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Housing (Recycled Land)
4. Mr. Andrew Reed (Loughborough): What progress he has made towards meeting his target for housing construction on recycled land in the east midlands. [89478]
The Minister for the Regions, Regeneration and Planning (Mr. Richard Caborn): The latest available regional information from 1994 shows that 37 per cent. of new dwellings in the east midlands were constructed on previously developed land. The urban task force, under Lord Rogers, estimated that 65 per cent. of new dwellings could be accommodated on recycled land over the next 20 years.
Mr. Reed: What reassurances can my right hon. Friend give the House, the local chamber of commerce and the
Loughborough town centre steering group that those targets can be met, in view of the fact that many brown-field sites for housing and employment are under-used and lack investment? Following the Rogers report, what measures is my right hon. Friend likely to take to ensure that public-private partnerships bring some of that land back into use as soon as possible?
Mr. Caborn: We will be responding to Lord Rogers's report, which has 105 recommendations and will form the basis of the forthcoming urban White Paper. The developments in Loughborough town centre are in line with Government policy. It is good that the town centre management scheme is working; the firm partnerships that are developing will start to overcome some of the adversity that the town has suffered. The development of the single regeneration budget schemes there will be of assistance.
Mr. Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley): Does the Minister accept that his answer was very disappointing? Does he accept that the target of 60 per cent. of land is insufficiently high? From statements made over the past few days, we know that the Government understand very little about the countryside. They pretend to the country that they are green, but they must think that we are green if they believe that they can build an enormous number of new houses on green-field sites while pretending that they wish to preserve England's green and pleasant land.
Mr. Caborn: Here is a little bit of maths for the hon. Gentleman--65 per cent. is greater than 60 per cent. I just said that the urban task force has said that it can achieve 65 per cent, which is above the Government's target of 60 per cent. When the Government came to power, there was no land use databank. Despite all the allegations and the targets set by Conservative Members, they did not even know how much brown-field land there was to build on. It took this Administration to find out how much brown-field land there was. Based on that information, Lord Rogers has made some reasonable projections, which are much sounder than anything that came from the previous Administration.
A46
5. Mr. Edward Leigh (Gainsborough): If he will make a statement on the widening of the A46 between Newark and Lincoln. [89479]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Ms Glenda Jackson): The A46 Newark to Lincoln improvement scheme is included in the targeted programme of improvements announced in "A New Deal for Trunk Roads in England", which was published last July. As announced in December last year, the next stage for this scheme would be the making of the necessary compulsory purchase orders. Start of works would commence in 2001-02.
Mr. Leigh: Is that a commitment?
Shona McIsaac (Cleethorpes): Would my hon. Friend care to comment on the fact that the Tories did nothing
to attempt to cut the carnage on the A46 which links my constituents with the A1? Thanks to this Government, and to the work of my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron), we are at last seeing action to cut the high death tolls on that stretch of road. Does that not show that we are fairer to motorists?
Ms Jackson: My hon. Friend is entirely right and I pay tribute to the work that she and my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron) have done to ensure, as she so aptly put it, that the carnage on our roads is reduced. The Conservatives did nothing in that area when they were in power, and their newly published document makes it abundantly clear that they would be at the forefront of reintroducing carnage on our streets.
Regional Planning (East Midlands)
6. Gillian Merron (Lincoln): If he will make a statement on progress with the development of regional planning in the east midlands. [89480]
The Minister for the Regions, Regeneration and Planning (Mr. Richard Caborn): Good progress is being made. I expect to receive the draft regional planning guidance for the east midlands from the east midlands region of the Local Government Association towards the end of this year. That draft will then be subject to wide consultations before selected matters are considered at a public examination in front of an independent panel next year. I hope to be able to issue the final guidance early in 2001.
Gillian Merron: I welcome the positive progress that has already been made through partnership working. Can my right hon. Friend tell the House how he will ensure that all factors are fully taken into account in the planning guidance, including economic, environmental and social factors, so that my constituents in Lincoln can look forward to the benefits of greater integration with the rest of the east midlands?
Mr. Caborn: The way in which we are approaching regional guidance is by involving the local government associations, which are taking control of it. They are consulting with the partners and stakeholders in the various regions. In the east midlands, the Local Government Association is consulting the regional development agency, the CBI, the east midlands chambers of commerce, the House-Builders Federation, the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, Friends of the Earth and a number of other user groups.
Traffic Congestion
7. Mrs. Eleanor Laing (Epping Forest): When he last met representatives from the Automobile Association to discuss his proposals to tackle traffic congestion. [89481]
The Minister for Transport (Mrs. Helen Liddell): I met representatives of the AA on Wednesday 7 July.
Mrs. Laing: I thank the Minister for that answer. I am sure that she will not agree with me that it is very sad that she is willing to talk in soundbites about congestion, but not willing to put any investment into road improvements.
Can she tell the House whether the Deputy Prime Minister had an opportunity to discuss congestion problems with the RAC when he visited the British grand prix on Sunday? Was he able to see from his helicopter the people whom his party purports to represent, who were stuck in traffic jams on the motorways below him?
Mrs. Liddell: The hon. Lady's party yesterday published its new deal for motorists, promising investment in vital, undefined road improvements, funded by new innovative schemes--which were also undefined, but likely to cost a minimum of £10 billion. It also proposed that freight should be encouraged on to the railways in some unknown manner. It is not this Government who will do nothing about congestion: it is the Conservatives, whose proposals will lead to congestion. The hon. Lady asked about the RAC, which has been supportive of the Government in the development of the White Paper strategy for integrated transport. I remind her that, if a policy is to be developed by an Opposition, it should be costed. Otherwise, the only conclusion we can come to is that the Conservatives would be prepared to increase taxation, cut public expenditure--or both. If not, perhaps they do not know how to do their sums.
Mr. Clive Efford (Eltham): May I draw my right hon. Friend's attention to the vital role that public transport plays in tackling road congestion? My journey today to Westminster involved catching a train at 8.20 at Eltham station. Connex South Eastern could not get me to Charing Cross until 9.55. Such performance will inevitably have a damaging impact on how much traffic uses the roads in south-east London. The document that is about to be published by the Opposition, with the overt intention of placing them closer to the motorist, will merely lead to jams on our roads--and jam for inefficient, privatised rail services.
Mrs. Liddell: My hon. Friend makes a valid point. The mess on the railways inherited by this Government was very considerable, as a result of the fragmentation of the rail network and the absence of proper accountability for that network. The establishment of the shadow Strategic Rail Authority will provide an opportunity to put a proper rail network back in place, with targets for the rail operators and penalties for poor performance. Adequate public transport is vital if we are to reduce congestion on our roads, and it must be safe, efficient and pleasant to use. There was no chance of that under the previous Government.
Mr. Matthew Taylor (Truro and St. Austell): Under the previous Conservative Government, £25 billion in extra taxes was levied on motorists. The present Chancellor has increased that amount. Given her responsibility for transport, will the Minister press the Chancellor, before the next Budget, to agree to return some of that money to motorists by abolishing the annual car tax on family cars?
Mrs. Liddell: It is interesting that the Liberal Democrats, who purport to be supporters of the environment, are taking that line. However, one of the proposals in yesterday's statement from the Conservative party was to reduce vehicle excise duty on vehicles more
than 25 years old, which are the vehicles that pollute the most. That is a charter for the old banger. We want motorists to travel on well-maintained roads, in cost-effective vehicles that make travelling a pleasant experience again. As for fiscal policy, I suggest that people who want a reduction in the tax take should say where the money is to come from to fund public expenditure on health and education.
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