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Regional Development Agency (Yorkshire and Humberside)
5. Mr. Jeff Ennis (Barnsley, East and Mexborough): When the regional development agency in Yorkshire and Humberside will be officially established. [63569]
The Minister for the Regions, Regeneration and Planning (Mr. Richard Caborn): Regional development agencies for the eight English regions outside London were established on 14 December 1998 when the chairmen and board members were appointed. They will take over their executive functions on 1 April 1999.
Mr. Ennis: I thank my hon. Friend for his reply, which I am sure will be extremely well received by many people and organisations in Yorkshire and Humberside. Does my hon. Friend agree that the new RDA will be an excellent vehicle for driving forward the agenda of a better inward investment strategy for the region, as well as promoting better co-operation between the training and enterprise councils, both of which are critical to the future successful regeneration of Yorkshire and Humberside?
Mr. Caborn: Absolutely. The RDAs will consider matters strategically. The previous Conservative Government left my hon. Friend's sub-region of South Yorkshire, with Rotherham, Doncaster and Barnsley, performing at around 66 per cent. of GDP per capita relative to the European regions' average. That is the dire mess in which the previous Administration left us. We are intent on tackling that in partnership with all the stakeholders in the regions. As my hon. Friend said, the TECs and inward investment will have an important role in that.
Mr. David Curry (Skipton and Ripon): What concrete steps does the Minister envisage to prevent subsidy warfare on inward investment among the development agencies and, notably, between them and the Scottish Executive?
When will he publish the concordat which, it is alleged, sets out the rules of the game between Scotland and its Parliament and the English regions?
Mr. Caborn: Common sense already prevails within the regional development agencies: three of the northern development agencies have already come together in relation to inward investment from north America. On the wider question of the United Kingdom, we shall return to that matter in a few weeks with the concordat on inward investment that we promised the House, and we shall deliver on that in the near future.
Mr. Bill O'Brien (Normanton): I congratulate my hon. Friend on handling the introduction of regional development agencies with such speed. That is to the benefit of the regions. Some of the agencies in the regions were mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Barnsley, East and Mexborough (Mr. Ennis), but others should be working with the regional development agencies, including local authorities through their chambers. Will my hon. Friend ensure that there will be co-ordination of agencies to the best advantage of the regions, especially Yorkshire and Humberside?
Mr. Caborn: Yorkshire and Humberside region was the first to get the regional chambers up and running; indeed, there is partnership between the chambers, which are mainly in the public sector, and the regional development agencies, which are mainly in the private sector. All the signs to date are that a strong working relationship is developing for the betterment of the eight English regions. Not one English region outside London is not performing above the average of the European regions in wealth creation, in GDP per capita terms.
Mr. Bernard Jenkin (North Essex): Under regional development agencies, will Ministers still be able to favour their own constituencies in priorities for spending programmes? For example, how can the Department justify committing £53 million to the A1033 Hedon road improvement scheme in Kingston upon Hull ahead of so many other equally, or more, deserving schemes in other regions, such as the £41 million A63 Selby bypass, or the A3 Hindhead bypass, which is not in the Government's programme at all? Could it be that the Deputy Prime Minister is anti-car everywhere, except in his own constituency?
Mr. Caborn: I do not know what the hon. Gentleman's question has to do with regional development agencies; it shows marked ignorance on his part, because the matter does not come under their remit. However, in respect of the transport part of his question--which, I have no doubt, my hon. Friends with responsibility for transport matters will answer--that point was in the list of priorities that we set before the House and, indeed, was agreed by the House.
Integrated Transport Policy
6. Mr. Nigel Griffiths (Edinburgh, South): What progress is being made in implementing the integrated transport policy. [63570]
The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Mr. John Prescott): I am pleased that my White Paper on the future of transport has been widely welcomed--[Laughter.] Every newspaper and every media programme endorsed the White Paper as the first step towards an integrated transport policy--something that the previous Government failed to establish. The White Paper was followed by the publication of daughter documents on roads, railways, road charging and shipping policy. Good progress is being made on the wide range of measures needed to deliver a better transport system for everyone, which we promised at the election.
Mr. Griffiths: Will my right hon. Friend ensure that pressures on the legislative programme do not hinder the implementation of an integrated transport system, which is threatened by non-Labour councils such as SNP-controlled Moray, which increased fares for elderly people and those with disabilities by up to 2,000 per cent?
Mr. Prescott: The 81 recommendations in the transport White Paper involve only 10 requiring legislative provision, six of which have already been provided. Many of the other 71 provisions are already being implemented; £150 million was provided for rural bus services, which has transformed such services in a number of areas. We are changing things: there will be a new railway regulator, a new franchise director and a new strategic rail authority, all of which will contribute to a better transport system with the provision of a record amount of £1.8 billion. That compares very favourably to the previous Administration's inadequate provisions.
Mr. Ian Bruce (South Dorset): The right hon. Gentleman will know that Liberal Democrat-controlled Dorset county council and Labour-controlled Weymouth and Portland borough council have as their No. 1 priority the building of the brown route that is desperately needed to ensure that we can utilise the port of Portland, which was abandoned by the Ministry of Defence. We are asked to send in more and more bids, but we never get a decision. When shall we have a decision?
Mr. Prescott: What the hon. Gentleman has said about the failure to obtain a decision is as relevant to 18 years of a Tory Government as it is to 18 months of the current Administration. It appears that, all of a sudden, the priority of Opposition Members is to start finding out what is wrong with our transport system. Under this Government, an integrated transport system has been established for the first time. We have provided resources for that system, which will begin to be delivered this year and should be completed by the time of the next election.
Ms Rosie Winterton (Doncaster, Central): Those are welcome measures, but can my right hon. Friend assure us that the role of the bus in the integrated transport policy will be to meet social as well as commercial needs? People--especially in my constituency, and especially elderly people--currently feel that they are being given a raw deal by bus operators. It is difficult for them even to travel to local shops and hospitals, particularly if they live just outside the main, profitable routes.
Mr. Prescott: As the White Paper says, the bus will play an extremely important part in providing alternatives
to private transport. More and more people are already using buses, both in cities and in rural areas. A new type of bus--the low-floor bus--is being provided in rural areas, and the evidence shows that services are more frequent. Moreover, new services to hospitals and railway stations are now being provided, because of the commitment that we have given to public transport. I assure my hon. Friend that the bus will play an extremely important part in our transport system.
Mr. Matthew Taylor (Truro and St. Austell): The White Paper is welcome, but early action would be more welcome. Can the Deputy Prime Minister confirm reports that he hopes to introduce a Bill to provide a strategic rail authority during the current parliamentary year as a result of changes in the House of Lords relating to the European Parliamentary Elections Bill? Can he give us any idea when there will be a guarantee of a bus fares discount for pensioners throughout the country? Many areas currently do not provide such a discount, although, according to the estimate of the Minister for Transport in London, it would cost only £25 million.
Mr. Prescott: The Government are committed to introducing a national minimum concessionary fare for pensioners, which would indeed cost about £25 million. I believe that only three local authorities provide no concessionary fares--all of them Tory controlled, which is hardly surprising, although so many Opposition Members talk of the importance of public transport. We also hope to introduce legislation to provide a strategic rail authority during the current Session, although, as the hon. Gentleman knows, that will depend very much on what happens in the other place. I am already in the process of establishing a shadow strategic rail authority, whose chairman will be appointed next month.
Mr. Ivan Henderson (Harwich): Is my right hon. Friend aware that, as a result of the Government's reinvestment in rural transport, five villages in my constituency, between Harwich and Clacton, are now linked? Will my right hon. Friend assure me that he will continue that investment, and will try to repair the damage caused by the deregulation of buses under the previous Government?
Mr. Prescott: As my hon. Friend implies, deregulation led to fewer buses on which fewer people travelled, which cost a great deal more. That is the opposite of what we intend, as the White Paper says. My hon. Friend has already seen the benefits of the extra resources that we have put into rural areas to begin to reverse the decline, and to provide public transport for people who desperately need it and were robbed of it by the last Administration.
Mr. Richard Ottaway (Croydon, South): Surely the right hon. Gentleman agrees that one of the most integrated transport policies is represented by the Jubilee line and its role in the millennium celebrations. If it is not fully operational by the end of the year, will the right hon. Gentleman resign?
Mr. Prescott: The extended Jubilee line will be operational by the end of the year, but what the hon. Gentleman says is a bit of a cheek, coming from someone who was a member of the Government who began the
project nearly seven years ago. The line is still not ready, primarily because of the contract entered into by that Government, which did not guarantee completion in time for the millennium celebrations.
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