Communities and Local Government

• Corporate
• Newsroom
• Speeches, statements and articles
• MKSM Annual Conference: Success in a changing climate

www.communities.gov.uk

MKSM Annual Conference: Success in a changing climate

Date of speech	10 November 2009
Location	The Auction House, Luton
Event summary	Milton Keynes South Midlands (MKSM) Annual Conference: Success in a changing climate

---

Transcript of the speech as delivered.

Thank you Martin (Tett). And can I also thank you for the work you do as Chair of the MKSM Executive Board and as Chair of the Leaders' Group.

It's also great to be here in Luton, a town that's transforming itself - not just in physical terms, but economically too, with space for new industries, offices and homes at Napier Park (£400m mixed use industrial space, offices and residential); the Butterfield Technology Park; the Town Centre re-development; and improvements to the railway station: all positive, visible signs of change and progress in Luton. A confident place, looking to the future.

MKSM

Martin (Tett), Hilary (Chipping), John (Lewis), and Oona (Muirhead) came in to see me recently to tell me all about MKSM and the excellent work that you're doing.

I have to say I was fascinated by the issues raised by the unique partnerships you've forged with the country's only sub-regional structure that transcends three different regions.

In addition to my work at CLG, I'm the regional minister for the West Midlands and I know how hard it can be to get people from different local authorities working together.

Come to think of it, I remember from when I was a councillor how hard it can be to get councillors from different wards on the same local authority working together.

I think it was Oona who described the joint working across the regions as being a bit like a marriage, so I'm not sure if that makes me a match-maker, or a marriage guidance counsellor!

But despite these challenges, you've taken MKSM from what was just an idea five years ago, to a really successful organisation with a strong track record of delivery:

58,000 new homes.

Securing new investment for major new infrastructure projects.

Big achievements, but big challenges too.

Providing the new jobs and new homes families need.

Building better international trading links and improving the transport system.

Capitalising on new industries and new jobs.

All of which you're working on with a sub-regional economic implementation plan, a clear framework to support delivery.

And the country's first sub-regional Inter-Urban Transport Strategy.

Importance of Housing

Now today's conference is organised around the theme "Success in a Changing Climate".

And that for me sums up MKSM.

Recognising the difficult global challenges, but being confident about yourself and confident about what you are all trying to do.

Take housing -

In 2007-08 we had the highest level of house-building for 30 years and the highest level of affordable housing since 1996-97.

Here in MKSM you have delivered more than 58,000 homes since 2001 a truly fantastic achievement.

But the level of supply has not kept up with demand. And the problems of affordability have not gone away.

252,000 new households are expected to form each year and average deposit requirements now average £35,000.

Too many people are struggling to get a home of their own.

Here in Luton alone, 7,400 people on the housing waiting list and over 500 people on the homeless waiting list.

These are tough decisions, but ones we cannot duck.

Jobs

Jobs are crucial too, so I was really impressed at the level of work that's gone into the Economic Development Implementation Plan, and can I thank the three RDAs for their work on this.

You only have to watch the Formula One to appreciate the importance of the sub-region to high performance engineering. (And I hope we can welcome F1 back to Silverstone soon.)

Climate Change

And you're looking ahead, at the importance of Next Generation Broadband, and of low carbon businesses as well.

That's crucial because we cannot ignore climate change.

So I agree with you that Next Generation broadband is vital for both supporting the growth of the MKSM economy and helping us meet our climate change targets.

The recent Digital Britain White Paper outlined Government's commitment to ensure the UK had world class communications infrastructure and be at the forefront of the Digital Economy, helping grow new businesses, particularly in rural areas.

We're working closely with the communications regulator OFCOM to release additional spectrum to develop the next generation of mobile broadband services. The Government is currently consulting on a set of proposals to achieve this outcome and ensure that the UK has a wireless infrastructure that will enable the most extensive coverage for those on the move.

This work also includes higher standards elsewhere with the Code for Sustainable Homes and a target of Zero Carbon Homes by 2016, for example.

But local action is really important. So I welcome the important work that you are doing, led by the Environment Agency, to develop an MKSM Sustainability Statement. And I really hope you'll push your ambitions.

And with the sub-region home to great developments like Oxley Park in Milton Keynes and Upton in Northampton, which has the first commercially-built Code-six homes in the UK, and the Icon sustainable construction centre under construction in Daventry, you'll have some great examples to showcase those ambitions for all to see.

Infrastructure - Civic and Major

But I recognise the costs of growth, and the importance of wider infrastructure to support growth.

And locally you are identifying the areas that will make a real difference to the communities you represent.

• In Milton Keynes, plans for University Centre Milton Keynes in partnership with Open University, University of Bedfordshire and the University of Northampton have taken a major step forward after the proposals received support from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)
• Both Aylesbury and Corby have newly opened rail stations.
• Town centres have been renewed in Northampton (Gold Street), Kettering (Market Square) and here in Luton (St George's Square).

And on the sporting side there is much to celebrate:

• Corby new 50m swimming pool is included in both the London 2012's Olympic and Paralympics Pre-Games Training Camp Guides.
• Stoke Mandeville is home to the British Paralympics
• and Milton Keynes is bidding to be one of the host stadiums for England's 2018 World Cup campaign.

More than £450m in growth funding has been allocated to MKSM since 2003.

Over £120m has been allocated through the Community Infrastructure Fund specifically to support transport schemes and we've changed how funding works, with multi-year allocations, funding paid annually as a block grant, with no ringfencing on how funding is used, and no formal monitoring.

But it's not just CLG.

The Department for Transport is investing around £4bn in transport schemes that will support growth and MKSM has been a big winner with:

• M1 capacity improvements,
• the A14 at Kettering, the A43 Corby Link Road, the Bedford Western Bypass, the East Luton Corridor,
• improvements to the West Coast Main Line and Milton Keynes station, Thameslink,
• the Luton Guided Bus and the A421 in Bedford.

And I am pleased that in the last few days DfT have confirmed a shared funding proposal for the A5-M1 link road north of Dunstable, with an additional £10m from the National Roads Budget.

This will allow construction of the new Junction 11a to be accelerated for delivery in parallel with the planned M1 works, with a start of works in 2011.

And we've also been working with other Government departments to review how they can best support growth, and will be setting out some of the measures they have introduced in the near future.

Recession

But the recession is clearly affecting what we are doing.

We have seen new housing stalled, businesses suffering, jobs being lost and families fearing losing their homes.

We are clear about our long-term objectives, and determined to find short and medium-term solutions to the problems that have arisen.

That is why the Prime Minister announced the £1.5bn Housing Pledge package in June to provide an extra 20,000 affordable homes.

Up and down the country this is helping to re-start stalled housing sites, start new housing schemes, bring local authorities back into house building and at the same time supporting the housebuilding industry and creating an estimated 45,000 new jobs.

Tough decisions, but necessary to get the economy moving again and protect jobs in construction.

At the Pre-Budget Report we'll be reporting on our strategy for recovery, including on the key drivers of:

• Making sure there is sufficient land for development,
• delivering effective and coordinated infrastructure provision;
• promoting a strong and diverse house building sector;
• continuing to ensure the increased long-term supply of social and affordable housing.

Skills

In previous recessions or when the public finances have come under pressure, the first spending to be cut has been long-term investment in skills - precisely the investment we need to ensure our economy is stronger for the future.

This time, instead of cutting this necessary investment we must keep it going because we all know that the only way we'll attract the jobs and businesses on which our prosperity will depend in the future is by showing investors that we've got the skills they need.

And the only way we'll compete in the future is with a highly-skilled workforce so the businesses they work for can innovate more, exploit new technologies and capitalise on new ways of working to boost productivity, open up new markets and win new customers.

And we all know too, that if we don't adopt this approach, we will be more and more vulnerable to competition from businesses, countries and economies which do.

In the last big recession of the early 1980's, the huge loss of jobs that occurred in the construction sector did not recover to pre-recession levels until 1997. So, if the current pattern was allowed to continue without Government assistance, the loss of skills and capacity to the sector could be felt for years to come.

So I was really impressed to hear about Construction Futures, created by the West Northants Development Corporation and Northamptonshire Enterprise Ltd, to provide construction skills for students.

It's this sort of approach, and the plans for the University Centre Milton Keynes, that will help ensure the MKSM comes through the recession and delivers the economic success and growth that will be needed in years to come.

Partnership

And we all know the only way to deliver this huge agenda on housing, jobs, skills and transport is by working together.

The truth is that we either collaborate and co-operate or we compete.

That means making compromises, agreeing common goals and setting aside vested interests.

It's hard - of course it is - because you don't always get exactly what you want.

But working together should mean that you all get some of what you want - and that's got to be better than nobody getting anything at all.

It's the only way we'll win the resources to make the major structural changes we need to turn our economy round.

So what will also be crucial in years to come is better partnership working - and you are clearly already ahead of the game.

Working not just across local authority boundaries, but across regional boundaries too.

Working on a different scale across the sub-region where it makes sense to do so, and where it adds value.

But it's also about need to do things differently and meet the challenges and opportunities caused huge economic changes taking place faster than ever before.

And when capital, jobs, businesses and whole industries can move right around the world, some of the communities here have paid the highest price for the benefits of globalisation.

In Corby, the changes in the steel industry.

In Northampton, the decline in the shoe trade on which its prosperity was based.

And faced with this massive restructuring, we have a choice.

We can blame the government and say that if we only got "government out of the way" communities would be free to transform themselves.

Or we can say that whilst communities still struggle with poverty, and our economy lags behind the rest of the UK, there is a role for organisations that can get government, business, educational institutes and local authorities all working together.

So let's raise our sights, adopt new ideas and new approaches.

Let's work together - harder than ever before.

Set aside for ever the prejudices of one area against another, town against country, public sector against private sector.

Let's jointly pledge that as we overcome this recession and as our economy grows again.

We will not leave any community behind.

We'll build a stronger economy by exploiting new opportunities with better skills and more innovation and together we'll transform this area and the lives of the people who live here.

Thank you.