Infrastructure Strategy: Economic Growth

Before I start, I quickly welcome my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Northampton North (Lucy Rigby) and my hon. Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet (Dan Tomlinson) to the team. I also congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing North (James Murray) on his new position as Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

In response to the questions, I want to be clear that the 10-year national infrastructure strategy is core to delivering this Government’s growth mission to boost living standards. The strategy will fund at least £725 billion of infrastructure over the next decade and transform how projects are planned and delivered, so that we do not have the cost and time overruns that we became so used to under the Conservatives.

Working with colleagues in Greater Manchester, I have been proud to campaign for greater investment in our public transport infrastructure. The Government listened and delivered £2.5 billion of funding for the Bee Network, which will allow us to create the first fully integrated zero-emission public transport system. Will my right hon. Friend explain what that will mean for my constituents in terms of jobs, growth and connectivity?

My hon. Friend is a proud champion of the people of Altrincham and Sale West. Investment through the transport for city regions fund will allow the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, to invest in local priorities, creating jobs, better commutes, bigger labour markets and more opportunity across Greater Manchester. That includes investment in the fully electric Bee Network with zero-emission public transport by 2030, including the purchase of 1,000 new electric buses made in Rochdale, Northern Ireland and Scotland. That is in sharp contrast with the SNP Government, who buy their buses from China.

Thanks to Labour’s fiscal rules, the Government have unlocked private investment in UK infrastructure and strengthened investor confidence. The 10-year infrastructure strategy will revitalise all parts of the country’s economy, including in Scotland and in my constituency of West Dunbartonshire. Does the Chancellor agree that the UK Labour Government have put Scotland at the heart of economic growth, with unprecedented support for Scottish industries, jobs and public services, in stark contrast to the SNP Scottish Government?

My hon. Friend is a great champion for the people of West Dunbartonshire, and I know he is working very closely with the Ministry of Defence at the moment to secure defence investment in his constituency. During the summer, I had the opportunity to spend some time in Scotland, seeing the results of our infrastructure investments—in the defence sector, carbon capture and storage in Aberdeenshire, transport investment in Glasgow, the supercomputer, and RAF Lossiemouth—and how the trade deals are benefiting industries in Scotland, including Scotch whisky.

Can the Chancellor outline the impact on economic growth in the north-east of England she expects from the record-breaking £1.85 billion spending package awarded earlier this year for transport infrastructure in the region?

My hon. Friend has been a good advocate for his constituents. He and I, as well as the Labour Mayor Kim McGuinness, know that investing in roads, cycleways and the metro will make a real and practical difference. This builds on the £0.6 billion that the north-east is receiving through the city region sustainable transport settlement, of which £23 million has been earmarked for Durham. Of course, my hon. Friend’s constituents will also benefit from the wider economic benefits of extending the Tyne and Wear metro, linking Washington with Newcastle and Sunderland.

In my view, Stone railway station is one of the most attractive and beautiful stations on the west coast main line. Sadly, though, its platforms are too short, meaning that inter-city trains cannot stop there. Would the Chancellor of the Exchequer be kind enough to speak with her Transport colleagues about what future options there are for Stone to benefit from the extension of platforms, which would improve its connectivity to not just Birmingham and Manchester, but also London?

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his question relating to his constituency. It is a shame that the Conservative party did not invest in extending those platforms when it was in power for 14 years. I am very happy to discuss with my colleagues at the Department for Transport how the his constituents can benefit from the extra £120 billion that this Government are putting into capital investment.

Over the summer, Heathrow finally published its proposals for a third runway. It is very clear that a lot of supporting road and rail infrastructure will be needed if that expansion goes ahead. Could the Chancellor outline to the House what estimates her Department has made of the amount of public investment that will be needed? Heathrow execs have been clear that they are not going to fully fund it themselves.

This Government back a third runway at Heathrow. We are a country that is open to global trade and investment—we have done three trade deals with countries around the world and have secured £120 billion of inward investment. Heathrow Airport Ltd and others have now put forward a bid to build the third runway, and have been very clear that they will be investing in the infrastructure to make that possible. I welcome investment into Britain, and I hope that parties all across the House will do the same.

If the Chancellor is looking for some quick-win infrastructure projects that will unlock economic growth, I recommend taking a look at a passing loop on the South Fylde line, which would better connect trains to employment and education sites through more reliable services. It would also act as a boost for the tourism industry on the Fylde coast; people across Lancashire—maybe from other great towns such as Chorley—like to visit Lytham St Annes and the Fylde coast, and would be able to do so on half-hourly rail services. Will the Chancellor take a look at that fantastic opportunity to boost economic growth in Lancashire and the Fylde?

I have huge respect for the hon. Gentleman, and no one in this House would want to do anything to upset Mr Speaker. I am very happy to look at investment opportunities in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency and right across Lancashire, including just up the coast in Blackpool, where we put in significant investment at the spending review earlier this year to build the housing and infrastructure our country desperately needs.

I call the shadow Minister.

The Chancellor once claimed that she had a plan for fixing the foundations with infrastructure at the very heart. Now, through a consultation that the Government hoped nobody would notice, she has found a way to tax the foundations. By looking to impose a new levy on quarries, Labour could add billions of pounds more to the costs of infrastructure projects across the country. That cannot be right. Can the Chancellor please provide the construction industry—the very people who will grow our economy—with an assurance that this proposed builders tax will not go ahead?

The Government are currently consulting on a landfill tax. It is a consultation, and it is open for comments from right across industry, but this Government are investing in infrastructure. Compared with the plans that we inherited, which would have seen capital investment fall as a share of GDP, we are instead putting an additional £120 billion in, as well as £70 billion through the National Wealth Fund. Crucially, that is leveraging in private sector investment in transport infrastructure, including roads, railways and airports, and digital infrastructure. We are growing the economy—a far cry from what the Conservatives did in their 14 wasted years.