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Identifying Growth Sectors in the South East Economy

I want to deal with the motion with particular respect to the city of Southampton, and discuss the position and future of Southampton port. Southampton port is not just the port of the city of Southampton, or even the sub-region. It is a key element in the maintenance and prosperity of the south-east, and, indeed, considering the wider canvas, a key element in our national prosperity and future prospects as a major trading nation, with all that goes with that. It is responsible for a fifth of UK trade outside the EU, supports about 78,000 jobs and contributes about £5.5 billion to Britain’s gross domestic product. Of course, the role of the port is sometimes mired in controversy. It is wholly within the curtilage of the local authority, while its influence and the necessity of its development clearly extend far beyond the borough. If a future regime were to atomise planning and development to local authorities, it could be possible for the development of such a major port to be regarded as the sole responsibility of one local authority, rather than of the sub-region or region. One small example—I congratulate my hon. Friend the Minister on having a substantial hand in this—is the development of the freight rail link between Southampton and the midlands, which is using £52.2 million of investment from the transport investment fund. The link was jointly, strongly and physically supported by SEEDA and Advantage West Midlands. I wonder how far we would have got with it if the whole of regional development were regarded as the province of a number of different local authorities. We would probably have got about two and a half miles towards the boundary of Southampton, after which containers from Southampton port would have collided with the bridges. Southampton port has produced its master plan for the next 20 years. It is predicted that the volume of container handling, which is currently 1.3 million 20-ft equivalent units, will reach more than 2.5 million TEUs by 2020 and more than 4 million TEUs by 2030. Similarly, passenger numbers will double. It is vital that the region supports the port’s development, given what the port means to the region. My hope is that the port’s master plan and the developments that it entails—the increase in sustainability through additional rail and short-sea handling—will secure the support of all regional MPs. Unlike some regional MPs—I will name no names—I do not see the development of the port as exclusively the province of Southampton or as something to be sniped about from the sidelines by those who do not understand that this is a regional and national issue, which the region has a substantial hand in promoting and developing.