Traffic Congestion (Manchester, Withington)

Part of the debate – in Westminster Hall at 4:16 pm on 25 January 2006.

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Photo of Karen Buck Karen Buck Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport) 4:16, 25 January 2006

I congratulate Mr. Leech on securing the debate and on making some important points, a number of which I agree with, as I hope I shall make clear in my contribution. I shall raise with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister any issues that he has flagged up today that do not fall within the remit of the Department for Transport.

My Department worked closely with Greater Manchester in the development of the Greater Manchester integrated transport strategy. The hon. Gentleman may be aware that his constituency is in one of four priority corridor partnerships, which are being developed through work on the strategy with the transport innovation fund and through the local transport plan process.

Since 1997, we have more than doubled spending on transport infrastructure and invested substantially in public transport to provide greater choice. Greater Manchester has received a total transport allocation of £823 million during this period and we need to ensure that this substantial investment is converted into real improvements that deliver real value for money. For 2006–07, Greater Manchester received total block funding of £68.62 million in the local transport capital settlement, with an additional £7.358 million for major schemes and £3.5 million through the transport infrastructure fund. That included £6.744 million for the south-east Manchester multi-modal study. That investment reflects our recognition of the important role played by the Greater Manchester authorities. We will work closely with them in supporting improvements in services for all those who live and work in Greater Manchester.

As the hon. Gentleman has said, in Manchester and in many towns and cities throughout the country, congestion is a growing problem. It is important that in developing strategies, whether they relate to public transport or the management of roads, we must consider not just the situation in 2006, but that of 10, 15 or 20 years in the future. The reliability of journeys in the context of increasingly congested roads is a growing problem. Manchester city suffers the second highest average delay time for drivers in the whole of the UK—second only to London.

It is a complex problem, varying from place to place, and with time of day. Although it is important that we increase capacity on some roads, we cannot solve the problem of congestion by simply building more and more roads. There is not the space to do it, especially in urban areas such as Manchester.