street rental auctions or similar—to shape their community.