Written evidence from East of England
Space for Ideas Forum (TE 57)
The East of England Space for Ideas Forum is a group
of business leaders from across the East of England. The businesses
represented are from a wide range of sectors. The group is committed
to working together to address critical issues facing both businesses
and our communities and to ensure the continued contribution of
the East of England to UK Plc.
Our key objective is to ensure that the East of England
(comprising Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire,
Norfolk and Suffolk) continues to be an economic powerhouse. Our
economy is worth £110 billion a year and we contribute £6
billion net to UK plc - we believe there are significant opportunities
to grow this further. Future economic development activity must
recognise and capitalise on the opportunities and challenges here
in the East. It is vital appropriate resources and investment
are in place to drive future activity for the benefit of UK Plc.
We welcome the opportunity to comment on two of the
questions posed as part of the inquiry into Transport and the
Economy. We recognise the need to tackle the deficit and deliver
value for money, however, investment in transport infrastructure
remains a critical national priority in improving the business
environment, attracting international investment and enabling
access to markets and skilled employees. The latest Global Competitiveness
Report 2010-11 published by the World Economic Forum, demonstrates
that that the UK is already lagging many EU competitor economies
with regards to the quality of our transport infrastructure[166].
International benchmarking of the East of England economy, similarly
reveals that the performance in terms of accessibility to markets
is poor when compared to those places directly competing with
the region for international investment[167].
In the East of England investment in transport is
a significant constraint and is currently costing the UK economy
in the region of £1 billion per annum in lost productivity.
This is forecast to double by 2021. Without further investment
our ability to "do business" effectively now and in
the future is seriously impaired. As the OECD said in a report
last year that investment in infrastructure increases long-term
economic output more than any other kind of physical investment[168].
For these reasons, we strongly support the recent call from the
CBI that despite the need for austerity measures, a return to
significant infrastructure investment should be achieved as soon
as possible.
What type of transport spending should be prioritised,
in the context of an overall spending reduction, in order best
to support regional and national economic growth?
Congestion on the East of England's roads is a significant
barrier to business productivity. Overcoming congestion and overcrowding
on the East of England's transport networks would provide benefits
to the UK economy of at least £2 billion per annum by 2021[169].
Furthermore in some parts of the region, transport congestion
will cost up to £900 per worker per annum by 2021 unless
action is taken.
In order to preserve and enhance the contribution
the East of England makes to UK Plc, its international gateway
role, including surface access connections to the rest of the
UK, must be prioritised for investment. Our major airports and
ports need better rail and road access to serve wide areas beyond
the East of England. For example, the links westwards from Felixstowe
and Harwich along the A14 and Felixstowe to Nuneaton rail corridor,
and the A12 and Great Eastern Main Line corridor, are of national
significance and urgently need to be addressed. The share of UK
containerised traffic passing though the East of England's ports
will rise to over 54%[170]
with the implementation of approved expansion proposals so investment
in surface access transport to support this growth will be vital
to businesses throughout the country.
Another significant area which would help alleviate
pressure on the region's transport infrastructure is reliable,
affordable next generation broadband (minimum of 20 Mb/Sec).
This is a must for our businesses and needs a far broader footprint
in the East of England than will be delivered by present commitments
from private sector providers. Such investments can reduce the
need to travel, lower the demand for movements on our transport
networks, and hence reduce the economic costs of congestion.
How will schemes be planned in the absence of
regional bodies and following the revocation and abolition of
regional spatial strategies?
Given the critical importance of investment in infrastructure
for businesses, we are concerned as to the mechanisms, capacity
and capability to take forward strategic transport planning to
enable economic growth and maintain the competitiveness of the
East of England and the UK.
The regional funding advice process allowed the stakeholders
in the East of England, including the private sector, the opportunity
to shape strategic transport investment priorities to address
current constraints on the network effecting business productivity,
and also improve the long-term competitiveness of the region.
Alongside this, the regional development agency has played a critical
role to date in providing transport economics expertise, market-leading
economic evidence to identify transport priorities, as providing
leadership to bring key partners together and prepare compelling
business cases for national and EU investment in our transport
infrastructure.
Local enterprise partnerships are a possible vehicle
for this role in the future, but they will need to be able to
adopt along-term strategic view on cross-boundary issues to benefit
their area, and to support delivery of key strategic interventions
that are essential to wider UK plc, such as enhanced provision
for cross-country rail freight. However, at present we are concerned
that:
- approved LEPs may not cover the entirety of the
East of England, or lack the scale to address strategic transport
issues (such as key inter-urban corridors);
- LEPs based on functional economic geographies
will need potentially to have traction on multiple transport plans
that will continue to be based on administrative boundaries;
- the functions, powers and resources available
to LEPs remain uncertain and their precise role in setting or
influencing transport priorities has not been clearly articulated;
- business engagement in developing individual
LEP proposals to date has been variable.
I would be happy to provide further evidence orally
on any of these issues.
September 2010
166 Karl Schwab, (2010) the Global Competitiveness
Report 2010-11, World Economic Forum. Back
167
Insight East (2009) International Insight - How the East of England
Economy Compares. See http://insighteast.org.uk/WebDocuments/Public/approved/user_9/International%20Insight.pdf Back
168
Going for Growth, OECD, 2009. Back
169
Transport Economic Evidence Study, East of England Development
Agency, September 2008. Back
170
East of England Regional Freight Strategy (table 4.2), Steer Davies
Gleave for East of England Regional Assembly, 2009. Back
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