I've now made a few calls to various dealers/breakers/parts suppliers. Bottom line is that these are only available from VW and the part number stamped on it comes up as a 'Deceleration cut-off valve' on the dealers parts system. This would make sense because not only does the name explain the root cause of the problem, but it also ties in with what the poster who told people to clean it, stated.
The part number is "027 133 985 A" and costs £66.61 from the dealer. Unfortunately it's back order only, so it could be some time before I get my new one, 10 days at least according to the dealer.
