Oral Answers to Questions

Rehman Chishti Excerpts

Tuesday 25th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

Let me address our record. We have spent £18 billion since 2010 on the school estate and we are committed to a further £23 billion so that pupils can be taught in facilities that are fit for the 21st century. We of course want to ensure that that is funded in the most appropriate, value for money and sustainable way.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

6. What steps he is taking to support regional infrastructure development.

[Sir David Amess (Southend West) (Con)]

7. What steps he is taking to support regional infrastructure development.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr Philip Hammond)]

World-class infrastructure is central to raising our country’s productivity. About 3,000 infrastructure projects have been delivered across the UK since 2010, with another 600 projects worth over £480 billion in the pipeline. We are investing over £13 billion in transport across the north, with £5 billion in the midlands. Nationwide, we are making the largest investment in roads across the UK in a generation, and rail is experiencing a level of investment not seen since Victorian times.

[Rehman Chishti]

I thank the Chancellor for that answer. Will he ensure that the Lower Thames Crossing option C, preferred by the Highways Agency, is quickly taken forward? That will enhance the investment in Medway and the whole of the Thames Gateway area, facilitating house building, encouraging business growth and supporting existing infrastructure in the Kent area.