Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

Jeremy Browne Excerpts

Wednesday 18th March 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jeremy Browne (Taunton Deane) (LD)]

I have heard it said that I was the only Minister in history to have been sacked for being too supportive of the Government. Although the decision to determine my future may or may not have been wise—others can judge that—I remain unequivocally enthusiastic about this Government, as I am about the Budget statement made by the Chancellor today. That is what I want to speak about in what will be my final speech as a Member of Parliament.

The reason I am an enthusiast for this Government and their record over the past five years is that we came into office in 2010 in remarkably difficult circumstances. Our country was in a catastrophic position. At our worst point this Government were borrowing £420 million every day. It is straightforwardly delusional of Labour Members of Parliament to think that if only we had borrowed even more, we would not have the problem of a deficit today. We saved the country—the Conservative party and the Liberal Democrat party, working together in the national interest, pulled our country back from the brink when our deficit was more than 10% of GDP. Far from going too far and too fast, as has been charged by the shadow Chancellor and others, if I am critical at all, I think we have done the minimum of what was required, rather than over-extending ourselves, and we can do even more in the future. But it is a good record.

Interest rates are extremely low. We could easily have had a position where houses were being repossessed right across the country. Inflation is extremely low. Unemployment, including youth unemployment, has fallen dramatically during this Parliament, and the deficit is falling as well. In my view, if this coalition Government put themselves forward for election—they will not, but if they were on the ballot paper on 7 May—they would win emphatically and they would deserve to win because they have an impressive record of taking a country from ruin to relative prosperity, with the prospect of further progress.

The best coalitions are those that are more than the sum of their parts. The worst coalitions are those that operate at the level of the lowest common denominator. This Government have not always functioned as effectively as they might have done, and that is true of all Governments, but more often than not the Government have had the characteristics of the best coalitions rather than those of the worst, and the United Kingdom has benefited from that.

It has also been of benefit that we have had two parties in government. This has been a hugely difficult process, wrestling with the massive deficit and many of the other structural problems that our country faces. Two parties coming together, representing about 60% of the votes cast at the last general election, gave a wider mandate for this Chancellor and this Government. If I am honest about our coalition partners, there would have been greater anxiety about the Conservatives adopting a programme of reducing state spending, had it not been done in partnership with the Liberal Democrats. While I am briefly being mildly critical of our coalition partners, I remember sitting on the Opposition Benches—it seems hard to believe that the Liberal Democrats once sat on the Opposition Benches—and hearing speeches from the now Chancellor promising that the Conservatives would match Labour’s spending commitments, even when we were running a deficit and the economy was growing. So I am pleased that this Government have shown a sober awareness of the predicament that we find ourselves in, and that my party has contributed some of the biggest and most enduring economic policies of this Government, not least the dramatic rise in the point at which people start paying income tax. The Chancellor, I am pleased to say, announced further increases in that threshold today.

There is still a long way to go. Many people in Parliament, the media and elsewhere talk as if this huge task was almost over. Even today the British Government are still borrowing £10 million an hour. Our debt interest is about £1 billion a week. Every week £1 billion of the taxes of our constituents goes not on schools, hospitals or the police, but on paying the legacy of overspending in the past, and that figure will rise because we still have a debt that is increasing. However, huge progress has been made.

Where now? Where do we go next? We have huge strengths as a country. Our top level education is among the best in the world, second only to that of the United States of America. Our labour markets are flexible. We attract inward investment. We are a country with a genuine global disposition and we are admired for our innovation and creativity. Britain can be a success; we have reasons to be highly optimistic.

However, we will be successful only if we address some of our serious weaknesses as a country—and we do have serious weaknesses. Our overall education performance, not at the elite level but the general level, is still not sufficiently good for us to be globally competitive. Our infrastructure, particularly our transport infrastructure but also our energy-generating infrastructure, needs to improve. Our welfare costs and welfare dependency are a problem. Angela Merkel has said—I repeat this from memory without the exact numbers in front of me—that Europe has 7% of the world’s population and 23% of the world’s economy but 50% of the world’s welfare spending. That is a very precarious position. The 7% is falling and the 23% is falling, but the 50% is not falling—or at least, not nearly as quickly as the other two numbers. We still have a very high level of Government debt and a high deficit. This Government, whether on educational shortfalls, excessive welfare costs and dependency, infrastructure or debt, have worked systematically to address the weaknesses that will otherwise hold our country back. We have enduring strengths, but in the past five years we have also had a Government with the wherewithal, talent and vision to address our weaknesses as well.

I want us to have a sense of purpose in politics. I want us to think about how we can become the biggest economy in Europe within a generation, as the Chancellor mentioned in his Budget speech. I want us to be able to think about how we, as a country, with less than 1% of the world’s population, can be relevant in an era of much more intense global competition—how we can be world leaders in innovation, skills, and job creation. All these are possible—they are prizes within our grasp—but we must have the level of optimism and vision necessary to realise those outcomes.

It has been a great privilege for me to represent the constituency of Taunton Deane in Somerset—Taunton for five years, and then latterly Taunton Deane—and to serve 10 years in the House of Commons, and also to support a radical and important Government in the history of our country. I want to make my final comments about politics generally and the role of Members of Parliament.

I was listening to the “Today” programme last week when a person was being interviewed—he was French or perhaps a Swiss French speaker—who was seeking to be the first person ever to fly around the world in an entirely solar-panelled plane. It is an extraordinary plane, because it has a wingspan of a 747 but weighs about the same as a family car, so it sounds like an absolutely terrifying undertaking. The interviewer said that he did not doubt his courage and his sense of adventure but questioned what possible application this feat of adventure would have, given that Boeing, Airbus and the airliners were not interested in the technology and did not think it would have any great future use. The interviewee said, with, I imagine, a shrug—it was on the radio, but it sounded like he was shrugging his shoulders in the way that only French-speaking people can—“That is to be expected. The inventors of the candlestick did not invent the light bulb.” It was a rather Eric Cantona-esque moment. However, he was making an important point, which is that we cannot, in our politics, always be risk-averse and always in the business of preserving the past rather than trying to seize the opportunities of the future. If we allow politics, in all parts of this House, in all parties, to be about how we can frustrate, regulate and tax light bulb inventors, and subsidise and prop up candlestick manufacturers, we will find that world events—in a globalised economy with very rapid technological, demographic and economic change—leave the House of Commons behind and trust in politics subsides further. That would be hugely regrettable.

We have made enormous progress under this Government in this Parliament, but, whichever Government are in office after the general election, I urge the people in that Parliament and the leader of that Government to be visionary and ambitious for our country, because we can have a great future ahead.

[Several hon. Members]

rose—

Transport Infrastructure (Wellington, Somerset)

Jeremy Browne Excerpts

Tuesday 11th March 2014 Westminster Hall

[Mr Jeremy Browne (Taunton Deane) (LD)]

Thank you, Mr Gray, for presiding over our debate this morning. It is narrowly focused and not necessarily of interest to many Members of Parliament, but is certainly of interest to the residents of Wellington, Somerset, which is in my constituency, and people in the surrounding communities. To put the matter into context for hon. Members who are less familiar with Somerset, I should say that the principal town in my constituency is Taunton, which has a population of around 60,000. It is the largest town in Somerset and the county town, and there have been some substantial infrastructure development projects there during the last decade or so.

A bridge was built on Silk Mills road—the Silk Mills bridge, which opened in 2005 and replaced a level crossing. That was important in allowing the traffic to flow around the edge of that side of Taunton and was introduced at the same time as a park and ride. More recently, a few years ago, the so-called Third Way bridge opened in Taunton. That alleviated some congestion in one part of town and provided a more direct route across the river.

As we speak, the northern inner distributor road is being built in Taunton, with a substantial contribution from the Department for Transport—central Government are spending in the region of £15 million, supplementing money that has been made available locally as well—to alleviate congestion in the northern part of Taunton. However, perhaps more importantly, the road will allow for the development of an extensive brownfield site near Taunton train station and provide an obvious opportunity for new jobs, new housing and new retail sites in Taunton. All that is conditional on the road that is currently being built and due to be finished next year.

There are always people who would like even more projects to be initiated and funded, but we recognise in Taunton that although the traffic congestion is a serious problem, there has been transport infrastructure investment. It is fair to recognise, of course, that central Government have limited funds and that demand always outstrips the money available.

During this short debate, I want to turn to the second town in Taunton Deane constituency, or borough. About two thirds of people in Taunton Deane live in Taunton, but if the Minister or any other Members were to travel further down the south-west peninsula on the M5, going one more junction beyond junction 25—the principal Taunton junction—and turning off at junction 26, they would come to the second town in Taunton Deane, which is called Wellington. It is well known for the Wellington monument, which overlooks the M5, and it has a population of approximately 10,000, depending on how one calculates some of the outlying parts of the town. It is a substantial community in its own right and has a very strong and proud identity.

The purpose of securing this morning’s debate is to talk about the infrastructure requirements of Wellington. There is a danger, because the town is smaller and is only six or seven miles away from Taunton, that Wellington’s transport infrastructure needs will otherwise be overlooked. I want to discuss two aspects of the transport infrastructure that I hope could be improved, if we think in terms of a five-year or 10-year project. We have a vision for improving the quality of life of Wellington residents by upgrading their transport infrastructure. The two elements are, in my view, the two core components of a transport infrastructure vision for Wellington.

The first one is the problem of traffic congestion in the town. I recognise that every Member of Parliament could stand up and identify a town in their constituency where traffic congestion was a problem, but it is becoming more of a problem in Wellington, in part because extra house building is going on in the town. The Cades Farm development has brought forward several hundred houses, which are now occupied, and the Longforth Farm development will have the space for about 500 houses when it is completed. It is only in its first phase at the moment. Obviously, that is adding a substantial percentage population increase to the town of Wellington.

If you were to come a mile or two into Wellington from junction 26 on the M5, Mr Gray—it is a very underused junction, so there is a lot of opportunity for development and it is attractive to people who can access the motorway quickly at that junction—and you were trying to get across to either the northern part of the town, coming in from approximately the east, or to places north of Wellington from the motorway, such as Milverton or Wiveliscombe, you would be hugely frustrated. You would have to go pretty much into the centre of the town, into the high street, and then turn right into a road called Longforth road.

That junction and the junction right in the centre of the town become hopelessly congested at peak times. You would almost certainly be stuck, Mr Gray, possibly for one or two phases of the traffic lights, and it would be even worse coming back, if you were coming back from Longforth road and looking to turn left and exit Wellington at that same junction. At peak times, the congestion is becoming intolerable and with the extra house building, the situation will become much worse.

What Wellington residents and I had hoped is that the Longforth Farm development would allow for a northern relief road for Wellington. At the moment, the traffic can flow round the southern part of the town without coming into it, but to get to the northern part of the town or north of it, traffic has to come into the town and out again, so Wellington needs a northern relief road. The Longforth Farm development, which is just getting under way, and will have, as I say, about 500 houses when it is complete, was widely thought to provide the opportunity for a northern relief road as part of the project. That seemed a very sensible trade-off, which would allow people to get around Wellington. I think that Wellington residents, even those who are perhaps uncomfortable with the scale of that development, would have seen that there was a quid pro quo and that there would be benefits for them in having the northern relief road.

Instead, I regret to say, the development of up to 500 houses has a road accessing the development, but it is a dead end—it is a road to nowhere. It means that if the people living in those 500 houses, when they are built, want to go to the northern part of Wellington, only 100 or 200 yards from their homes, they will have to drive out of their extended cul-de-sac into the middle of Wellington, exactly to the junction or junctions that, as I described, are already hopelessly congested at peak times. They will then have to drive back out to the north again. There is no northern relief road, just more scope for congestion.

The only beneficial caveat relates to Relyon, which is a major employer in Wellington that makes mattresses. Next time you are going along the motorway, Mr Gray, you may see a lorry with Relyon written on the side. When you are thinking of buying a mattress yourself, you may consider buying a Relyon mattress, and you would be very well advised to do so. It makes very high-quality mattresses and is one of the two big employers in Wellington, along with a company called Swallowfield, which makes aerosols and other cosmetics. We want to keep both those in Wellington. The one advantage of this new cul-de-sac is that it allows Relyon lorries to get out of Wellington without coming into the town centre, because it goes up to their factory. However, it does not allow any residents—any normal traffic—to bypass the town centre.

The first task of all is a northern relief road in Wellington, which we would very much benefit from. There are, essentially, two options—a modest option and an ambitious option. The modest option would be a road that goes into the new Longforth Farm development, but would then exit at Brendon road. It would not, in other words, try and cross the railway line, because as soon as a bridge is put over the railway line, it becomes more expensive and more complicated. It would not bypass as much of the town, but it would bypass the junction of the high street and Longforth road that I discussed a moment ago, which causes difficulties by Waitrose.

The more ambitious option would be a northern relief road that made a slightly broader sweep—there are different options as to where it could go on the map—crossed the main railway and came in at the end of either Wardleworth way, on the other side of the railway line, or possibly further along Station road, towards Milverton.

Either of those options would be an improvement on the current situation. The latter would be a sizeable improvement on the current situation and would set up Wellington for the next generation, because there would then be a southern relief road and a northern relief road. The northern relief road would not go all the way round to the north, but it would take out a substantial proportion of the traffic, and I think that it would allow Wellington’s extra development to be absorbed. It would be a long-term solution, not a sticking-plaster solution. It would stand Wellington in good stead for a considerable time.

The second big infrastructure project in the vision for Wellington’s infrastructure is a train station, and this links to the first point that I was just making about the northern relief road. Wellington is on the main line from Paddington to Penzance—or the line that normally runs from Paddington to Penzance; it is not running there at the moment. It is the main line that comes through Reading and then through Wiltshire, Somerset, Exeter and Plymouth and goes through to Penzance. Wellington did have a station; historically, it was a town with a station, but it has not had a station for many decades. There has been a debate for an extended period—longer than I have been the MP, which is almost nine years—about the feasibility and desirability of Wellington’s having its own train station.

I recognise that Wellington could not be expected to have a train service that was as frequent as Taunton’s, because Taunton is a much bigger town and virtually all the inter-city trains stop at Taunton, but there are other stops on the line between London and Penzance that are comparable to or smaller places than Wellington. I travel frequently on that line—almost every week—and shall give some examples. The fast service from Taunton to Paddington stops only at Reading, but some of the slower services stop at Castle Cary in Somerset or at Pewsey in Wiltshire, and in Cornwall the service stops at many places that are much smaller still.

It would be possible for there to be a stopping inter-city train—the slower service—stopping at towns such as Wellington. That would not require a diversion—Wellington is on the line; the line runs through the northern part of Wellington. It would require a new station, and the expectation would be that some of the trains in-between the inter-city trains, perhaps those running between Bristol and Exeter or Bristol and Plymouth, would stop in a number of places, including Wellington, and a few—not many, but one or two—of the inter-city trains would also stop at Wellington.

Such a new station would be hugely advantageous, because at the moment people who live by the train line in Wellington have to drive—even though they see the trains going past their front door—either to Tiverton Parkway or to Taunton. If they do not have a car, it is hugely inconvenient for them to get to either of those locations. They would probably need to get a bus into the centre of Wellington. Then they would need to get another bus, from the centre of Wellington to the centre of Taunton, which is 6 or 7 miles away. Then they would either have to walk from the centre of Taunton to the train station in Taunton, which is not at the same place in Taunton as the bus depot, annoyingly, or have to get a third bus, from the bus depot in Taunton to the train station in Taunton. If they allow enough time for those three bus journeys—enough time for contingencies—it is possible that getting the 6, 7 or 8 miles from their home in Wellington to the train station in Taunton would not take much less time than getting the train 150 miles from Taunton to London. That is how much extra time and inconvenience is built in.

To have a few inter-city services a day—I would not expect it to be a service every hour or so—stopping at Wellington, as they do at Castle Cary or Pewsey, would be of transformational benefit to people in Wellington and surrounding areas such as Milverton and Wiveliscombe, which I have mentioned. What would potentially work so well and make this a coherent vision would be building that station as part of the same project that came with a bridge, which made the superior version of the northern relief road possible. In other words, when I was talking about the traffic congestion and northern relief road and about the station, I was talking about not two unrelated projects, but potentially related elements of a project that would transform Wellington.

The project would provide opportunities for some more development in the town. That development would obviously need to be proportional to the size of the town, but the project would allow some reasonable development to take place. It would be hugely beneficial to the residents of the town by alleviating congestion in the centre of town. It would be beneficial to the major employers in the town, who would be able to access the motorway better. It would be beneficial to people from nearby communities, who would be able to get through Wellington and out the other side; at the moment, they get stuck in Wellington when they do not even want to be in the town. It would also be beneficial to the people who were able to use the services from that train station.

I conclude by saying that I appreciate that money is a finite resource and we live in straitened times. I am very grateful to the Minister for being willing to respond to what I appreciate is a very limited debate about a very specific project, or two potentially related projects. I hope that the message that I am leaving him is that if we can put in place a vision for this Wellington development that includes those two projects and that is supported by the borough council, the county council, Wellington town council and me as the Member of Parliament, the Department of Transport could look at putting those projects in some sort of future funding plan.

We could look at moving from just talking about the projects in a broad, generic, hypothetical sense to hoping that in one, two, three, five or 10 years we will have a plan that we can put in place, with some funding—not all the funding, but perhaps some—from a central Government pot. That could be used to turn the current situation in Wellington, which is pretty intolerable and in need of improvement, into the vision for the town that would serve its residents so well.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Stephen Hammond)]

It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr Gray. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton Deane (Mr Browne) on securing the debate, but it would be wrong of me not to start by saying how saddened I was to hear the news that Bob Crow died in the early hours of this morning. My thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues. Like many, I will obviously remember him as a passionate advocate of safety on the railways and the well-being of people who work on the railways. Although it is probably clear to everyone that we may have had different opinions on how to run the railways, he was a man who led his organisation from the front and made an important contribution to the debate about how railway services are run in this country. My thoughts and, I am sure, the thoughts of everyone in the Chamber are with his family, friends and colleagues.

I commend my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton Deane for his eloquent and passionate speech. I listened to his opening remarks about the improvements in Taunton and clearly I welcome his support for the improvements that have been undertaken there. Of course, I also commend his realism in recognising that money is tight. That is a helpful prefacing remark.

The economic benefits of good transport are well understood and, in challenging times, transport investment is even more important. As my hon. Friend has pointed out, transport helps to support local communities by enabling businesses to move people and goods more quickly, easily and reliably, which helps them to grow and be competitive; by enabling people to get to work and creating more job opportunities; by supporting local projects and products such as Relyon mattresses, for which we heard an admirable advertisement; and by attracting inward investment to towns and cities to make them great places in which to live and do business.

It is useful to remind ourselves—this was implicit in my hon. Friend’s remarks—that the Government inherited not only a fiscal deficit but an infrastructure deficit. In the years leading up to 2010, there was a huge increase in demand on our transport network, but investment failed to keep up with that demand. As a result, nearly half of the respondents to a CBI survey at the time rated the UK’s transport network as well below average. It is to the Government’s credit that, at a time when we are trying to put the public finances in a sound place, we are investing record amounts in maintaining, upgrading and expanding the road and rail infrastructure in this country, investment that will, according to the International Monetary Fund, improve the long-run growth potential and boost demand.

Between 2011 and 2014, we invested £32 billion in roads, rail and local infrastructure, and between 2015 and 2021 we are committed to funding of £56 billion. We ensure that that money goes throughout the country. In the current two fiscal years, the Somerset block funding for road maintenance and highways maintenance will consist of more than £40 million. It is clear that the Government are committed to investing in reliable networks and providing the capacity that towns and cities across the country need.

The severe winter weather that we have suffered has made some parts of the network extremely vulnerable. As my hon. Friend knows, Somerset has had particular difficulties, so it is right that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced last week the publication of an action plan, which contains several transport recommendations. In addition to £10.5 million of funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Department for Transport is making £10 million of support available immediately to Somerset to enable it to start work on several short-term actions to help secure a sustainable future. As a result, I hope that Somerset will be able to begin to clear the roads of silt and debris, to deep clean the drainage system—that will help the road system—and to repair bridges and other structures. In addition, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport has commissioned a review of the resilience of our transport networks. The challenge of the coming months is to get the network back to business as usual, to learn the lessons and to give the right support to the transport infrastructure in counties such as Somerset.

The Government clearly have a role to play in supporting communities through such extreme events and, as my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton Deane identified, in supporting communities with their priorities for transport. However, the days when Westminster decided and dictated to local communities what those priorities should be are over. Local priorities should be identified, and local decisions made, by local communities, local highways authorities and local enterprise partnerships. That is why the Government have committed £2 billion a year over the six years from 2015-16 to the local growth fund, which will be available to LEPs. Those growth deals can provide the resources required to facilitate local communities’ priorities, and such deals may well be appropriate for some of the targeted growth priorities that my hon. Friend described. The funding is not ring-fenced, but it will be available to support long-term planning infrastructure, including the transport priorities.

Many hon. Members will be aware that the growth deals are a competitive process, and moneys will be made available to the places that demonstrate the clearest-cut and most convincing arguments for delivering growth. It is important for local communities to engage with their local economic partnerships, and for local authorities and LEPs to work together to shape local priorities. I know that my hon. Friend has been involved in discussions with his LEP, Heart of the South West. I stress how important it is for the ambitions that he has described that the LEP is intimately involved in the discussions and that it recognises and supports his priorities.

I turn to the two interrelated schemes that my hon. Friend has described. He spoke about the congestion in Wellington and the need for a northern relief road to bypass the town centre by connecting roads to the east and the north, which has long been sought. The development that he mentioned will provide much of the road. It will provide access to some of the new residential development and to the factory, and it should reduce HGV traffic in the town centre. As he pointed out in an article last November, however, it will not be a

“proper northern relief road…we have the road to nowhere.”

I understand his concerns about the continuing congestion, delay and air pollution that are caused by the fact that the road is unconnected. He set out two aspirations for a northern relief road: one modest and one—a broader sweep that would cross the railway line—more ambitious. Both those ambitions are excellent examples of the solutions that the local growth fund has been established to support. As far as I am aware, and he may wish to correct me, they have not yet featured in the draft of the LEP’s strategic economic plan. I urge him to engage with the LEP and ensure that it recognises that ambition as a strategic priority. That is a route through which the scheme might be pursued.

[Mr Browne]

If we were able to bring forward a joint vision for those two projects, would there be any national impediment to Wellington having a railway station? Would the Department for Transport object to that on the basis that it might have implications for other traffic on that line? That might not be an entirely local point, but it would be beneficial to local people if there was not a national impediment.

[Stephen Hammond]

I will come on to discuss the railway station in a moment, so I will tackle that point shortly. Local pinch point funds, of which there have been two tranches under this Government, have helped with schemes such as the rail route that my hon. Friend mentions. Such problems are likely to be a priority for a future Government, and if such a scheme is re-established in future I hope that he might look at it as a potential way forward.

My hon. Friend is right to say that people in Wellington see the train services going past, but the station was closed in 1964. Wellington is thought to be the largest town on the Penzance to London line that does not have an operational station. I am aware that Mid Devon district council and Devon county council have spoken about how they might work together to re-establish local rail links between Exeter and Taunton. I understand that Somerset council has a long-term aspiration to reopen the rail line, but it has yet to identify a suitable service or adequate funding.

To come to my hon. Friend’s essential point, if Wellington station were to be re-established, the issue would be to ensure that a stopping service that called at Wellington did not interfere with the timings for some of the faster services, or with the ambition to provide accelerated services to some of the key markets such as Plymouth, Exeter and further into Cornwall. He is right to say that whatever happened, not all services would call at Wellington. The best way to achieve a semi-fast service that called at Wellington, fitted in with the timetable and allowed faster trains to pass would clearly be a discussion point. I do not see it as an impediment, but it would be a discussion point. I suggest that the next stage is to consider the proposal and to work up a business case, so that that work can be developed in partnership with the local transport body and the LEP. My officials will be happy to provide advice and guidance on how a viable case might be made.

As I have tried to convey in my short speech, I strongly believe that local priorities and local decisions should be made locally. My hon. Friend has made an eloquent case for his local priorities, and one of the main routes through which those priorities might be pursued is the local growth fund.

A303

Jeremy Browne Excerpts

Tuesday 4th March 2014 Westminster Hall

[John Glen]

I agree entirely with my hon. Friend. Later in my speech, I will describe the analysis that has been done on the impact on the south-west economy, the support of the CBI and others, and the reasons why it is imperative to get on with improving the road.

The difference now, compared with previous attempts to deal with the problem, is that Britain’s engineering expertise has developed and we now have an international reputation for excellence in large-scale infrastructure projects that involve tunnelling. I understand that as a result of the expertise accumulated through Crossrail, the Hindhead tunnel and the Thames Tideway tunnel, the cost of such a project today should, in real terms, be around half the cost that was quoted in 1996.

I recognise that the dualling of the A303 by Stonehenge has aroused significant debate over many years, but the current impasse requires clear ministerial engagement and decisions. I therefore urge the Minister to be the one who unlocks decades of inertia—to be the Minister who finally delivers a solution for the road, rather than being added to the 70 I mentioned earlier who sadly failed.

Ten years ago, the then Secretary of State for Transport, the right hon. Member for Edinburgh South West (Mr Darling), said:

“Let’s have no further re-examinations and re-examinations and reviews—let’s get on with it”.

[Mr Jeremy Browne (Taunton Deane) (LD)]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way, and for securing this debate. I completely agree with him on the need to be sensitive to Stonehenge and its surrounding environment. Nevertheless, does he share my observation that the road must be dualled at some future point, at least as far as Ilminster, because the volume of traffic will inevitably make it necessary? Indeed, it already has. The question is not really whether we dual it, but whether the Government have enough sense of urgency about the economic benefits for the south-west and the time that is being lost daily. Are we going to keep pushing the problem on to future generations of politicians and future Governments when we should be looking to resolve it ourselves?

[John Glen]

I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s intervention. He makes a passionate case on behalf of the Somerset people he represents, and everyone in the region, on the legitimate economic arguments for the whole country, and the south-west in particular. I fully back him up on what he said.

Will the Minister tell us how the feasibility study will be framed to deliver an unambiguous solution for the A303 in Wiltshire? I do not mean a solution on paper, and subject to further decisions near or after a general election; I mean a solution that will secure physical changes on the ground. As other Members have said, the A303 is vital to the south-west, but it is also a route used day in, day out, by local people in my constituency, and they are very concerned.

Winterbourne Stoke is a typical Wiltshire village, except that more than 30,000 vehicles thunder through it every day. In just five years, there have been two fatalities and nine serious injuries in a number of collisions. The case for the Winterbourne Stoke bypass was accepted in previous studies and public inquiries. I recently visited the proposed sites with local councillor Ian West, who said that there is no controversy over the best route or its inclusion in any upgrade to the A303. Will the Minister reassure my constituents in the village that this notorious accident blackspot will finally be addressed?

Other local areas have been similarly affected by the pollution, and particularly the noise, caused by the sheer volume of traffic. I am delighted that the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury, my right hon. Friend the Member for North West Hampshire (Sir George Young), is present. He has drawn my attention to the increased noise and pollution caused by the sheer volume of traffic around Andover. Will the Minister outline today how he intends to tackle that and replace the particularly noisy sections in that constituency? Will he agree, at the very least, to explore resurfacing the road so that those living next to it can have relative peace and quiet restored?

The village of Shrewton in my constituency has also paid a heavy price for the recent traffic changes associated with the construction of the new visitors’ centre at Stonehenge and the closure of the A344, which I mentioned earlier. The work of the Stonehenge Traffic Action Group—STAG—under the leadership of Janice Hassett and Dr Andrew Shuttleworth has motivated me to pursue those issues.

I turn to the wider economic benefits of improvements to the route. A study carried out in 2013 for Devon, Somerset and Wiltshire councils estimates that dualling the A303 would ultimately generate more than £41 billion for the economy, create 21,400 jobs and increase visitor expenditure by £8.6 billion every year. John Cridland, the director general of the Confederation of British Industry, has said that the A303 should be fast-tracked because it is

“pivotal in underpinning the government’s broader growth priorities: boosting our export capability and maximising the economic potential of all regions.”

Of 650 south-west businesses surveyed, 89% said that the reliability of the journey time was an issue for them, and 77% said that improving the route would increase investment in the area. More than two thirds of Wiltshire businesses alone said that dualling would increase their turnover, saving time, fuel and lives. The issue therefore is not simply one of a bit of traffic on the edge of Salisbury plain. The A303 is one of just two transport arteries to the south-west. The British Chambers of Commerce has shown that upgrading it offers the highest benefit-to-cost ratio of any UK transport project, including—dare I say it—a third runway at Heathrow.

Why would businesses invest in sites if accessing them involves travelling regularly on the A303? Staff would be plagued by delays and rarely be on time, while clients would never know whether staff would turn up. The benefits, therefore, are clear, as is the choice. We can continue with the clogged-up artery that is the existing A303, or we can provide the region with a much needed lifeline to catalyse economic growth in the south-west. It is somewhat sad that seven years ago my predecessor held a debate in this Chamber on this exact topic, but since that point nothing tangible has emerged from Governments of either side.

In recent days, I have spoken to English Heritage, the National Trust and Stonehenge Alliance, and I have received representations from the Council for British Archaeology, which will not accept anything that threatens the heritage interests of the area. Decades of consultations mean that we know the position of the Ministry of Defence and of the numerous stakeholders I have referred to, which have all contributed many times to the lengthy, expensive and repetitious public inquiries over the years. Let us be honest and say that tackling Stonehenge might well be the most difficult part of the A303 programme, but let us then get on with the job.

Let us have no more hand-wringing and procrastination, flying of kites that will not get off the ground or picking off of smaller, cheaper schemes elsewhere along the route—perhaps the Countess roundabout flyover, or an underpass at Longbarrow roundabout. They may be politically more palatable and fiscally less threatening to the Treasury, but they are not really what is required. We need an imaginative and holistic solution, and a realistic, fully costed explanation of how it will be paid for.

Have we explored every funding avenue available? Will the Minister agree to examine European funding avenues related to the economic interests of the far west of the region, which would undoubtedly benefit from the A303 being upgraded? Will he work with other Government Departments, including the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, to ensure that all funding associated with this UNESCO world heritage site is pursued aggressively and exhaustively? More importantly, will the Minister pledge categorically that Stonehenge will not be simply siphoned off into the “too difficult” category in the study, in order to deliver improvements elsewhere on the route?

The harsh reality is that if the Stonehenge solution is ignored and the rest of the A303 is dualled, my constituency will remain host to the bottleneck that prohibits swift and easy access to the wider south-west region.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jeremy Browne Excerpts

Thursday 18th October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Wayne David (Caerphilly) (Lab)]

5. What assessment she has made of the effects of Government policies on efforts to tackle violence against women.

[The Minister of State, Home Department (Mr Jeremy Browne)]

The Government’s approach to tackling violence is set out in our strategy to end violence against women and girls and the supporting action plan. We monitor the delivery of the strategy and the impact of wider Government policies through regular cross-Government delivery boards, stakeholder meetings and inter-ministerial groups.

[Wayne David]

The Minister will be aware that earlier this year Professor Walby prepared a report showing that no fewer than 230 women every single day were denied refuge accommodation through lack of space. Has his Department made an assessment of that report?

[Mr Browne]

The hon. Gentleman raises an extremely important issue, because refuges can play a key role in helping women who have been the victims of domestic violence, as I have seen in my constituency. That is the case across the country, as well, so I shall certainly consider any recommendations that we can incorporate further to improve our response to this terrible crime.

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

7. I am not keen on witch hunts or anything like that, but what has happened with Jimmy Savile has shocked everyone. What can the Minister say about the role of the Government in protecting young children and vulnerable people, and what lessons can be learned from the whole Jimmy Savile experience?

[Mr Browne]

I am sure that my hon. Friend speaks for the whole House about the shock and revulsion felt at the allegations made against Jimmy Savile. It increasingly appears that a culture of abuse took place in the past and in my cases—it is important to remember—continues to take place. We need to learn lessons from this specific case and be vigilant in understanding the threat that exists in our communities here and now.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

Today is anti-slavery day. Figures show an increase in reported cases of human trafficking, but we all feel that that is still the tip of a terrible iceberg that, of course, includes women and children being trafficked into prostitution. Given that tackling these terrible cross-border crimes relies on things such as co-operation with Europol, sharing data, criminal records and expertise, and the European arrest warrant, how on anti-slavery day do Ministers justify opting out of all those things?

[Mr Browne]

I strongly endorse the hon. Lady’s starting observation about what a terrible crime human trafficking is, and it is our intention as a Government to be vigilant in tackling it more effectively. That is why we are creating the National Crime Agency, which will come into effect this time next year, and the issue is already a priority for the Serious Organised Crime Agency. It is important that we co-operate with countries across Europe—and, for that matter, further afield—to ensure that we have the highest level of resilience at our borders, but also before people get to that point.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

6. What steps she is taking to increase the number of women in public company boardrooms; and if she will make a statement.