§ 8. Mr. BoothTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement about the progress of urban regeneration in the towns and cities of south Wales. [5215]
§ Mr. Jonathan EvansA large number of public and private sector partnerships are contributing expertise and resources to assist regeneration in south Wales—with considerable success.
§ Mr. BoothRegardless of the somewhat bilious question from the hon. Member for Ynys Môn (Mr. Jones), and as this is the first—and possibly the only—time that I have attended Welsh questions [HON. MEMBERS: "Hear, hear."], may I tell the House that I was a full partner of the city of Swansea to get inward investment in urban regeneration? Will my right hon. Friend tell the House what the Government are doing to publicise the amazing success of our urban regeneration programme? In the case of Cardiff bay, for example, we invested £350 million of Government money to get £500 million of private money. What is my right hon. Friend doing to publicise our success in Wales?
§ Mr. EvansI thank my hon. Friend for asking that question because, in doing so, he calls attention to the Government's urban regeneration success. I know of his role in that process as a former chairman of the British Urban Regeneration Association and the close interest that he takes in such matters.
It is astonishing that those Opposition Members who represent the areas that have benefited most from significant investment in urban regeneration—which has played its part in creating new job opportunities in Wales—deride that issue in the House. There have been hundreds of millions of pounds' worth of investment and the latest programme for the valleys, which was launched on 1 April 1993, is also helping to improve the economic future of those areas. Since that time, some 9,000 homes have been renovated and £35 million-worth of land reclamation has been undertaken—but apparently that does not interest Opposition Members.
§ Mr. Win GriffithsWhile every penny spent on urban regeneration partnership agreements is welcome, will the Minister acknowledge that local authorities in Wales will find it harder to participate in urban regeneration programmes this year because, of the money made available through the revenue support grant, once spending on police and community care is stripped away, the increase is only 1.6 per cent.—considerably less than the rate of inflation? Will the Minister find more money to promote further success for urban regeneration?
§ Mr. EvansWhat an extraordinary claim by the hon. Gentleman on behalf of the local authorities. As part of redefining the relationship with local authorities, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has arranged for the 661 strategic development scheme to be taken forward by local government. Therefore, this year local government has the opportunity to play an ever more central role in taking forward urban regeneration—I rather hoped that the hon. Gentleman would welcome that fact.