[holding answer 19 April 2006]: I have been asked to reply.
Government have increased overall spending in the south east since 2000 by 50 per cent. from £30 billion to £45 billion, including a 244 per cent. increase in housing and community funding, 67 per cent. increase in health, 59 per cent. in transport and 58 per cent. in education.
The South East Plan has been recently submitted to Government and sets out the regional assembly's views on required house building levels in the south east to 2026. This work has been prepared in partnership with local councils, and so takes account of local assessments of need. In its draft the assembly has taken a view of infrastructure requirements across the region, and this will be debated at the forthcoming examination in public. In due course, the Government will give their approval to the final version, which will certainly take into account the issue of infrastructure delivery, on the basis of the best information available at the time.
The Government response to the Barker report included:
a cross-cutting review in the run-up to CSR 07 to co-ordinate infrastructure provision across Departments;
consultation on the Government's response to Kate Barker's recommendation for a Planning-Gain Supplement (PGS) to help finance infrastructure and ensure that local authorities share in the benefits growth brings.