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Government Capital Expenditure

I think we have all had some experience of what a freeze is like today! As I said, a great many projects are going ahead; there are 250 altogether, of which more than 150 will be completed this year. It is true that some proposed projects have not been given the go-ahead because the resources available have been committed to projects that are going ahead, but it is not the case that the programme has been frozen. It is going ahead, and a large number of colleges will benefit as a result. On the rail network, £10 billion has been committed to enhancing capacity between 2009 and 2014. Overall Government support for the railway over that period will be more than £15 billion. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor announced in the pre-Budget report that we would provide £300 million for the purchase of new rolling stock. The contract for those new carriages will be awarded by April this year, and the stock will be in place from 2011. I therefore hope that the House will accept that the true picture is very different from the one sketched in the Liberal Democrat motion.