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Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

The hon. Gentleman will be delighted to know that I will come on to that matter shortly. After all, this is a speech on infrastructure. I hope that when the Opposition spokesman responds, he will take the time to set out some kind of alternative plan. That would be of real interest to us all. Five months into this job, I could reel off a long list of the transport investments that we are making. We are electrifying the trans-Pennine railway and the Great Western line from London to Cardiff, far surpassing the 39 miles of electrification that happened under the previous Government. That would not even stretch from Cardiff to Swansea, let alone from London to Cardiff. We are upgrading the Tyne and Wear metro. There are 45 local authority major schemes to improve connectivity across the country. We are finally progressing with the first parts of the northern hub project, which is so important to many Members. I could continue, Mr Speaker, but we are investing in so many projects that you would probably call me out of order for speaking for too long. Therefore, let me summarise. The spending review set out more than £30 billion of investment for road, rail and local transport projects across the country. On our roads, we are investing billions to unlock extra capacity and ease congestion. We have set up the £560 million local sustainable transport fund, which gives local communities more power to design and deliver local transport systems. We have put in place the Growing Places fund to kick-start infrastructure projects. We have given the green light to High Speed 2, a national high-speed rail network that will radically improve the connections between our great cities and, by doing so, help to create jobs and generate growth and prosperity. That sits alongside our unprecedented investment in the existing railway network, from new stations and rolling stock to line electrification, which will help to decarbonise the industry. That amounts to the biggest modernisation programme since Victorian times. Hand in hand with additional resources for our railways goes the reform of our railways. The rail Command Paper sets out our vision for an efficient, effective and value-for-money rail industry. Our reforms will put the customer first and allow us to end the era of inflation-busting regulated fares increases once the vital savings are made. Building on all those investments, the Chancellor announced further measures on Wednesday to improve our country's transport links. He announced a £323 million package that includes a range of projects. There is an extra £150 million contribution towards the Growing Places fund, which will facilitate the economic growth, jobs and house building that our country needs so badly. There is £15 million for cycle safety in London, which will enable the innovative redesign of some of the capital's most dangerous junctions for cyclists. There is £11 million more for low-carbon buses, which is part of the £101 million bus investment package that the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Lewes (Norman Baker) is announcing today. In addition, the Chancellor has announced that the rail industry will benefit from £130 million of funding from Network Rail to improve rail connectivity in the north of England by giving the go-ahead to further parts of the northern hub project. That will include increasing line speed and capacity on the Sheffield to Manchester Hope Valley line, and reducing journey times on the Manchester to Bradford via Rochdale and Halifax line and the Manchester to Preston via Bolton line. We are linking up the great counties of Yorkshire of Lancashire in the way that they have always wanted to be linked. That all adds up to passengers enjoying better connections, faster services and more seats. Our national road network is also a key part of our national infrastructure. The strategic road network carries two thirds of all the freight on Britain's roads, and it is vital for all types of business from mail order retailers to industrial parks and shopping centres. We have already announced, in last year's growth review, £1 billion of additional investment in the nation's strategic roads, on top of the £2.3 billion planned investment in major improvements announced in the spending review. However, as the Budget makes clear, we want to go further and examine the opportunities for more private investment in the road network in future. We want to consider where we can learn lessons from other industries, and we want to build on the proposals in Alan Cook's report on the Highways Agency.