Thank you. May I first welcome today’s announcement of an HS2 depot in Leeds, which is welcome news for the northern powerhouse? The A59 at Kex Gill is an important trans-Pennine route, and its closure is impacting on residents and businesses in my constituency. Will my right hon. Friend meet me to discuss what support the Government can provide to North Yorkshire County Council to carry out works on that site, including its potential re-routing?

Thank you. May I first welcome today’s announcement of an HS2 depot in Leeds, which is welcome news for the northern powerhouse? The A59 at Kex Gill is an important trans-Pennine route, and its closure is impacting on residents and businesses in my constituency. Will my right hon. Friend meet me to discuss what support the Government can provide to North Yorkshire County Council to carry out works on that site, including its potential re-routing?

I, too, share my hon. Friend’s delight at the news about the HS2 depot. I would be delighted to meet my distinguished former colleague.

I, too, share my hon. Friend’s delight at the news about the HS2 depot. I would be delighted to meet my distinguished former colleague.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, who the main contractor on the A59 switch island planned works is; when that work is due to start; and whether the capacity to complete the work will be affected by the liquidation of Carillion.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, who the main contractor on the A59 switch island planned works is; when that work is due to start; and whether the capacity to complete the work will be affected by the liquidation of Carillion.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many accidents there have been on the A59 road in the area of Ribble Valley in the last two years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many accidents there have been on the A59 road in the area of Ribble Valley in the last two years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will visit the villages of Hollingworth and Mottram-in-Longdendale in Stalybridge and Hyde constituency to observe traffic congestion on the A59.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will visit the villages of Hollingworth and Mottram-in-Longdendale in Stalybridge and Hyde constituency to observe traffic congestion on the A59.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road accidents there were which resulted in (a) injury and (b) death on the (i) A59 and (ii) M6 within the borders of Lancashire County Council area in each of the last 10 years; and what the ratio of these...

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road accidents there were which resulted in (a) injury and (b) death on the (i) A59 and (ii) M6 within the borders of Lancashire County Council area in each of the last 10 years; and what the ratio of these...

I am grateful for the hon. Lady’s intervention and her clarification of the Government’s promises. Obviously, I wish to see them firmed up and delivered. Clearly, the effects of there not being development can sometimes be negative. I recall going to the Government office for the north-west in the company...

I am grateful for the hon. Lady’s intervention and her clarification of the Government’s promises. Obviously, I wish to see them firmed up and delivered. Clearly, the effects of there not being development can sometimes be negative. I recall going to the Government office for the north-west in the company...

I apologise in advance for spoiling your lunch, Mr. Conway, and probably that of the Minister. It will not displease me if we do not take the full allotted time, but get straight to the point. I am glad to see the Minister here, because our careers have crossed in...

I apologise in advance for spoiling your lunch, Mr. Conway, and probably that of the Minister. It will not displease me if we do not take the full allotted time, but get straight to the point. I am glad to see the Minister here, because our careers have crossed in...

The hon. Gentleman rightly says that I am more hopeful than he. That is because we have secured a promise from the Minister that sub-regional priorities will be considered again in 2009. The county council should be congratulated on working with us and ensuring that the scheme will go ahead...

The hon. Gentleman rightly says that I am more hopeful than he. That is because we have secured a promise from the Minister that sub-regional priorities will be considered again in 2009. The county council should be congratulated on working with us and ensuring that the scheme will go ahead...

That is certainly an issue, and I shall come to it in a moment. However, my remarks highlight the rationale of the regional funding allocation process. To be fair to the hon. Gentleman, he acknowledged that it is an improvement on the previous arrangement. It is more transparent. The way...

That is certainly an issue, and I shall come to it in a moment. However, my remarks highlight the rationale of the regional funding allocation process. To be fair to the hon. Gentleman, he acknowledged that it is an improvement on the previous arrangement. It is more transparent. The way...

I congratulate the hon. Member for Southport (Dr. Pugh) on securing the debate. He and my hon. Friend the Member for West Lancashire (Rosie Cooper) have made a powerful case for the Ormskirk bypass, as part of the hon. Gentleman’s more general comments about the regional funding allocation process. The...

I congratulate the hon. Member for Southport (Dr. Pugh) on securing the debate. He and my hon. Friend the Member for West Lancashire (Rosie Cooper) have made a powerful case for the Ormskirk bypass, as part of the hon. Gentleman’s more general comments about the regional funding allocation process. The...

I will certainly not argue with the Minister’s well informed statistics, but he would probably acknowledge that a large percentage of that money has been spent on a small number of large projects, so some of the smaller projects might have to wait in a much longer queue.

I will certainly not argue with the Minister’s well informed statistics, but he would probably acknowledge that a large percentage of that money has been spent on a small number of large projects, so some of the smaller projects might have to wait in a much longer queue.

My hon. Friend has given us three options. The first was this Government or the next giving more money. The second was essentially that we need to get some money set aside. I assure him that we are putting a great deal of pressure on the regional people and making...

My hon. Friend has given us three options. The first was this Government or the next giving more money. The second was essentially that we need to get some money set aside. I assure him that we are putting a great deal of pressure on the regional people and making...

I never had any thought that my hon. Friend would give up on the Ormskirk bypass. I am sure that her constituents have no thought of that either. She and the hon. Member for Southport are doing absolutely the right thing—making the case locally either for money to be set...

I never had any thought that my hon. Friend would give up on the Ormskirk bypass. I am sure that her constituents have no thought of that either. She and the hon. Member for Southport are doing absolutely the right thing—making the case locally either for money to be set...

When we will be given some indication of when we will know about the priorities that my hon. Friend mentioned? In the previous round, the big city regions grabbed the funding and had their paws on the major part of it. Sub-regional priorities were way down the list. The Ormskirk...

When we will be given some indication of when we will know about the priorities that my hon. Friend mentioned? In the previous round, the big city regions grabbed the funding and had their paws on the major part of it. Sub-regional priorities were way down the list. The Ormskirk...

That is not quite what I am saying. The consultation that we have been doing in recent months and are now analysing was about how the regional funding allocation process works. Our understanding in the Department for Transport was that people out in the regions understood that they could decide...

That is not quite what I am saying. The consultation that we have been doing in recent months and are now analysing was about how the regional funding allocation process works. Our understanding in the Department for Transport was that people out in the regions understood that they could decide...

The Minister is being very constructive and helpful, and he is giving us some hints as to how we can make progress. However, there is a fundamental problem. To win the argument we have to consider objective criteria, and one that will come up every time is whether a scheme...

The Minister is being very constructive and helpful, and he is giving us some hints as to how we can make progress. However, there is a fundamental problem. To win the argument we have to consider objective criteria, and one that will come up every time is whether a scheme...

I understand the hon. Gentleman’s point but the key thing to recognise is that, as he identified, local transport plan schemes have a £5 million threshold. People have interpreted that threshold as being absolute. It is absolute in the sense that the regional funding allocation process will not normally be...

I understand the hon. Gentleman’s point but the key thing to recognise is that, as he identified, local transport plan schemes have a £5 million threshold. People have interpreted that threshold as being absolute. It is absolute in the sense that the regional funding allocation process will not normally be...

Westminster Hall adjournment debate on the Ormskirk bypass.

Westminster Hall adjournment debate on the Ormskirk bypass.