HC Deb 27 November 2002 vol 395 c364W
Mr. Watts

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the impact the creation of the proposed three new towns in the south east will have on public expenditure; what the cost will be of providing(a) transport, (b) schools, (c) housing, (d) health and (e) other infrastructure to the three towns; and what impact public funding for the new towns will have on other regions. [82600]

Mr. McNulty

In his statement to the House in July, the Deputy Prime Minister set out the Government's intentions for tackling the housing shortage in London and the south east. Studies of the potential for growth have been published for the Milton Keynes/South Midlands area and the London-Stansted-Cambridge area, and the Ashford study is due for publication imminently. These studies give some indication of the infrastructure that will be needed to support growth but what is needed will clearly be dependent on the scale of growth and where it is located. Over the coming months the Government, taking account of these studies, will work with regional and local partners in each of the areas to establish where, at what scale, and how quickly growth can be achieved. My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister will set out next steps when, early in the New Year, he makes a statement to the House on his comprehensive long-term programme of action for sustainable communities, as promised in his statement on 18 July.

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