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Road Users (Taxes and Charges)

I thank the hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Mrs. Ellman) for presenting her report. When I first arrived in the House, I served on the Transport Committee under the chairmanship of Gwyneth Dunwoody, and I know that the hon. Lady is carrying on her doughty work. I think that, to some extent, matters have moved on since the report was published, but I shall touch on that later. I thank the hon. Member for Leicester, South (Sir Peter Soulsby) for his comments about the end of the "predict and provide" era, but there are other factors to take into account, particularly the point that my hon. Friend the Member for Kettering (Mr. Hollobone) made about the population increases in certain parts of the country. That issue needs to be addressed. The Conservative shadow Communities and Local Government team has announced plans to allow local authorities to keep the first six years' of council tax, plus a top-up, when new development takes place. Some of those funds could be used to build the schools and infrastructure needed to support such development. There are also quality of life issues to consider. For those living in congested town centres, a bypass can literally breathe fresh air into the community. Although I take the hon. Member for Leicester, South's point about reducing journey times and generating traffic, other issues need to be taken into account. I am a little surprised that the Government have selected this subject for today's estimates day debate, because we had an opportunity to explore these issues only yesterday in Westminster Hall in a debate initiated by my hon. Friend the Member for Ribble Valley (Mr. Evans). I guess it is the nature of transport that we can wait weeks for a debate to come along and then two come together. [Interruption.] It gets worse. I am also surprised by the selection because the Government have a lamentable record on investing in roads and because their flagship policies on urban congestion charging and road pricing lie in tatters in the face of public opposition. In fact, I would not be surprised if the Minister were to revise The Highway Code to exclude the road sign forbidding U-turns.