Infrastructure (Financial Assistance) Bill

Priti Patel Excerpts

Monday 17th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel (Witham) (Con)]

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I congratulate the Government on showing their commitment to infrastructure investment in the UK by introducing the Bill.

For all the criticism from Opposition Members, it is worth reflecting on the fact that over 13 years—I say this as an Essex MP—there was next to no infrastructure investment in the county of Essex or even in East Anglia. I welcome the fact that the Government recognise that investment in infrastructure is vital in providing jobs, growth and long-term economic prosperity.

Despite our economy being one of the largest in the world and our having spent most of the last decade as one of the world’s five biggest economies by GDP, our infrastructure has been neglected. It is interesting to see where we stand in the international league tables. The World Bank’s logistics performance statistics place us 16th in the world, behind many other economies. Unless that tide is reversed, the consequences for our economy will be catastrophic. Poor infrastructure is not only a barrier to British-based businesses, but makes Britain less attractive for foreign direct investment, which leads to less economic growth.

Every £1 that is spent on construction generates an estimated £2.84 in total economic activity. It impacts across the supply chain through the multiplier effect. I therefore welcome everything that the Government are doing. Of course, any money that comes into the Treasury helps to bring down the deficit, finance the debt built up by the Labour party and pay for public services.

I am pleased that the Government have recognised the importance of infrastructure. That contrasts with what we witnessed over the previous 13 years. I believe that it was one of the most cataclysmic failures of the last Labour Government that they did not adequately invest in infrastructure when the economy was growing. As a result, we have been left with road, rail, airport, energy, port, water and digital infrastructure that is not fit for our country.

[Hazel Blears]

Does the hon. Lady recognise that during the period of the last Labour Government, 101 new hospitals were built, and that under the previous Conservative Government, not a single new hospital was completed in this country?

[Priti Patel]

Speaking for Essex, I do not recognise that. The county of Essex has had no infrastructure spending whatsoever. Despite Essex being the county of entrepreneurs, where thousands of new businesses are started each year, and despite it being a net contributor to the Treasury, Labour neglected it. Local and regional infrastructure in Essex failed to keep pace with national and local economic growth. That is no doubt one of the reasons why the electorate booted Labour MPs out of Essex, full stop, at the last general election. It is now a Labour-free zone.

[Chris Leslie (Nottingham East) (Lab/Co-op)]

Is not the Maltings academy in the hon. Lady’s constituency, which opened about a year ago, a significant piece of capital infrastructure? Surely she welcomes the investment in those new school buildings.

[Priti Patel]

I welcome that investment in infrastructure improvements, but it was something that I had to campaign and fight for as a prospective parliamentary candidate—not even a Member of Parliament. That says something about the priorities of the last Labour Government. My constituents look with confidence to this Government to take positive action to rebuild our roads and railways, to meet the ever-increasing demands of the growing population in the county of entrepreneurs.

I urge Ministers to consider some particular projects in Essex. The first area is rail, which was highlighted by my hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal (Dr Coffey). Commuters on the Greater Anglia franchise return £110 million a year to the Treasury on a profitable franchise, but face some of the longest delays and worst facilities in the country. For a modest fraction of the money that the Government receive from the franchise, the rail service could be upgraded from being one of the worst performing in the country to one of the best. We are lobbying the Government, in particular the Department for Transport and the Treasury, to hear our case on this. Local commuters, not only in Essex but along the route of the franchise, would welcome Government investment in the line.

[Mr Brooks Newmark (Braintree) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that an important piece of infrastructure to build would be a loop between Braintree and Witham? That is something for which I have campaigned for 10 years. That important link would help all those who commute from Braintree to London.

[Priti Patel]

My hon. Friend makes a valid point for our constituents. Branch lines are a vital part of our rail network for commuters. Let us not forget that Essex is growing. We now have more homes and commuters, so we desperately need that investment.

I also press Ministers to use the opportunity presented by the Bill to invest in the road network. Anyone who is familiar with Essex will know that the A12 and the A120 are vital economic links for the county. They are at the heart of Essex, connect London to Great Yarmouth and Hertfordshire to the port of Harwich, and pass Stansted airport. Their importance to the region cannot be understated. The A120 is the country’s 10th most dangerous road. It is regarded as such a vital economic link that it has been designated as part of the trans-European road network, yet it has not received the investment that it needs to deal with capacity, in particular for freight. Upgrading those roads would send out a powerful signal that Essex is at the heart of the economic engine room of our country and will continue to be so. It would support traffic going to our ports and airports, leading to more jobs, growth and prosperity in the county, from which the Treasury would benefit.

The Bill is about financing options. The debate has touched on the financing issues of the past, in particular with respect to the private finance initiative. I would welcome an insight into the Treasury’s thinking on the progress that has been made on alternative investment vehicles, including infrastructure bonds, direct foreign investment, pension funds and sovereign wealth funds. How can we strengthen our links with pension funds and sovereign wealth funds overseas to support infrastructure investment in this country?

I want to highlight the London gateway, in south Essex, as a good example of foreign direct investment. If the Minister has the opportunity, I would urge him to visit this amazing project, which is run by DP World, as it provides a clear insight into what can be done when foreign investors commit to building major infrastructure projects in Britain. Dubai Ports has invested in building one of the world’s leading deep-sea container ports. The level of job creation will be immense. The project is situated at the gateway to London, and although it came with some bureaucratic hurdles—that goes without saying with big projects—there are lots of insights that we can learn and benefit from when it comes to ambitious infrastructure investments.

This Bill has the power to transform our nation’s infrastructure beyond anything we have seen for a long time, whether it is through road, rail, planning or energy projects. I urge the Government and my hon. Friend the Minister to rule nothing out and to be ambitious in their thinking. Naturally, I urge Ministers to send a powerful message to my constituents and the county of Essex by effectively applying their commitment to infrastructure renewal and helping to get our county moving. It goes without saying that I support the Bill’s Second Reading.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sajid Javid]

It will consider every project that comes its way, but that does not mean it will agree to support every one. However, it is willing to look at every project and to come back with an answer on each.

[Priti Patel]

Can my hon. Friend confirm for the Opposition that the Infrastructure UK team has contributed a great deal more than the euro preparation team that Labour created?

[Sajid Javid]

As always, my hon. Friend is absolutely right. [Interruption.] I must plough on.

On a number of occasions the Opposition suggested that this Government were spending less on infrastructure than they would have if, by some miracle, they had won the last election. Let us look at the facts. After the last election, the right hon. Member for South Shields (David Miliband) said in his leadership hustings bid that they were going to halve the share of national income going into capital spending. Plans presented by Labour to this House at their last Budget, in March 2010, showed net investment falling from £50 billion in 2009 to a projected £23 billion by 2014-15, a figure lower than the one this Government have planned.

We heard from the Opposition about Britain’s growing debt. However, they forget, conveniently, that when this Government came to power, our budget deficit was 11% of GDP, higher than any other nation in the G7. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, if the plans of the right hon. Member for Edinburgh South West (Mr Darling) had been implemented, this country’s debt would be £200 billion higher than under the plans of this Government. They just do not get it—more spending, more borrowing, more debt.

Members on both sides of the House have recognised the scale of capital required to realise some major infrastructure investments.