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I first met the right hon. Member for Skipton and Ripon (Mr. Curry) when I was a local authority leader and he was the Local Government Minister, and I was struck by the tributes that were paid to his work on
behalf of local government by two of my hon. Friends today: my hon. Friends the Members for Sheffield, Attercliffe (Mr. Betts) and for Tyne Bridge (Mr. Clelland). Those tributes reflect the wide respect for the right hon. Gentleman's work as the Local Government Minister. It was characteristic that he spoke about local government today, as well as expressing a view on policy on Europe that was somewhat dissonant from that of some of his hon. Friends.
My hon. Friend the Member for Tyne Bridge drew attention to the dramatic regeneration that is under way in the north-east, including the announcement of the new electric car being built at Nissan and today's announcement by Siemens of a big investment in offshore wind manufacture in the UK. He was right to draw our attention to those achievements.
The hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Mr. Maples) called for the deficit to be eliminated faster, but it was striking that he did not answer the question put to him in an intervention by the hon. Member for Taunton about how that would square with today's announcement from the shadow Front-Bench team of an almost £6 billion reduction in national insurance income to the Exchequer. That would leave a gaping hole in the Conservative party's calculations.
My hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham, South (Alan Simpson) supported the proposals for separating the different functions of the banks-as, to a degree, did the hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon. My hon. Friend wanted to see greater ambition in the proposals for a green investment bank. I know he will welcome the imminent commencement of the feed-in tariff arrangements for renewable energy. I pay tribute to him for being one of the first in the House to have called for that change. His campaign was successful, and he was an early champion of those arrangements, which will take effect in the next couple of weeks. I echo the tributes that have been paid to him today.
The right hon. Member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber (Mr. Kennedy) made a number of points about his constituency. I particularly agree with what he said about the importance of investment in broadband. The Government's commitment is, first, to ensure that at least a basic level-2 megabits per second-of broadband service is universally available by 2012. I expect his constituency to be among the major beneficiaries of that investment, and we have identified some £200 million to support that commitment. Beyond that, we want to extend next-generation broadband services to every part of the UK. That is the reason for the 50p a month levy on phone lines, which I think he supports. He is right to do so, because that levy will generate £1 billion of investment between now and 2017, enabling us to ensure that at least 90 per cent. of UK households have access to next-generation services by that date. It struck me forcefully when I visited Scotland how strong the support for that programme was. There is widespread recognition of its importance to the rural businesses in Scotland-and, indeed, in England-that will benefit from its services, just as urban areas are already starting to do.
Mr. Charles Kennedy:
I am grateful to the Minister for returning to my point about broadband. He mentioned his recent visit to Scotland, and he is quite right to say that there is a great deal of enthusiasm for broadband there, for all the obvious reasons. I do not want to get
into partisan point scoring, but has he found that his relationship with the Scottish Government in Edinburgh is constructive on this matter, or are they occasionally using this as an excuse to blame Westminster? Are they being co-operative and collaborative in pushing this issue forward?
Mr. Timms: Broadly, I think they are. I must say that my disappointment is with the Conservative party, which professes to support rural areas but does not will the means to do so. The levy will allow us to achieve that.
I enjoyed the speech made by my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Attercliffe who drew attention to investment in Sheffield Forgemasters and in Siemens. I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his point about Government support for the computer games industry. We announced a new tax relief for computer games companies, recognising the inherent strengths and creativity of UK developers, while also recognising the impact of subsidies given to firms in Canada and elsewhere. I visited Abertay university in Dundee recently. In order to illustrate one aspect of the commercial significance of its work, I was shown how visualisation technology for games could be used for complex soil analysis. We are backing that kind of brilliant innovation being developed by companies and universities, including in Sheffield, as my hon. Friend rightly said.
The hon. Member for Mid-Sussex (Mr. Soames) made an intemperate and, I thought, rather inaccurate attack on the Prime Minister. I know there is a market for that sort of perspective, but I hope the hon. Gentleman will take it from this straight soldier that what he said is inaccurate.
I very much enjoyed the speech of my hon. Friend the Member for Crawley (Laura Moffatt). Along with the whole House, I wish her well when she returns to her previous vocation. She made some forceful points about Thameslink and she was right to underline its importance for her constituents.
The hon. Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Mr. Willis) spoke about his role as Chairman of the Science and Technology Select Committee, although I know him better as his party's former spokesman on education-a role that he filled with distinction.
The hon. Member for Upper Bann (David Simpson) was among those who supported the Budget's measures to support new, small and growing businesses. He mentioned agreements with RBS and Lloyds to provide new lending, nearly half of it to small businesses.
There is also the launch of UK Finance for Growth, which is responsible for overseeing the Government's stock of more than £4 billion of SME finance products. To incentivise business investment and to help small businesses expand in the recovery, the threshold for the annual investment allowance will be increased to £100,000 from next month, which means that in the first year 99 per cent. of businesses will be able to deduct from their taxable profits all their investments in plant and machinery. We are doubling entrepreneurs' relief for capital gains tax.
The economy we are now seeing is showing encouraging signs of improvement, but there is absolutely no room for complacency. We need to work hard to secure the
recovery, to rebuild momentum and to build on the return of growth at the end of last year. The Budget sets out a clear plan to achieve those aims, and I commend it to the House.
9.27 pm
Ordered, That the debate be now adjourned .-(Mr. Mudie.)
Debate to be resumed tomorrow.
petitions
Policing (Croydon)
9.28 pm
Mr. Andrew Pelling (Croydon, Central) (Ind): I am pleased to present these petitions- [Interruption.]
Madam Deputy Speaker: Order. Will Members leaving the Chamber please do so as quickly and as quietly as possible?
Mr. Pelling: The petition states:
The Petition of people of Croydon declares that the London borough of Croydon requires a fairer share of police officers in London.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to take steps to secure a fairer share of London's policy officers for Croydon.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.
Traffic (The Glade, Croydon)
Mr. Andrew Pelling (Croydon, Central) (Ind): The petition states:
The Petition of People of Shirley, Croydon,
Declares that traffic on The Glade speeds and is dangerous to all road users.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to take steps to secure support from the relevant authorities for the introduction of road safety and road calming measures.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.
Traffic (Orchard Avenue, Croydon)
Mr. Andrew Pelling (Croydon, Central) (Ind): The petition states:
The Petition of people of Shirley, Croydon,
Declares that traffic on Orchard Avenue speeds and is dangerous to all road users.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to take steps to secure support from the relevant authorities for the introduction of road safety and road calming measures.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.
Potholes (New Addington, Croydon)
Mr. Andrew Pelling (Croydon, Central) (Ind): The petition states:
The Petition of people of New Addington and Croydon,
Declares that the road conditions of Parkway, New Addington has been left in such a poor state of repair that a proper repair needs to take place to the foundations of the road instead of patching repairs.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to secure Croydon Council's commitment to providing a thorough going long lasting repair of the major potholes in Parkway, New Addington.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.
Tram Overcrowding (Croydon)
Mr. Andrew Pelling (Croydon, Central) (Ind): The petition states:
The Petition of the people of Croydon,
Declares that they face such overcrowding at peak times on Tramlink that it can be impossible to board the tram.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to take steps to secure funding for the provision of extra trams for Croydon.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.
Central Parade (New Addington, Croydon)
Mr. Andrew Pelling (Croydon, Central) (Ind): The petition states:
The Petition of the people of New Addington,
Declares that that they seek a speedy improvement in the street environment so as to rid Central Parade, New Addington, of muddy paths from the bus stop to the shops, rotted posts, broken paving, collapsed kerbs and run down street furniture.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to take steps to secure a response from Croydon Council undertaking to invest in the improvement of the street environment at Central Parade, New Addington.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.
Pear Tree Farm (Croydon)
Mr. Andrew Pelling (Croydon, Central) (Ind): The petition states:
The Petition of the people of Addington and Forestdale,
Declares that the residents are concerned that there should be a regularisation of the planning arrangements for Pear Tree Farm, a waste transfer station nestled in the Green Belt on the borders of the London Borough of Croydon and Tandridge District Council.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to take steps to see Croydon and Tandridge Councils regularise the planning arrangements at the site and to see the Environment Agency review the Waste Transfer Licence for Pear Tree Farm.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.
Featherbed Lane Pinch Point (Croydon)
Mr. Andrew Pelling (Croydon, Central) (Ind): The petition states:
The Petition of the people of Addington and Forestdale,
Declares that the current highways arrangements at the pinch point at Featherbed Lane pose a danger to pedestrians and other road users and notes that narrow pavements put pedestrians at risk of collision with wider commercial vehicles and is concerned that current practice in Croydon on providing road safety measures requires fatalities and injuries before action is taken.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to take steps to secure an investment by Croydon Council in improving safety at the Featherbed Lane pinch point that slows traffic for the safety of all road users.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.
Mayday Hospital A&E (Croydon)
Mr. Andrew Pelling (Croydon, Central) (Ind): The petition states:
The Petition of the people of Croydon,
Declares that Accident & Emergency at Mayday University Hospital should be protected and that the hospital's status should not be downgraded.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to encourage the South West London Strategic Health Authority to maintain Mayday's status and A&E unit.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.[P000797]
Night Buses (New Addington, Croydon)
Mr. Andrew Pelling (Croydon, Central) (Ind): The petition states:
The Petition of people of New Addington,
Declares that they would wish to see the current all night bus service maintained to serve all parts of New Addington.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to encourage Transport for London following the withdrawal of the N159 bus service to extend the 64 bus route during night running to serve all parts of New Addington.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.
Planning
Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn. -(Mr. Mudie.)
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