Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—[Mr. Dhanda.]

My Constituency is strategically located at the centre of the far south-west on the border of Devon and Cornwall. Plymouth is the south-west region's second city, with a population of 240,000 people. In my previous debate on urban renaissance in Plymouth, I spoke of our plans to accommodate—indeed, to welcome—substantial population growth over the next 20 years, taking us to 300,000 or even 350,000 people. Such growth, matched by increased economic activity and housing provision, will allow Plymouth to achieve a level of performance and quality of life appropriate to its size. It will also play a key part in addressing local and regional disparities in our economy and standing of living. Disparities between the east and west ends of our region are the greatest of any region in England. Plymouth recognises the need for a rapid improvement in transport performance in this context.

The city council has submitted a bid for Intervention funding from the Office of the Deputy prime minister to meet support from a partner authority for further acceleration of its performance improvement. Evidence of Plymouth's commitment to transport issues and its ability to deliver when investment is available includes the A386 major transport scheme, an impressive performance on road safety—Plymouth has already reached the national 2010 targets for accident reduction and recently published a child road safety audit to indicate how further improvements can be made—and the Morice Town home zone, which is in the constituency my hon. Friend Alison Seabeck and is a national example for reducing crime, road accidents and through traffic.

Given good project management and the success of the partnering contract with the main contractor, the city council is meeting its targets for the delivery of the A386 major scheme within budget and on time. The council has recommended to the Department for Transport additional complementary elements to the major scheme to deliver stretched outcomes without increasing the funding contribution from the DFT of £11.25 million. Although the city council understands that the Department for Transport is not currently in a position to confirm whether savings from the capital programme can be released to fund additional elements, it hopes that the DFT will be able to make a positive response to its recommendation at the earliest opportunity.

Plymouth's second local transport plan focused on increasing bus patronage, which has been declining faster than national levels in recent years. A number of projects that are nearing completion should assist in building bus patronage. The investment to achieve that has been welcome, and I hope the Minister will agree that good use is being made of it. Nevertheless, I point out that Plymouth received lower transport allocations than other cities of similar size under the first local transport plan, when our aspirations were perhaps a little lower than they are now. Although our performance two years ago was poor, the council has now placed transport high on the city's agenda, and the annual performance score has risen from a low of 42 per cent. to 64 per cent. now.

Plymouth has not submitted a bid for this round of the transport innovation funding, as its strategy needs to be developed further in that respect, particularly to explore opportunities to work jointly with its neighbours in the sub-region, but the Government can expect a major scheme bid to be identified in the second LTP submission next March and further funding bids through both the transport innovation fund and other domestic and European funding streams, supported by increasing private sector involvement. It is vital that central Government are prepared to increase their investment in transport infrastructure for Plymouth to enable sustainable economic and housing growth in the far south-west and to send a clear message of confidence to the market.

I now to turn to the importance of transport links and connectivity to the rest of the UK. Research commissioned by SWERDA—the South West of England Regional Development Agency—from the university of the West of England and Bath university has shown that increased journey times and journey costs, coupled with the isolation from complementary businesses, causes productivity to reduce by as much as 4 per cent. per hour, compared with businesses located in the south-east, owing to added journey times from London. A normal road journey from Plymouth to London takes four hours 15 minutes, and the journey from further down in Cornwall in Penzance takes a good two hours more.

Following announcements made in 2001 on the combined ODPM and Department of Trade and Industry approach to regional policy, a consultation was launched at the time of the 2004 pre-Budget report called "Devolving Decision Making." It gave a commitment to a public service agreement target to

"make sustainable improvements in the economic performance of all English Regions and over the long term to reduce the persistent gap in growth rates between the regions, defining measures to improve performance and reporting progress against these measures by 2006".

The consultation on funding allocations comprises transport, housing and economic development funding streams, and the Government are requesting advice by the end of July 2006.

I know that the regional assembly and the regional development agency are working on the regional spatial and economic strategies. They must achieve a challenging balancing act if they are to ensure that their priorities for investment tackle congestion on road and rail and resolve bottlenecks so that our economy performs in a way that reduces the economic disparities that I have mentioned.

I do not intend to try to put before the Minister the content of the advice on transport that is emerging from the process. My goal tonight is to give him and his colleagues a picture of the critical importance of recognising the needs of Plymouth, Devon and Cornwall and the scale of the challenge facing businesses, planners and public services. I also want to explain why such issues have been—and remain—at the top of the agenda for business organisations such as the Devon and Cornwall business council and the Plymouth chamber of commerce for as long as I can remember. I shall consider each of the important land-based transport modes, some current challenges and the light that they cast on the importance of the decisions that lie ahead.

On roads, the Minister will know of the disappointment about the decision to prioritise investment on dualling the A303-A358 instead of the A303 west of Ilminster through to Exeter. Ensuring that there is resilience and reliability by developing two fully strategic arteries to address the challenges for the west of Devon, Plymouth and Cornwall could be properly achieved only by dualling the A303 to Exeter. I suspect that the Secretary of State was unwilling to back the overwhelming wishes of the Devon and Cornwall business community because only a slender Majority of the assembly was in favour. There was a strategic failure to recognise the importance of reliable road travel when addressing regional disparities. I am sorry to criticise a body that I believe strives on most occasions to fulfil a strategic role well through what is an important and increasingly indispensable job. The decision enhances the position of Taunton and the surrounding areas, which already have comparatively good connectivity by rail and road outside the region, but does little to address the productivity deficit to which I referred earlier.

The past six to nine months have demonstrated clearly why the decision was bad. Roadworks on the M5, the A38 and the A303 at Marsh have caused delays and increased journey times, which has caused considerable frustration and concern to people and businesses in Devon and Cornwall. The quality of stakeholder consultation has been poor. The time scale of the four-mile works on the A38 around Buckfastleigh, for which no night-time work is planned, means that there will be a 26-week period during which the carriageway will be restricted, which has caused particular concern. I know that DCBC and Plymouth chamber of commerce have made robust representations about that. I hope that the Minister will consider whether night-time work could be allowed after the completion of a bridge section—that section is adjacent to a settlement, so we all understand that it deserves consideration—and especially before the 2006 tourist season begins. I would welcome him taking an interest in ensuring that future consultation is of a better quality, especially in the light of what I am about to say about our rail services in the near term.

Road investment to remove bottlenecks is important and welcome, but there is worry that the overall pot of money proposed for the south-west will not be enough, especially if the enhancement of the A303 by tunnelling at Stonehenge, which will be an expensive project, must be paid for from that pot. I repeat a plea that I made earlier this year: we must ensure that that investment is taken from national resources because the work will enhance a site of national, and indeed international, importance. As I have said, the consultation on funding allocations is requested by the end of January 2006. If we cannot have a true second arterial route opened up to the west of Devon and Cornwall, issues relating to our rail and air services will become even more critical.

Is my hon. Friend aware that, as part of Transport for London's look at the corridor plan for South West Trains, the Mayor of London is considering demand patterns to the south-west? Does she agree that it is vital that the Mayor fully understands the importance of maintaining regular and fast links to the south-west, that the Crossrail project could, particularly during its construction phase, have serious implications for the south-west that need to be fully considered and understood, and that the Mayor really must ensure that his plans are not too London-centric?

I certainly welcome my hon. Friend's move to ensure that the Mayor is fully aware of that. The Minister knows well our concerns about rail; many Members have made robust representations. Viewing our transport issues across the piece is essential against the background of what I have just been saying about roads. He has certainly heard our concerns about how Crossrail could disrupt our hard-won three-hour journey to Plymouth, which would of course also impact on services beyond. Positive consideration of the regional assembly's petition for a full impact assessment is vital. I also believe that there is to be disruption to the Waterloo to Exeter service. Will the Minister ensure that any journey delays arising from that do not clash with the period of work on Crossrail?

The importance that Plymouth attaches to the three-hour journey—remembering the productivity issues that I mentioned earlier—must be recognised. The document for the renewal of the Greater Western rail franchise ought to specify more than one three-hour journey per day to and from London Paddington and the preservation of our sleeper service to Plymouth and Cornwall.

The hon. Lady is right about the case that she makes about rail services to the far south-west and Cornwall. The shortest train journey time to Penzance is five hours, and more often longer, so does she agree that, given the threat to the sleeper service and the fact that both the east and west main lines provide far faster services to the north of England and Scotland, the Minister has only one choice: either to give Cornwall and the south-west a high-speed rail link or to keep the sleeper service? He cannot deny us both.

We certainly need to preserve the sleeper service and to see development, growth and a positive step change in public transport delivery to match the rising demand and expectations not only of the residents of Plymouth but of the region's residents and visitors. The fact that Plymouth's population is set to grow from its present 240,000 perhaps to as much as 350,000 has not been properly considered.

Will the Minister look at the specification of the new Greater Western franchise to ensure that it takes account of the growth anticipated by the regional economic strategy and "The Way Ahead"? As they are currently outside the remit of the regional funding allocation's transport budget, can he help us ensure that investment in rail services supports the region's aspirations for spatial and economic growth? What consideration has his Department given to the need to maintain the integrity of existing strategic rail routes into and out of the region with regard to the future of the Dawlish sea wall and the impact of climate change? I hope that he acknowledges that we need some strategic oversight of the proposed road and rail works to ensure that we do not see deterioration in what is becoming viewed as "transport exclusion" in our part of the world.

Finally, will the Minister consider our air services against that same background? Services from Plymouth airport are doing well with new operators Air Southwest and Air Wales. Demand has increased substantially, and in the past 12 months the number of passengers using the airport has increased by 68 per cent. to 132,000. There are now 11 scheduled flights a day to London Gatwick, Bristol, Manchester, Newcastle, Dublin, Cork, Cardiff, Leeds, Liverpool, Aberdeen and Jersey. That contrasts with the situation just a little more than a year ago, when there was a service only to Gatwick. That is a significant improvement.

Plymouth city council is committed to retaining an airport in the city. A study will soon report on the facility that would bring most benefit to the city in terms of the ambitions and aspirations that I mentioned earlier. The viability of Plymouth airport has always depended on running joint services to Newquay St. Mawgan airport. In the light of last week's decision by the Ministry of Defence on St. Mawgan, will the Minister take a close interest in ensuring that public support and help to keep important air services flying to Cornwall complements this growth in Plymouth's air services, rather undermines it, as it has the potential to do? What is happening with the Department of Trade and Industry's consideration of whether regional development agencies can invest in route development funding, as requested by the north-east and north-west RDAs? Can the Minister understand the importance of having a framework that allows us to secure our air services, given the challenges faced by, and the fragilities of, our road and rail services, to which I have referred?

The Minister knows that I am normally a "glass half full", rather than a "glass half empty", person. Our part of the region is capable of achieving and welcoming sustainable growth in a way that some other parts of the country perhaps are not. I hope that he can do something to reassure my constituents—especially those in the business community, who are keen to help Plymouth and the south-west to reach their full potential—about the Government's commitment to assisting with the challenges that I have described. In particular, I hope that he will look at the role that the revolving investment fund proposed in "The Way Ahead" might play in helping to achieve our ambitious agenda for improving the transport infrastructure of, and services to, Plymouth, Devon and Cornwall.

I congratulate my hon. Friend Linda Gilroy on securing this important Adjournment Debate on the transport needs and priorities in the far south-west. I listened very carefully to what she said.

This Government are committed to sustained long-term investment to improve local transport as a key element of their 10-year plan for transport. We announced in December 2000 that £8.4 billion would be available to implement local transport plans across England over the following five years. We also indicated that the four transport authorities in the far south-west would receive more than £88.8 million for integrated transport and maintenance measures in their first LTPs. In addition to this figure, we provided more than £15 million in reward funding and supplementary bids.

In our white paper entitled "The Future of Transport—A Network for 2030", which was published last year, we confirmed our commitment to continue this high investment in all forms of transport. The planning guidelines published for the five years of the second LTPs maintain these high levels of investment. Subject to the results of the consultation and the final assessments of the far south-west authorities' second LTPs, we plan to make available similar levels of investment— nearly £99 million over the next five years. Of course, if the LTPs are assessed as among the best in the country, that figure could increase significantly.

LTPs will address the very real needs of people in the far south-west. The focus will be on our shared priorities, which have been agreed with our partners in local government. There are four main areas for LTPs to address. First, they will tackle congestion, which costs us all in lost time and pollution. Secondly, they will aim to improve people's access to the jobs and services that they need for day-to-day living. Thirdly, they will continue the excellent work undertaken in the past five years to improve road safety. Plymouth city council, for example, has achieved a 48 per cent. reduction in serious or fatal child casualties over the life of the first LTP. Finally, LTPs will aim to improve air quality by working with other stakeholders to remove the air quality management areas that have been declared.

Transport authorities are now working up final plans to take account of lessons learned, and planning for the next five years. The Department is working closely with authorities across a range of topics, and advising, where necessary, on improving delivery against targets. Final LTPs will be presented to the Government in March next year.

LTPs have also provided a financial mechanism for delivering major schemes in the far south-west that cost more than £5 million. Of the four schemes—including Highways Agency schemes—currently under construction, the Plymouth one is a major public transport scheme. It includes a park-and-ride facility, public transport prioritisation and realignment of the A386 to allow increasing of the runway end safety area at Plymouth airport and conformity with Civil Aviation Authority regulations. Initially, this scheme had provisional approval to spend £5 million, but the Government approved a cost increase to £11.25 million, as the scheme still provided excellent value for money. I am pleased that the authority has brought the project to completion with savings on the original budget, and I congratulate it on that achievement.

In Devon, construction began on the Barnstaple bypass in February 2005. The scheme is partly funded by Devon county council but the Majority of resources—nearly £38 million—come from central Government funds. Two further schemes in Cornwall have received provisional approval for more than £37 million—the A39 Camelford distributor road and the A391 St. Austell to A30 link road. Work has begun on the Highways Agency scheme to replace the single carriageway A30 trunk road between the Bodmin bypass and the Indian Queens bypass with a new dual carriageway at a cost of £93 million. It is planned to open the road in summer 2007.

Work has also commenced on the improvement at Merrymeet, which will open in April 2007. The public inquiry into the Dobwalls improvement will open in January next year. That, too, is evidence of a genuine commitment by the Government to address local congestion points in the region. Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are designated objective 1 funding areas, and have thus benefited from significant investment in transport. Schemes such as the double tracking of the main rail line between Probus and Burngullow and improvements at Newquay airport to increase passenger handling capacity have increased opportunities in the region. Authorities in the far south-west have been successful in bidding for funds from other central funding sources. Recently, support has been announced for more than £2 million of kick-start bids in that part of the region. In the past five years, nearly £5.1 million has been awarded from the urban and rural bus challenge funds. In addition, I recently announced that £1.5 million would part-fund work to turn Exeter into one of six cycling demonstration towns.

My hon. Friend will recall the announcement on the second strategic road route to the south-west by the Secretary of State in November last year. The decision was made to improve in due course the A358 so that it would provide that route in conjunction with the A303. The route was chosen on the grounds of value for money and the lowest impact on the environment. The process has now been handed over to the region to decide how the route fits with other priorities. The world heritage site at Stonehenge, which my hon. Friend mentioned, is recognised by the Government as extremely important. However, due to a substantial increase in the cost of the proposed Stonehenge tunnel, we have deferred a decision on the inspector's report and recommendations on the draft scheme orders. Instead, a detailed review of scheme options is being carried out. There will be a full public consultation early in the new year before the steering group puts its recommendations to the Government by summer 2006. We do not know what will emerge from the review and what the scheme will cost. It is not possible to say how it will impact on the regional funding allocation for the south-west at this stage.

My understanding is that the cost of the scheme approaches £300 million, which accounts for a significant part of the transport budget. I hope that the Minister will keep an eagle eye on that issue, and help us to ensure that if the scheme goes ahead in that form the funding comes from a national, rather than a regional, budget.

My hon. Friend makes an important point, but she will have noted what I have just said.

We have introduced regional funding allocations so that the regions have more opportunity to influence the way in which transport funds are spent in their area. The south-west has been given an indicative allocation of just over £1 billion for the period 2005–06 to 2015–16. That sum will be devoted to funding local authority schemes costing over £5 million and schemes on trunk roads and motorways on the Highways Agency's regional network. The south-west region has been asked to identify the schemes that it regards as priorities for funding over that period and to submit that advice to central Government by end of January 2006. In that context, the suggestion of a revolving infrastructure fund for the south-west region is an interesting one, as it could be a useful tool in helping to provide development in the right places so that land use and transport considerations are properly integrated in support of sustainable economic growth.

My hon. Friend referred to rail issues. My Department is currently considering bids for the Greater Western rail franchise. The refranchising operation aims to deliver improved journey times, better quality, and more coherent services between London Paddington and the west. The new franchise will require the operator to provide at least one three-hour train in each direction on weekdays—there is currently no such obligation. The existing operator provides all such services on commercial judgment.

The base case on which the winning bidder for the Greater Western franchise will be chosen includes the continuation of the sleeper service. However, bidders were asked to submit a costed option of not providing it and were encouraged to look for alternative ways of serving the overnight market between London and the south-west. The aim of the costed option is to provide evidence of the cost of delivering the service and, if possible, to provide ways of identifying options that offer better value for money.

Crossrail will increase capacity and offer a better range of transport connections to central London, the City and docklands. Construction will be managed through a series of night-time and weekend track possessions and a two-week closure of Paddington. The details will be established through the normal Network Rail timetable and works planning processes. There is not expected to be any specific impact on services to and from the south-west during normal operation to and from Paddington. The intention is that Crossrail will use the slow lines, not the fast lines. The fast lines will also benefit from the additional electrification to ease freight train access.

My hon. Friend asked what consideration the Department has given to the need to maintain the integrity of the existing strategic routes with regard to the future of the Dawlish sea wall. This is an important and very scenic connection, on which Network Rail spent £2.5 million in 2003 to strengthen the foundations of the sea walls.

The works on the A38 to which my hon. Friend referred are essential maintenance to replace a stretch of road that had begun to fail structurally. Following discussions with the local environmental health officers, it was determined that night working is not possible because the road runs near communities and would cause annoyance to residents. The machinery being used is, I understand, very noisy. I note that the work was programmed for the quieter months from September through to Easter, to be completed before the main holiday season starts.

I welcome the growth of Plymouth airport over the past 12 months as a result of the introduction of new services. That is in line with policies in the air transport white paper supporting the expansion of regional airports to serve local demand. However, the future development of Plymouth City airport is a matter for the city council and for the operator. I understand that they have commissioned a study to examine the future role of the airport, including the possibility of extending the main runway in order to assure the long-term viability of the airport. The airlines currently serving Plymouth have aircraft capable of operating a viable network of routes from the existing runway.

My right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Ministry of Defence announced on 17 November that RAF St. Mawgan will not be considered further as a base for the joint combat aircraft. I am grateful to him for the clarity of the decision, which I hope will help to alleviate concerns in the far south-west about the long-term future of Newquay Cornwall airport, which utilises the runway, apron and other facilities of St. Mawgan. The decision leaves the way clear for Cornwall county council, which operates the civil airport, to propose plans for its long-term development.

My hon. Friend asked about route development funding to support the start-up of new services from airports in the south-west. The air transport White Paper advocated the use of such funds, but it is for each individual regional development agency to consider whether to establish a fund, in the light of its own financial position and priorities.

I have not heard my hon. Friend's full answer, of course, but I meant to raise the potential role for public service obligations, such as exist up to Inverness airport. May I add to the representations that I made about preserving air services by saying that that should be kept under review? With the fragility of the service, which we outlined today, and the dependence of the two airports on each other, such an obligation could be necessary in the future.

I understand the important point that my hon. Friend makes. In her speech, she was clear about that.

The far south-west is a diverse region with a growing population, great economic potential, and prized environmental and cultural assets. To maximise the benefits from these advantages, and to enable the region to develop economically and reduce social exclusion, transport must be well planned, managed and delivered. The Government are committed to working with our regional and local partners to provide the leadership that that requires. I hope I have been able to give some reassurance to my hon. Friend about our commitments to the far south-west, but I know that she will continue to be a great advocate for the south-west and for improvements in transport in the region.

Question put and agreed to.

Adjourned accordingly at sixteen minutes to Eleven o'clock.