§ 3. Mr. Howard Flight (Arundel and South Downs)If he will make a statement on the impact on motorists in rural areas of the proposals in the transport White Paper. [54359]
§ The Minister of Transport (Dr. John Reid)The measures in the White Paper will produce a transport system that increases choice for all, including those who live in rural areas. As part of our strategy, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor announced in March an additional £50 million a year to improve the public transport alternative in rural areas.
§ Mr. FlightI am sure that the Minister would agree that the substantial rise in petrol taxes falls disproportionately on people in rural areas when they take children to school or go to the shops, and particularly when they travel to work. Will the Government ensure that the new taxing powers in the White Paper are used 1075 to mitigate that, and will they consider tax incentives for businesses in rural areas to bus people into work, which under the present tax arrangements is taxed as a benefit in kind?
§ Dr. ReidThe hon. Gentleman will know that the Government fully appreciate the benefits of car ownership, especially in rural areas. The point that we have always made is that the benefits of car ownership that have been gained by previous generations will not be gained by future generations unless we change car use. We accept that for many people in rural areas a car is a necessity. The Chancellor's announcement in the last Budget that vehicle excise duty rates would be frozen and a graduated scheme introduced for cars should help to offset higher fuel costs, especially for rural motorists with smaller, cleaner cars.
The hon. Gentleman should remember, however, that a significant proportion of people in rural areas—upwards of 20 per cent. in rural households—have no access whatever to a car. That is why we are equally committed to providing decent, safe, reliable public transport. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will welcome the £50 million extra that this Government have allocated, over and above any plans that his Government had.
§ Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby)Will my right hon. Friend confirm that he understands that, in my constituency, only 57 per cent. of rural dwellers have access to a private vehicle? The initiative taken forward with the county council to introduce community transport and improvements in rural bus services will play an important part in dealing with the problems of social exclusion that manifest themselves in the north-east of England.
§ Dr. ReidYes, indeed. My hon. Friend gives a prime example of the difficulties faced by many people in rural areas. That is why I am extremely pleased and proud that this Government have taken measures, as I mentioned earlier, to allocate an additional £50 million towards public transport in the rural areas. He will also know that the Chancellor announced an increase in bus fuel duty rebate worth £40 million to protect bus operators from the increases in diesel duty over the next 12 months. My hon. Friend can be sure that we shall continue to bear in mind the particular circumstances of people in rural areas.
§ Mrs. Gillian Shephard (South-West Norfolk)Earlier this afternoon, the Minister for Local Government and Housing seemed not to have understood the consequences of this Government's deliberate switch of £100 million of council funding from shire to urban areas this year. Does the Minister at least understand that that switch of funding—which is his Government's policy and nothing to do with the previous Government—has had a devastating effect on minor roads, roads maintenance and transport packages in rural areas? What does he intend to do to correct that imbalance?
§ Dr. ReidThe right hon. Lady would do well to reflect on the fact that it was the destruction, division and devastating effects of 18 years of her party's government that resulted in the rural areas being so well represented on the Labour Benches.
1076 As my hon. Friend pointed out earlier, the statistics and methodology that are being used to allocate that money are based on sparsity and density of population—precisely the criteria used by the previous Government. As I have pointed out, we shall provide extra finance for local transport in the rural areas. As my hon. Friend the Minister for the Regions, Regeneration and Planning stated earlier, rural areas will be an essential part of our regional development plans throughout the country. In all three respects, we are initiating plans for progress in the rural areas the like of which was never seen under the previous Government.