Here are the responses from Andrew Turner’s office to two questions OnTheWight asked him this week.
The first, in response to yesterday’s revelation from an FOI request, where he wanted a taskforce set up to, ” … transfer Island Line to an Island-owned community enterprise partnership,” not one to consider all possible options.
The second, today’s, on Iain McKie’s accusation this morning that Mr Turner’s election leaflet was misleading when he’s stated:
“I have persuaded the Government to set up a Transport Infrastructure Taskforce, to be effective and responsive to the Island’s needs.” Andrew Turner’s response follows – Ed.
I have worked with the Government to set up a transport taskforce, and during the adjournment debate I held on 13th October last year the Transport Minister, the Rt Hon. John Hayes MP said:
“If Adjournment debates mean anything, they mean Members influencing how the Government do their business, as I know you would acknowledge, Mr Speaker. It would be helpful for me to meet my hon. Friend, the different ferry operators and perhaps other interested parties, such as the local council, to hear at first hand the challenges that they face and to encourage their participation in exactly the kind of holistic review of transport infrastructure that, as I know, is so dear to his heart.
“It would be my pleasure to host the review, which should work, where appropriate, with bus and train operators to co-ordinate departures and arrivals of services to facilitate journeys, and should consider the long-term transport needs of the island’s residents and visitors. It would have to be done with a bottom-up approach, led by those who know best—those who deliver the services and those who know the needs of the island—but if we can act as a facilitator or co-ordinator, I will be delighted to do so.
“My hon. Friend has done a great service to the House by drawing its attention to the kind of imaginative approach that he outlined and which I have endorsed. The Government very much support such an approach. As he knows, we have adopted it with local enterprise partnerships, which bring together local authorities and businesses to agree infrastructure priorities in their area for which they can bid for local growth fund resources. It is only by working together that businesses and local government can ensure that funding decisions made by central Government have the relevant impact in meeting local peoples’ needs. That is precisely what my hon. Friend has epitomised—indeed, one might say which he personified —in his helpful contribution.
“I have no desire to delay the House unduly, but I must suggest that my hon. Friend work closely with the Isle of Wight council—he mentioned this himself—to establish a team or what we might call a taskforce to prepare the terms of reference so that we can begin to put together the plan that he outlined to me briefly in private and has now described to the House.”
Subsequently (in November) the Council passed a resolution which included the following :
The Council offers its full support to the creation and work of the task force and looks forward to working closely with the Island’s MP, Government, SLEP, transport operators, the Chamber of Commerce through its MOU and all other stakeholders to secure the necessary external funds for its operation and in ensuring its success.
The Government offered to ‘host’ the review and also to act as ‘facilitator’ and ‘co-ordinator’. However, the Government wanted (and still wants) input and leadership from the Island, most especially from the Council.
Since then, I have been trying to encourage the Council to move forward with this, but despite offering them all possible help I have been unable to make any progress. I have spoken to the Chair and Chief Executive of the Solent LEP, who are keen to help, and I know that the Council were encouraged (by both the Minister and the Solent LEP) to engage with the Solent LEP to move this forward. In a letter to the then Leader of the Council on 27th October last year the Solent LEP told the Council.
I note that in your letter, you refer to the feasibility study for an Isle of Wight Infrastructure Plan to be considered by the Solent Strategic Land and Infrastructure Board. However, and to clarify, at our meeting we identified that it would be the Solent LEP Land, Property and Infrastructure Delivery Panel (rather than the Solent Strategic Land and Infrastructure Board) that would be the forum that would consider this proposal, alongside any other emerging proposals we receive, as it is the Delivery Panel that would be in a position to allocate LEP funding to such a study. I am aware that the creation of both the delivery panel and the Solent Strategic Land and Infrastructure does have the potential to cause confusion, and therefore please accept my apologies for this. I can however confirm that your proposal will need to come forward to the delivery panel as part of the Strategic Economic Plan update it will be asked to consider when it meets for the first time.
I have been repeatedly assured by the Council that it wishes to play a key role in setting up the taskforce. However, I understand that no proposal has yet been made by the Council to the Solent LEP Land, Property and Infrastructure Delivery Panel. This is frustrating both for the Government and myself.
I will be meeting the Leader of the Council shortly and if the Council are now unwilling to play a leading part in the Taskforce then we will need to consider other ways of making sure this work moves forward.
Second question
Q: How do you respond to claims you have mislead the public?
It is clear from the foregoing that it is completely untrue. It is simply another smear from the former UKIP candidate.
Image: Screen grab from parliamentlive.tv coverage of 13 October 2014 debate
