Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Crabb Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Glyn Davies (Montgomeryshire) (Con)]

2. What discussions he is having with the Welsh Government on waiting times for cross-border health treatment in Montgomeryshire and Shropshire.

[The Secretary of State for Wales (Stephen Crabb)]

The performance of the Welsh health service is the most pressing issue for the people of Wales at this time. My ministerial colleagues and I regularly raise concerns with the Welsh Government, including on the issue of cross-border services. It is essential that all patients, wherever they live, can access the very best health care that meets their needs.

[Glyn Davies]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the Welsh Government should follow the UK Government’s example of commitment to the NHS by using the £70 million boost to its budget, which came about as a consequence of increased spending on health in England, on the Welsh NHS?

[Stephen Crabb]

Decisions on how the Welsh Government use Barnett consequentials are a matter for them, but it is true that a great many people in Wales would be baffled, bemused and hugely disappointed if Welsh Ministers chose not to use every single penny of the £70 million that we have made available to them by protecting and increasing NHS budgets here at Westminster.

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

3. What assessment he has made of the level of infrastructure investment in Wales since 2010.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Secretary of State for Wales (Stephen Crabb)]

For too long, Wales has suffered from under-investment in infrastructure, so I am proud to be part of a Government who are putting that right. By working closely with the Welsh Government and providing additional economic resources, we have been able to set out a long-term vision for how first-class infrastructure will make Wales a more attractive place in which to invest, benefiting the people of Wales for generations to come.

[Andrew Jones]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his answer and commend him on his work in securing the valley lines electrification. Does he agree that this project will have a transformative effect on those communities that were often left behind by previous Labour Governments?

[Stephen Crabb]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question and his kind remarks. He is absolutely right. It was precisely because we did not want to leave those valley communities behind that we worked so hard with the Welsh Government to secure the full electrification package, electrifying the great western line all the way through to Swansea, plus electrifying those valley lines, which, as he says, will have a transformative economic and social impact for many years to come.

[Jonathan Edwards]

The Welsh Government have published figures on proposed roads expenditure showing that spending per head of population in south-west Wales will be £89, whereas the figure will be £815 for south-east Wales. Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Swansea will not have a single penny spent on roads, which means that there will be no money for relief roads for Llandeilo, Ammanford and Pencader in my constituency, and nothing for upgrades to the link between Newcastle Emlyn and Carmarthen. Does the stitch up between the UK Government and the Welsh Government to spend all Wales’s new borrowing capacity on a new M4 relief road not mean that there will be no transport infrastructure for the rest of Wales?

[Stephen Crabb]

With respect to the hon. Gentleman, he has got this wrong. A Plaid Cymru former Transport Minister in the Assembly championed the upgrade of the M4, but could not achieve it, because the money was not available. We are providing the resources for that upgrade. That does not mean that no other project can happen throughout Wales, however, and I agree with the hon. Gentleman that we want more infrastructure investment in west Wales; we share that objective.

[Neil Carmichael]

Does the Secretary of State agree that the Government’s investment in redoubling the Stroud to Swindon railway line, plus the promised investment in the A417 roundabout, add up to much improved links between the midlands and north Wales, which will be excellent for trade, manufacturing and tourism?

[Stephen Crabb]

My hon. Friend makes his point extremely well. There is a broader point: infrastructure investment not necessarily inside Wales, but in border areas, benefits people and businesses across Wales. We should not be insular when considering infrastructure investment throughout the UK because it often delivers real benefits to all parts of Wales.

[Mrs Siân C. James (Swansea East) (Lab)]

Tidal Lagoon Power in my constituency is mentioned in the national infrastructure plan. Will the Secretary of State join me in congratulating that important company on how it has worked with determination and grit to get the project through?

[Stephen Crabb]

I echo the sentiments of the hon. Lady, who is a strong supporter of this important project. The quality of that company’s management, vision and business plan was precisely why I wanted the project to be included in the national infrastructure plan. It is also why I have been working hard with colleagues in the Treasury and the Department of Energy and Climate Change to get this potentially strategic project included in our long-term infrastructure plans.

[Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd) (Lab)]

In 2009 I managed to convince my right hon. Friend the Member for Neath (Mr Hain) to allow Denbighshire and Conwy into the objective 1 bid. Since then, those two counties have received about £500 million of EU funding. Will the Secretary of State congratulate the EU on that funding and recognise the danger to Wales of our pulling out of the EU?

[Stephen Crabb]

The biggest danger to Wales, including north Wales, would be to abandon our clear long-term economic plan, which I know Labour Members are calling for. When I spent two days in north Wales on a business tour last week, I visited many Labour Members’ constituencies and saw just how dynamic the private sector is. Businesses in that sector are leading the economic recovery, so they are the ones that we should be saluting.

[David T. C. Davies (Monmouth) (Con)]

I commend my right hon. Friend on his commitment to the M4 relief road. The Severn bridge will link on to that relief road, so will he consider the importance of having a plan for when it returns to public ownership in approximately 2018?

[Stephen Crabb]

My hon. Friend talks about an important issue that has been raised by Members on both sides of the House in recent months. I commend his work personally and that of his Select Committee on examining the impact of Severn bridge tolls on businesses and consumers in Wales. I share his concerns about the levels of the tolls. I want a long-term plan in place, so I look forward to discussing his ideas with him in more detail.

[Nia Griffith (Llanelli) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State says that his Government are investing in the electrification of the railways and building a prison, and now he talks about the tidal lagoon, but is not the reality that they have not yet spent a single penny on any of those projects? They have not laid a brick or a yard of electric rail. In fact, the situation is worse, because his Government have cut the Welsh capital budget by a quarter, and no amount of jam tomorrow can sweeten that unpalatable truth.

[Stephen Crabb]

I am genuinely bemused by the hon. Lady’s question. Let us just remind ourselves that under the Labour Government no work was done to improve the M4, and not a single mile of railway line was electrified in Wales. We are cracking on with a long-term plan for infrastructure investment, and I am very proud to be part of a Government who are doing that.

[Mr Mark Williams (Ceredigion) (LD)]

I very much welcome what the Secretary of State said about electrification in south Wales, but will he turn his sights to the position in west Wales? Is he prepared to meet a delegation from the Traws Link Cymru group, which is campaigning to reopen the Aberystwyth to Carmarthen line? That would benefit our economy immeasurably and open up our part of the world generally. Is he prepared to push that agenda forward?

[Stephen Crabb]

My hon. Friend is a strong voice for improving all transport connections in west and mid-Wales. We are seeing the largest investment in our railway infrastructure since Victorian times, and I want Wales to get the maximum benefit from that. I would very much welcome a meeting with the group that he has mentioned so that we can discuss further how we can make sure that west and mid-Wales benefit from rail infrastructure investment as much as anywhere else.

[Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)]

6. What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on cross-border rail services.

--- Later in debate ---

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

8. What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on when the electrification of the valleys railway line will be completed.

[The Secretary of State for Wales (Stephen Crabb)]

When I became Secretary of State, I made resolving the dispute over funding for the electrification project my No. 1 priority. I have had many discussions with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport in recent weeks, and I am delighted that we have settled a deal between the Department for Transport and the Welsh Government to deliver that important project.

[Nick Smith]

Has the Secretary of State considered improving the frequency of trains after electrification? Two or three trains an hour on the valleys line to Cardiff would be a massive boost to my constituents in Ebbw Vale, Llanhillith and the surrounding valley towns.

[Stephen Crabb]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. There are frequency issues on those lines, but he must recognise that decisions on the frequency of services will need to be taken by Welsh Ministers, because we are devolving the franchise to the Welsh Government as part of the electrification deal.

[Ian Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab)]

Part of the valleys line package is a contribution by the UK Government to the capital costs involved. In principle, are the UK Government prepared to support capital investment in railways in north Wales?

[Stephen Crabb]

I spent two days in north Wales meeting business leaders and local authorities to talk about how we can drive up the quality of infrastructure in north Wales, and I can tell the hon. Gentleman that we have a long-term plan that will deliver the improvements for infrastructure in south Wales and north Wales too. [Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Let us have a bit of quiet in the Chamber so that Mr Howell can raise the subject of the Newport investment summit.

[John Howell (Henley) (Con)]

9. What discussions he had with business leaders at the recent Newport investment summit.

[The Secretary of State for Wales (Stephen Crabb)]

The UK investment summit in Newport was another important opportunity to focus on all that is good about the Welsh economy at this time. I was proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, the First Minister of Wales and businesses in Wales to bang the drum for all that is great about our nation. During the summit I met numerous companies that are looking to invest or to expand their investment in Wales.

[John Howell]

Did my right hon. Friend discuss with business leaders the fact that there were 79 foreign direct investment projects in Wales in 2013-14, the highest level in 24 years?

[Stephen Crabb]

My hon. Friend is exactly right; there has been a sharp increase in inward investment in Wales. The important point to note about those projects is that they were all secured with the help of UK Trade & Investment and the UK Government.

[Paul Flynn (Newport West) (Lab)]

13. Does the brilliant success of that second summit, following the NATO summit, not illustrate what a marvellous habitat Newport provides for international conferences —almost certainly the best in the United Kingdom?

[Stephen Crabb]

I am delighted to see the hon. Gentleman stand up and champion business investment in south Wales. He is exactly right that Newport, and the Celtic Manor in particular, provide a superb venue for not only international leaders’ summits, but inward investment conferences. It will be a key player as we look to regenerate and improve the economy of south Wales.

[Roger Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire) (LD)]

15. Business leaders have welcomed the introduction of the employment allowance, which reduces employers’ national insurance bills by up to £2,000 per annum. It has been taken up by 1,200 businesses and charities in Brecon and Radnorshire, but it is estimated that nearly 1,000 of all employers have not applied. What can the Government do to encourage further uptake of that important concession?

[Stephen Crabb]

My hon. Friend is right. The employment allowance has been a huge success for small businesses up and down Wales. There is a responsibility not just on Government but on all of us as Members of Parliament to champion that project and to tell businesses in our own constituencies how they can benefit from the allowance.

[Guy Opperman (Hexham) (Con)]

14. It is clear that the successful investment summit in Newport brought in overseas investors and created jobs as part of the long-term economic plan. Does the Secretary of State agree that we should have a northern powerhouse investment summit—and if they like, the north Welsh can come too?

[Stephen Crabb]

I agree wholeheartedly with my hon. Friend. The northern powerhouse represents an exciting vision for economic and civic renewal in the north of England, and it poses huge opportunities and potential for north Wales too.

[Hywel Williams (Arfon) (PC)]

11. What recent discussions he has had on delivery of the online universal credit application process in the Welsh language.