---

Government Capital Expenditure

I beg to move an amendment, to leave out from ““House”” to end and add:"““notes the substantial investment over the last decade in frontline public services in every region of the country; notes that the Government paid down debt over the last 10 years, reducing it from 42.5 per cent. to 36 per cent. of GDP over the last economic cycle, before the global credit crunch hit Britain; further notes that public sector net investment was only 0.6 per cent. of GDP in 1997-98 but was 2.1 per cent. of GDP by 2007-08, supporting sustained increases in investment in schools, hospitals and other key public services; welcomes the action the Government has taken in response to the international financial crisis both to support financial stability and to provide help for people and businesses at the time when they need it most; notes that to support the economy in the short term the Government's fiscal stimulus includes public sector net investment rising to 2.7 per cent. of GDP by 2009-10 and a value added tax cut putting over £12 billion into the economy throughout 2009; further notes the Pre-Budget Report 2008 measures to bring forward £3 billion of capital investment from 2010-11 to 2008-09 and 2009-10 which will support a number of different industries and jobs and directly improve key public services including schools, transport projects and social housing; welcomes the Government's commitment to ""ensuring that the overall level of capital spending is sustainable and protects investment in public services; and believes that action now to support the economy will enable Britain to take advantage of Opportunities arising as global growth resumes.””" I shall disagree with a number of points that the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) has just made, but I welcome his thoughtful and interesting contribution to the debate. When the Government came to office in 1997, we put in place a fiscal framework to bring some much-needed discipline to the public finances. The robust new framework that we introduced was extremely effective. Public debt fell from 42.5 per cent. in 1996-97 to 36 per cent. in 2006-07, as the hon. Gentleman acknowledged. That meant, for example, that when we received more than £20 billion from auctioning licences for third-generation mobile phone services in 2000, we used the proceeds to pay down debt. The Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said when I was on ““Newsnight”” with him last Wednesday:"““We look at Britain as an example, in times in which the economy was good you did the right thing.””"