Charlie Elphicke
Main Page: Charlie Elphicke (Independent - Dover)Department Debates - View all Charlie Elphicke's debates with the HM Treasury
(11 years, 6 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Danny Alexander
Rather than the proposal to use revenues from the auction, there are other policies that we can use to support the objective highlighted in the question, including those highlighted by the hon. Member for South West Devon (Mr Streeter)—planning reform, releasing public sector land and other fiscal steps that the Government can take which do not involve committing to this policy now.
Charlie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)
Will the Minister confirm answers to my written questions—that the reserve for the auction is £1.4 billion and that half has been allocated to science and higher education investment? Is this a case of Labour spending money that we do not have, yet again?
Danny Alexander
It is exactly that. The reserve price is £1.4 billion, of which £600 million has been allocated to important science projects, such as the Graphene institute in Manchester. Were we to follow the advice of the Opposition, we would have to cancel significant science projects which are vital to growth in this country. That would be the wrong policy for the British economy.