Louise Ellman
Main Page: Louise Ellman (Independent - Liverpool, Riverside)Department Debates - View all Louise Ellman's debates with the HM Treasury
(10 years, 10 months ago)
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Danny Alexander
I welcome that project, which is another example of projects being delivered by this Government during this Parliament. Of course, the plans I have set out today on roads, on energy and on rail will directly benefit every part of this country, including the west midlands. The hon. Lady is right that even at a time of austerity we are squeezing spending wherever we can to realise more resources for investment in the long-term infrastructure needs of this country. That is the right strategy and it is a shame the Opposition seem to oppose it.
Mrs Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab/Co-op)
I welcome investment in transport, but can the Chief Secretary tell us how much extra he has announced today in addition to ongoing programmes and projects that have already been announced? That includes the Mersey Gateway, which has already had its go-ahead.
Danny Alexander
Today I have announced the guarantee for the Mersey Gateway bridge, which is necessary to enable that project to go forward because of the private funding. That is a new announcement of a guarantee. We are setting out tens of billions of pounds of new investment in roads until 2020. I know that the hon. Lady in particular has argued in the past for longer-term certainty on funding for road projects to allow us to get better value for money for those investments. That is precisely what we will do.