The East of England All Party Parliamentary Group launched their submission to the Spending Review and Autumn Budget at a Parliamentary Reception on Tuesday.

Already a net contributor to the Exchequer, the submission points out that the region could do more if it were better supported, for example if transport spend per head of population was raised to the national average.

Peter Aldous, MP for Waveney, is Co-Chair of the APPG whose submission showcases the region’s potential for prosperity, productivity and inclusivity as well as six challenges where it looks for Government support to overcome.

The Rt Hon Liz Truss, Chief Secretary to the Treasury and MP for South West Norfolk formally received the report which was presented by Peter Aldous, his Co-Chair Daniel Zeichner, MP for Cambridge, and Cllr David Finch, Chair of the East of England Local Government Association and Leader of Essex County Council.

The report comes to six hard hitting conclusions including the urgent need for investment in transport schemes and increase transport spend per head – currently £402 – to the UK average which is £483, 20% higher. By way of comparison, Government figures compiled by IPPR show that in London the figure is £1,019 per person.

Other recommendations include:

• Prioritise support for the delivery of housing including more affordable housing.
• Make the East of England a leader in digital connectivity, including action to eradicate mobile “not spots,” and to increase full fibre networks for business.
• Boosting apprenticeships and skills provision so it is fit for purpose in the post-Brexit economy of the future.
• Ensure the region has the funds to be able to meet the impact of climate change, given the region is low lying and receives less rainfall than parts of the Middle East, and help maximise opportunities to be leaders in the drive towards a low carbon economy.
• Devolve decision making and finance to Local Authorities and local partnerships such as LEPs[1] and Sub-National Transport Bodies, including a sustainable, long term financial settlement for local government.

Peter Aldous, Co-chair of the East of England APPG and MP for Waveney, said:

“The East of England has long been a key pillar of the national economy and the huge potential of the East of England in contributing to the future prosperity of the UK must be reflected in the Government’s priorities and departmental investment plans.

“We know the key issue is how to manage and spread Cambridge’s growth to market towns and coastal communities so that all the East of England is a great place to work, study, live and invest. The Government must prioritise not just the Cambridge-Milton Keynes-Oxford (CaMkOx) corridor but also the other key cities and towns across the region.

 “We call on Government to ensure that the East of England receives a fair share of infrastructure investment to make sure it maintains its global competitiveness and continues to grow its net contribution to the Treasury.”

See below the Speech that Peter made at the Reception:

An Engine for the Nation’s Prosperity – East of England Submission to Spending Review and Autumn Budget 2019

Speech by Peter Aldous MP

It is great to welcome you all to this reception of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the East of England.

Special thanks are due:-

• To those parliamentarians from across the region who contribute to the group.

• To our colleagues from local government and the LEPS who participate so proactively.

• To our supporters from the private and voluntary sectors, including AstraZenica, Anglian Water, London Stansted, the A120 Group and British Sugar.

• To Steve Barwick’s team at Devo Connect who provide the group’s secretariat.

I am most grateful to AstraZenica who are supporting this reception.

Whilst we are a parliamentary group, the unique feature of this APPG is that we are a partnership of parliamentarians, local government and business, who working together have come up with proposals that are evidence based.

The East of England is a very special region, which contributes an enormous amount to the UK - socially, culturally and economically.

We are one of the fastest growing regions in the country, our businesses are at the cutting edge of research and development investment and we are one of only three regions who are net contributors to the Exchequer.

It is a good story but with the right investment it can be an even better one.

For the challenges that lie ahead, whatever they may be, the UK economy needs to be firing on all cylinders.

The East of England Engine, with the right fine tuning and with investment in the “best battery” technology (yes we’re moving away from the internal combustion engine), can contribute even more for the benefit of the country, the region and most importantly the people who live and work in our area.

Today we are launching our submission, “An Engine for the Nation’s Prosperity” to the Spending Review and the Autumn Budget. There are six recommendations that we will be promoting to Government over the course of the next few weeks and months:-

1. Increased and properly co-ordinated investment in transport infrastructure.
   Very often in exchanging pleasantries, the British talk about the weather. Us, East Anglians we talk about roads and railways; historically they’re not very good.
   Yes significant improvements are taking place including brand new trains, a new section of the A14 between Cambridge and Huntingdon, the upgrading of the A47 and the new bridge in Lowestoft. But more is needed so as to achieve parity in spending terms with other regions and we need to plan more strategically across the whole region.

2. We need more and better housing to accommodate the growing population.
   This must not only be affordable, but it must be built in the right places to high environmental standards and must come with the necessary supporting infrastructure.
   The report sets out what needs to be done to achieve this.

3. With the East of England being home to so many cutting-edge businesses, we must be leaders not laggards in digital connectivity.
   We must have the investment to get rid of those infuriating mobile “not spots”, there must be local full fibre networks in our towns and cities and enhanced 5G must cover rural areas where our farmers are pioneers in the use of digital technologies.

4. We must invest in our people so that they have the skills that our flagship industries need.
   East of England businesses are leaders in life sciences, agri-tech and clean energy. To stay at the top of their respective league tables and to make further investment in the region they need staff with the right education, expertise and enthusiasm. We must provide them with the means to deliver this, including reforming the Apprenticeship Levy to provide more flexibility in how funds are used.

5. The East of England is in the vanguard of meeting the challenges and opportunities presented by climate change.
   We are a low-lying region with a long coast, we need the funds to protect our communities and safeguard, in a sustainable way, our natural assets including the estuaries, the Broads and the Fens.
   The drive towards the low carbon economy provides great opportunities for businesses and for creating jobs.
   There are two nuclear power stations proposed at Sizewell and Bradwell, the southern North Sea is the emerging home to the largest array of windfarms in the world and there are significant opportunities there for carbon storage in the gas fields.

6. There needs to be more devolved decision making to the local authorities, to the Mayor of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authorities, to the LEPS and the subnational transport bodies.
   It is these local people and local organisations who are best placed to work with Government to unlock the region’s potential.
   The local governance of much of our region is largely covered by counties and two-tier authorities. With the current local government funding settlement such areas get a raw deal. This needs to be put right at the forthcoming spending review.

In conclusion our region currently delivers a great deal for UK PLC but with the right investment we can do much more. For too long, we have been the nation’s hidden gem. We must come out of our shells, should loud and proud and secure the investment so as to fire up the East of England Engine.