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Good morning and welcome to live coverage of the House of Commons. In | :00:11. | :00:21. | |
one hour, an urgent question is being asked concerning the first | :00:22. | :00:35. | |
pub's attributed the macro educateds attributed. Then, a statement from a | :00:36. | :00:42. | |
minister for skills, Nick Bowles, on apprenticeships. MPs then move on to | :00:43. | :00:48. | |
debate more of the details on the Northern Ireland hell, and later MPs | :00:49. | :00:50. | |
return to the debate on keeping copies of legislation. The motion | :00:51. | :00:54. | |
regrets the Lord's decision to discontinue the use of Val, the | :00:55. | :00:59. | |
parchment made from calfskin. Don't forget to join me for a round-up of | :01:00. | :01:06. | |
the day at 11pm. First, questions to the Secretary of State for | :01:07. | :01:08. | |
Transport, Patrick MacLachlan and his ministerial team. | :01:09. | :01:24. | |
-- vellum. Questions to be Secretary of State for Transport. Highways | :01:25. | :01:36. | |
England's delivery plans set out how it would deliver the ?15 billion | :01:37. | :01:43. | |
road investment strategy. Work is underway on 19 major schemes, | :01:44. | :01:47. | |
several of which started this financial year as planned. Chronic | :01:48. | :01:53. | |
congestion causes delays to thousands of commuters on the 27 at | :01:54. | :02:00. | |
junctions nine and iron, and with Fareham set to C 6000 new homes at | :02:01. | :02:05. | |
Welbourne and thousands more at North Whiteley, what steps are you | :02:06. | :02:10. | |
taking to ensure vital upgrades to this piece of infrastructure are | :02:11. | :02:15. | |
carried out as a matter of priority? I know this particular scheme is of | :02:16. | :02:19. | |
interest to my honourable friend. The departments is working with | :02:20. | :02:22. | |
highways England and Hampshire County Council on a way forward is | :02:23. | :02:29. | |
to improvements to junction nine on the M25 in. I will ensure you are | :02:30. | :02:35. | |
kept informed of progress. A separate scheme to improve junction | :02:36. | :02:40. | |
ten of the M27 is being funded by private developer and the local | :02:41. | :02:44. | |
enterprise partnership, but I am more than happy to continue keeping | :02:45. | :02:47. | |
my honourable friend updated on this matter. Is the Minister will know, | :02:48. | :02:59. | |
junctions 12 to 14 of the M26 have seen accidents in recent years and | :03:00. | :03:02. | |
there is a need for some form of managed motorway so do you share | :03:03. | :03:06. | |
disappointment that a publication this week makes no mention of this? | :03:07. | :03:11. | |
When will his department to take action? I will look at the | :03:12. | :03:18. | |
individual points you have raised but I think the very fact that we | :03:19. | :03:24. | |
have a road investment strategy far superior to anything that existed | :03:25. | :03:27. | |
before 2010, I would have thought you would have welcomed that was not | :03:28. | :03:32. | |
will my right honourable friend except that my constituents are | :03:33. | :03:38. | |
warmly welcoming the investment being made in upgrading the A12 to | :03:39. | :03:47. | |
three lanes? -- accept. Can you advise me when you expect phase one | :03:48. | :03:53. | |
from the M25 to the southern border of Chelmsford to commence progress? | :03:54. | :04:02. | |
I am grateful for his point. In December 2014, the government | :04:03. | :04:07. | |
announced a scheme to widen the A12 from junction 20 82 Chelmsford. -- | :04:08. | :04:20. | |
28th. The scheme will be developed until 2020 and we expect the next | :04:21. | :04:25. | |
period to be developed until March 20 25. What assessment he has the | :04:26. | :04:33. | |
departments made of the M66 and M6 is south of that, which is called | :04:34. | :04:42. | |
the busiest road? It is jam-packed from 6am until 10am every morning, | :04:43. | :04:48. | |
what is being done to resolve this situation? Investment on a far | :04:49. | :04:51. | |
greater scale than ever imagine by the party he supported in government | :04:52. | :05:01. | |
is the simple fact. The ?16 billion is greater investment than we have | :05:02. | :05:04. | |
seen in our road network for a number of years. One of the critical | :05:05. | :05:12. | |
parts of the road investment strategy is to improve safety and on | :05:13. | :05:16. | |
that note could I ask the secretary of state to look at safety | :05:17. | :05:18. | |
particularly over the last few months at the junction of the A303 | :05:19. | :05:25. | |
and A34, and there have been a number of accidents there and I | :05:26. | :05:31. | |
believe safety can be improved. I am more than happy to ask officials to | :05:32. | :05:34. | |
look at that and I will report back to you. The road investment strategy | :05:35. | :05:41. | |
is really important but we know that every journey begins on a local road | :05:42. | :05:46. | |
and the vast majority of journeys are made on local roads and some are | :05:47. | :05:51. | |
in quite a state. Last November, two great fanfare, the pothole fund was | :05:52. | :05:55. | |
announced, and we hope it is permanent action on potholes. Can | :05:56. | :06:00. | |
you tell us how much is being drawn down by councils on that pothole | :06:01. | :06:04. | |
front? How many have been filled in so far? He wants devolution and then | :06:05. | :06:12. | |
he once the government to say exactly what is local authorities | :06:13. | :06:19. | |
should do in every circumstance. The simple fact is that between 2015 and | :06:20. | :06:24. | |
2020, allegations have been made to local authorities of ?6 billion. | :06:25. | :06:31. | |
Between 2010 and 2015, that was ?4 billion. Between 2005 and 2010, the | :06:32. | :06:35. | |
amount allocated to local authorities for road maintenance was | :06:36. | :06:40. | |
?3 billion. I think he will see from that a significant increase in what | :06:41. | :06:44. | |
this government is giving for road maintenance. I thought he would have | :06:45. | :06:51. | |
welcomed it. Will my right honourable friend recognise the | :06:52. | :06:54. | |
urgent need for clarity about the capacity of junction eight on the | :06:55. | :07:00. | |
M11 motorway and the possibility of there being a junction seven hey | :07:01. | :07:06. | |
because these have a bearing on decisions being made against a | :07:07. | :07:11. | |
deadline by local authorities on local plans? -- 7A. I am grateful he | :07:12. | :07:20. | |
raised the case and I will write to my honourable friend on what | :07:21. | :07:23. | |
progress is being made on the exact location. This department is | :07:24. | :07:34. | |
providing over ?7 billion to the devolved local road fund which will | :07:35. | :07:37. | |
fund over 500 local transit or projects by the end of this | :07:38. | :07:42. | |
Parliament. It includes ?475 million for transformational schemes that | :07:43. | :07:46. | |
are too large for the devolved allegations. We will provide further | :07:47. | :07:53. | |
details very soon. May I make a plea to the Minister, when will some of | :07:54. | :08:03. | |
the ?75 million be used to reduce noise pollution, identified by | :08:04. | :08:08. | |
Highways England on the A47 through Peterborough? It is part of the | :08:09. | :08:18. | |
strategic road network so it is not part of the money I just announced | :08:19. | :08:23. | |
but in November 2014, the Chancellor announced money for the A47, | :08:24. | :08:28. | |
including the section between the A1 and Peterborough. In terms of noise | :08:29. | :08:32. | |
pollution, the government has challenged Highways England to | :08:33. | :08:36. | |
mitigate noise in 1000 locations, and reductions could mean barriers | :08:37. | :08:44. | |
and new services. Transport North published a report this week which | :08:45. | :08:47. | |
looks at both local and regional links and act is to the national | :08:48. | :08:51. | |
network and it puts forward ambitious schemes for improvements | :08:52. | :08:57. | |
to rail transport between Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds, and better | :08:58. | :09:01. | |
access to the high-speed network, what kind of coordination will there | :09:02. | :09:08. | |
be to make sure it happens? Eight road and rail, particularly in terms | :09:09. | :09:11. | |
of freight and HS2 will open up new freight part which can be used to | :09:12. | :09:17. | |
take the pressure of the roads, so coordination on that is vital and | :09:18. | :09:25. | |
wee -- and we are working with Transport North, and I am unliveable | :09:26. | :09:35. | |
later on today. -- paths. It is easier to access the tens of | :09:36. | :09:39. | |
thousands of jobs travelling from the East End, what support can the | :09:40. | :09:44. | |
Minister give my residence on Canvey Island who have been campaigning for | :09:45. | :09:48. | |
a third road for many decades? New road infrastructure can warm the | :09:49. | :09:57. | |
economy and prove like macro -- and provide access to jobs and we will | :09:58. | :10:00. | |
announce further funding options is very soon. I hope the honourable | :10:01. | :10:04. | |
lady will continue to make the coast case for this project with the local | :10:05. | :10:08. | |
enterprise partnership and County Council. The port facilities are | :10:09. | :10:12. | |
superb and it is important we give them the infrastructure to back them | :10:13. | :10:19. | |
up. Large infrastructure projects have been the hallmark of the | :10:20. | :10:22. | |
Scottish Government since they came to power in 2007, too many to list | :10:23. | :10:26. | |
here. Issues such as the Borders rail link, the trunk Link road, and | :10:27. | :10:34. | |
the Pope to Inverness a nine Juli Inkster. Scotland is investing twice | :10:35. | :10:40. | |
as much on transport as England and this includes active travel projects | :10:41. | :10:45. | |
like cycling. -- A9. Last year, the government made an announcement of a | :10:46. | :10:52. | |
new access funds, up to 2021. Can the government clear up the | :10:53. | :10:55. | |
confusion by when this fund is going to go ahead? It is interesting you | :10:56. | :11:01. | |
did not mention the high-speed rail line between Edinburgh and Glasgow | :11:02. | :11:05. | |
which has been conveniently shelved. SNP control Perth and Kinross | :11:06. | :11:11. | |
Council and they have decided that potholes have to be 60 millimetres | :11:12. | :11:17. | |
deep before they fill them in. That indicates what their priorities | :11:18. | :11:22. | |
might be in some cases. The Minister and I may disagree on many things | :11:23. | :11:26. | |
but one of the things we agree on the benefits of cycling. The cycle | :11:27. | :11:31. | |
to work scheme has been a popular and progressive policy and credits | :11:32. | :11:35. | |
to the government for continuing with that. In the summer budget, the | :11:36. | :11:41. | |
treasurer said it was monitoring sacrifice arrangements because they | :11:42. | :11:46. | |
were becoming increasingly popular. Aggressive policies in Scotland are | :11:47. | :11:50. | |
something the government support there. Can the Minister confirm that | :11:51. | :11:54. | |
he is working to make sure the Chancellor protects cycling to work | :11:55. | :11:59. | |
schemes in the forthcoming budget? I think you may have to be patient and | :12:00. | :12:02. | |
wait for the budget but I feel the cycle to work scheme is a good | :12:03. | :12:07. | |
scheme and large numbers of people are using the cycle is to get to | :12:08. | :12:12. | |
work and it is a good way to reduce congestion on our roads. | :12:13. | :12:23. | |
The Government understands the importance of affordable transport, | :12:24. | :12:29. | |
and we have capped rail fares at the level of RPI for two years running, | :12:30. | :12:33. | |
and will do so for the life of this Parliament. Decisions regarding the | :12:34. | :12:39. | |
setting of fares are by merrily a decision for commercial operators. | :12:40. | :12:42. | |
Almost ?1 billion is provided each year to fund concessionary travel | :12:43. | :12:47. | |
including free bus travel for the elderly and disabled. More than 2500 | :12:48. | :12:55. | |
people commute into Bradford, and 7000 commute out of Bradford by | :12:56. | :13:00. | |
rail. Fast, cheap and efficient connections with the rest of the | :13:01. | :13:03. | |
region are vital for jobs and the local economy. What is the minute -- | :13:04. | :13:10. | |
what is the minister doing to make sure that this happens, considering | :13:11. | :13:14. | |
that rail fares across the country have gone up by 25%, while | :13:15. | :13:21. | |
punctuality has deteriorated? Well, I know the city of Bradford very | :13:22. | :13:26. | |
well, having got to school there and I lived just outside it for many | :13:27. | :13:30. | |
years. I would have thought the honourable gentleman would be | :13:31. | :13:32. | |
welcoming the investment we are seeing in rail. Apperley Bridge | :13:33. | :13:36. | |
railway station only just opened in his constituency. So we are seeing | :13:37. | :13:41. | |
investment right across the north, including in West Yorkshire, | :13:42. | :13:45. | |
including the ability to keep fares down for the Metro region. I will | :13:46. | :13:49. | |
repeat my point about how we have regulated and capped rail fares. One | :13:50. | :13:58. | |
of the problems for local bus passengers is congestion and delays. | :13:59. | :14:02. | |
People in Kettering always say that when the traffic lights stop | :14:03. | :14:07. | |
working, the traffic flows much better. Given that the minister is | :14:08. | :14:12. | |
responsible for local roads, will he consider undertaking a pilot where | :14:13. | :14:15. | |
we can switch traffic lights off and get traffic and buses flowing more | :14:16. | :14:23. | |
freely? That is a very ingenious link into the cost of public | :14:24. | :14:26. | |
transport, Mr Speaker. I hear it quite regularly in my own area as | :14:27. | :14:30. | |
well that traffic is said to flow more freely when traffic lights do | :14:31. | :14:35. | |
not work. I have major reservations on this argument, I have to say. At | :14:36. | :14:42. | |
the same time, we are seeing initiatives to keep traffic flowing. | :14:43. | :14:46. | |
I will have a look at what my honourable friend says, but traffic | :14:47. | :14:50. | |
lights are a key ingredient in road safety. People in Yorkshire would | :14:51. | :14:57. | |
not mind paying the fares on a good trans pen I link. Indeed ministers | :14:58. | :15:02. | |
have already said they will be using that kind of transport tomorrow. I | :15:03. | :15:06. | |
hope they will stop off in Huddersfield to celebrate the | :15:07. | :15:10. | |
centenary of Harold Wilsons's berth, which is tomorrow. We would not mind | :15:11. | :15:15. | |
paying the fares if the delivery of the service was fast, efficient and | :15:16. | :15:22. | |
comfortable. The honourable member has forgotten I think the investment | :15:23. | :15:25. | |
which is being made and the improvements which are coming | :15:26. | :15:31. | |
through the franchise. Both of those see significant improvements for | :15:32. | :15:36. | |
Huddersfield, including London connections. Would he agree that | :15:37. | :15:43. | |
thanks to the governments action to increases, wages are now rising | :15:44. | :15:46. | |
faster than rail fares for the first time since 2003? He makes as wise a | :15:47. | :15:54. | |
point as ever. We are trying to make sure that regulator rail fares are | :15:55. | :15:57. | |
affordable. We are seeing a wide range of tickets on offer, including | :15:58. | :16:01. | |
some very low-priced fares which can be bought in advance, allowing more | :16:02. | :16:06. | |
people to travel by rail. You only have to look at passenger number | :16:07. | :16:11. | |
grows to see how it is working. Figures for Northern Ireland show | :16:12. | :16:17. | |
that passenger numbers have fallen. Outside of London, numbers have | :16:18. | :16:27. | |
fallen. Can I ask the minister, what steps can he take to encourage more | :16:28. | :16:31. | |
people to cycle or walk to work where possible and encourage | :16:32. | :16:34. | |
healthier lifestyles? Well, we have an element in the road investment | :16:35. | :16:40. | |
strategy to promote cycling. We have our own cycling and walking | :16:41. | :16:43. | |
strategy, which the minister has already referred to. | :16:44. | :16:56. | |
Telford has more than 1 million passengers each year. I was pleased | :16:57. | :17:02. | |
to negotiate services with virgin trains in 2014 from Shrewsbury to | :17:03. | :17:08. | |
London via Telford and Birmingham. We are currently running a public | :17:09. | :17:12. | |
consultation to help specify the next West Midlands franchise. We | :17:13. | :17:16. | |
will launch a consultation on the new west coast franchise in June. I | :17:17. | :17:28. | |
thank the minister for his reply. Telford is a rapidly growing new | :17:29. | :17:34. | |
town and it is 26 miles from Birmingham, and yet it takes 51 | :17:35. | :17:38. | |
minutes to get there. Will the minister continue to work with me to | :17:39. | :17:41. | |
make sure we have a 21st century rail system for Telford? I most | :17:42. | :17:49. | |
certainly will. I recognise the growing importance of connectivity | :17:50. | :17:53. | |
between cities. The point which my honourable friend makes about | :17:54. | :17:58. | |
Telford and the relationship with Birmingham is very, very important | :17:59. | :18:03. | |
indeed. The Secretary of State knows Wolverhampton well because of his | :18:04. | :18:06. | |
youth and because he fought a Parliamentary seat there. He will | :18:07. | :18:11. | |
know that trains from Telford to Wolverhampton to Birmingham to | :18:12. | :18:14. | |
London are far slower than trains from Stafford to London because of | :18:15. | :18:17. | |
the bottleneck through the West Midlands. When will the government | :18:18. | :18:28. | |
get around to quad-tracking the commentary to Birmingham corridor? I | :18:29. | :18:34. | |
do know the area well, but we have seen major investment in the West | :18:35. | :18:37. | |
Midlands. The new service which I have just referred to, which is | :18:38. | :18:43. | |
re-establishing a service from Shrewsbury via Telford, was very | :18:44. | :18:46. | |
welcome. But he is right, there are always demands for extra investment, | :18:47. | :18:52. | |
and that has to be measured with the record investment we are putting | :18:53. | :18:58. | |
into our railways. Cannock Chase is also connected to Birmingham with a | :18:59. | :19:04. | |
local line via Telford. It is a service which my right honourable | :19:05. | :19:07. | |
friend knows incredibly well. Users of that line report multiple issues | :19:08. | :19:13. | |
including late, overcrowded and cancelled trains. Can my right | :19:14. | :19:19. | |
honourable friend confirm that the electrification project is on course | :19:20. | :19:25. | |
for completion by 2017? I am grateful. I was in her constituency | :19:26. | :19:30. | |
just a few weeks ago. I had noticed on that occasion how the line which | :19:31. | :19:39. | |
runs through Hednesford to Cannock has already had its work started on | :19:40. | :19:45. | |
electrification, not least in Stafford lane and down by Brinley | :19:46. | :19:50. | |
Heath. I do know the area very well. It is where I grew up. The | :19:51. | :20:01. | |
governments ambition is for the UK to have the facilities and | :20:02. | :20:04. | |
regulatory environment in place for commercial space in this Parliament. | :20:05. | :20:14. | |
There is the aim of announcing the process for spaceport selection | :20:15. | :20:22. | |
later this year. As the member for Argyll and be, I will continue to | :20:23. | :20:31. | |
champion the location in my constituency to be the UK spaceport. | :20:32. | :20:36. | |
It has considerable advantages, including a three kilometre runway | :20:37. | :20:41. | |
and the backing of the community. When will the next stage of this the | :20:42. | :20:45. | |
announced, and can hear sure all of those working so hard to bring this | :20:46. | :20:51. | |
project that the government is still 100% committed to the creation of a | :20:52. | :20:58. | |
UK spaceport? I can certainly confirm that. The Department of | :20:59. | :21:02. | |
Transport has made an initial allocation of ?5 million to fund it. | :21:03. | :21:11. | |
I think it is a great opportunity. We are already world leaders in | :21:12. | :21:19. | |
space technology. This is a further step in pushing forward the barriers | :21:20. | :21:22. | |
of Jewish involvement in the space race. -- of British involvement. Can | :21:23. | :21:34. | |
I thank the minister for his recent visit to Cornwall and Newquay | :21:35. | :21:37. | |
airport? Can he confirm that he went away with a clear message, that not | :21:38. | :21:42. | |
only can Cornwall accommodate the spaceport but is very ambitious to | :21:43. | :21:45. | |
be the English bid for the spaceport? Suddenly I got a clear | :21:46. | :21:50. | |
message and was taken up by the enthusiasm of the people at new K. I | :21:51. | :21:55. | |
know there are other airports interested in this. I did notice | :21:56. | :22:01. | |
when I was at Prestwick, it seemed quite quiet when I was there. We are | :22:02. | :22:12. | |
very aware of the importance of bus services to rural communities. We | :22:13. | :22:17. | |
were able to protect the bus service operators grant funding as part of | :22:18. | :22:20. | |
the spending review last year. The government paid out ?250 million | :22:21. | :22:25. | |
last year to support bus services, of which around ?40 million is paid | :22:26. | :22:31. | |
directly to local authorities. I think the minister for that | :22:32. | :22:35. | |
response. Will you agree to look into the provision of buses in rural | :22:36. | :22:40. | |
parts of my constituency for local students travelling to school, | :22:41. | :22:44. | |
compared with national averages, and advise on how we can improve this? | :22:45. | :22:50. | |
All children aged between five and 16 qualifying for free school | :22:51. | :22:54. | |
transport if they attend their nearest school and it is | :22:55. | :22:57. | |
sufficiently far from their home. The decision to provide further | :22:58. | :23:01. | |
services would be a matter for the local authority, and some do, such | :23:02. | :23:05. | |
as the Stafford Justine. But there is an issue which is concerning my | :23:06. | :23:09. | |
honourable friend and I would be happy to meet with him to explore it | :23:10. | :23:16. | |
further. One section of our population which is disadvantaged by | :23:17. | :23:26. | |
poor rural services is young people. What is the government doing on | :23:27. | :23:32. | |
this? There is a mixture of support coming through national government | :23:33. | :23:35. | |
and through local government. Individual local authorities decide | :23:36. | :23:39. | |
their funding priorities, but local authorities in England spent an | :23:40. | :23:45. | |
average of ?330 million per year over the last three years supporting | :23:46. | :23:49. | |
bus services. 42% of bus income comes from public funds. Could I | :23:50. | :23:59. | |
invite the minister to look at rural bus service provision in eddies | :24:00. | :24:04. | |
brief, where cuts have meant that apprenticeships cannot access | :24:05. | :24:08. | |
apprenticeships and college students cannot get to the local college | :24:09. | :24:19. | |
without having to change two buses? -- Eddisbury. I would be very happy | :24:20. | :24:26. | |
to meet with my honourable friend. Access to bus services is very | :24:27. | :24:32. | |
important to all. Government tax makes up 70% of the cost of fuel. | :24:33. | :24:37. | |
Does the minister agree there should be a continued freeze in fuel duty | :24:38. | :24:43. | |
to help improve costs for bus services in rural areas? Fuel duty | :24:44. | :24:47. | |
itself might be something which the Chancellor would wish to consider. I | :24:48. | :24:53. | |
can highlight the bus service operators grant, which used to be | :24:54. | :24:58. | |
caught the fuel duty rebate, which provides 34.5p subsidy per litre of | :24:59. | :25:04. | |
fuel used. So we are supporting local authorities and bus companies | :25:05. | :25:13. | |
through that mechanism. Subsidy for all 118 supported bus routes in | :25:14. | :25:16. | |
Oxfordshire is being withdrawn. Earlier this week I travelled on the | :25:17. | :25:24. | |
popular 215 service along with the excellent Labour and co-operative | :25:25. | :25:26. | |
councillors who are campaigning to protect their local bus networks. | :25:27. | :25:30. | |
Will the minister join me in welcoming the fact that some | :25:31. | :25:33. | |
additional funding has now been secured for local transport on a | :25:34. | :25:37. | |
cross-party basis? And does he agree that when the Buses Bill is | :25:38. | :25:43. | |
published, it must address the severe challenges facing rural bus | :25:44. | :25:46. | |
services, including in the Prime Minister's in situ and see? I would | :25:47. | :25:52. | |
just like to remind the honourable lady -- constituency -- that this | :25:53. | :26:00. | |
service has been protected. I am always lead to hear that local | :26:01. | :26:02. | |
authorities are supporting their bus services. We should be supporting | :26:03. | :26:11. | |
local authorities in deciding their funding priorities. Mr Speaker, I am | :26:12. | :26:19. | |
really proud that under Conservative-led governments since | :26:20. | :26:23. | |
2010, my department has made almost ?400 million available through | :26:24. | :26:26. | |
programmes like the national stage and improvement programme, the New | :26:27. | :26:35. | |
Stations Fund the Access For All scheme. In addition, we have | :26:36. | :26:38. | |
franchise commitments and substantial growth funding. What is | :26:39. | :26:45. | |
she doing to make sure that the rail franchise holders bear their fair | :26:46. | :26:51. | |
Chair to maintain the rail structure wallet but will show we should look | :26:52. | :26:54. | |
at how the project in Coventry is working out regarding the frequency | :26:55. | :26:59. | |
of train stops at the Ricoh Arena. Will she have a look at that? | :27:00. | :27:05. | |
Improvements to stations are part of the projects. The honourable | :27:06. | :27:12. | |
gentleman has benefited locally with Virgin West Coast installation of | :27:13. | :27:15. | |
automatic ticket machines in commentary. I was pleased to | :27:16. | :27:20. | |
participate in the opening of the Coventry Arena which the DFT | :27:21. | :27:24. | |
contributed ?5 million, the first stage of the vital knuckle scheme, | :27:25. | :27:29. | |
and that scheme was 14 years on paper under Labour, delivered under | :27:30. | :27:33. | |
this government, Angstrom the amazing efforts of the MP for | :27:34. | :27:44. | |
Nuneaton. -- thanks to. When we consider railway station | :27:45. | :27:46. | |
refurbishment is, we should prioritise disabled access. In my | :27:47. | :27:53. | |
constituency, there is not a single accessible rail station so in the | :27:54. | :27:57. | |
renewal of the South Western Route franchise, would the consider | :27:58. | :28:02. | |
prioritising disabled access at our train stations? I am glad you share | :28:03. | :28:07. | |
my excitement about improvements. We set up the the funds and I am happy | :28:08. | :28:18. | |
to meet with my honourable friend to discuss. I have nine train stations | :28:19. | :28:26. | |
in my agency and half of them are completely unacceptable or people in | :28:27. | :28:33. | |
wheelchairs -- for people in wheelchairs. The funding has been | :28:34. | :28:35. | |
cut in half, are we doing enough on this? I dispute that the funding has | :28:36. | :28:43. | |
been cut in half, the first phase, ?400 million, was delivered, and I | :28:44. | :28:46. | |
am keen to look at cost effective ways to improve access for disabled | :28:47. | :28:49. | |
people and young mothers with babies for whom a flight of stairs can be a | :28:50. | :28:57. | |
real drag. I am happy to discuss it further. Residents in Torbay have | :28:58. | :29:05. | |
welcomed investment at Torquay station but a station in Paignton | :29:06. | :29:13. | |
was an old good steads shed converted into a station. Will you | :29:14. | :29:17. | |
meet to decide how we can make it a terminus for the 21st centric? The | :29:18. | :29:24. | |
best way to deliver station improvements is to get together | :29:25. | :29:27. | |
local groups, businesses and communities. The government money is | :29:28. | :29:33. | |
best spent when it is called through to support local needs. -- century. | :29:34. | :29:40. | |
What assurance can the Minister give that on the refurbishment of railway | :29:41. | :29:44. | |
stations, the objective of gaining full accessibility for passengers | :29:45. | :29:47. | |
with disabilities is embedded within the process is a priority so where | :29:48. | :29:52. | |
there are stations without access provision or where the needs are | :29:53. | :29:59. | |
central to the refurbishment of the station? How can that be achieved | :30:00. | :30:03. | |
given the 40% cut to access for all funding? I sometimes wonder if we | :30:04. | :30:11. | |
are reading the same papers and this government is spending more on the | :30:12. | :30:16. | |
railways, ?38 billion, and has been spent at any time since the | :30:17. | :30:19. | |
Victorian era. You are right to point out that accessibility is | :30:20. | :30:24. | |
important, and all of the train fleet will be compliance within the | :30:25. | :30:29. | |
next few years. It is important to stop we have a limited amount of | :30:30. | :30:33. | |
money to spend, and upgrading the railway which was woefully neglected | :30:34. | :30:42. | |
under his last government. There is already legislation prohibiting the | :30:43. | :30:48. | |
use of lasers on aircraft. It is an offence to direct or shine any | :30:49. | :30:52. | |
lights at any aircraft in flight so as to dazzle or distract the pilot. | :30:53. | :30:56. | |
Anybody found guilty of the offence could be liable for a fine of a | :30:57. | :31:03. | |
maximum of ?2500. Anybody found guilty of endangering an aircraft | :31:04. | :31:06. | |
could also be liable for five years in prison but we will keep this | :31:07. | :31:12. | |
under review of course. I welcome the previous changes that I backed | :31:13. | :31:17. | |
but the fact is that more needs to be done. Half of pilots over the | :31:18. | :31:22. | |
last year have reported a laser pen attack. Perhaps licensing or | :31:23. | :31:31. | |
classification should be considered to put a stop to these dangerous | :31:32. | :31:36. | |
practices. A number of measures are being considered across government | :31:37. | :31:40. | |
departments, it is something I take very seriously, particularly in | :31:41. | :31:46. | |
light of recent events reported. Following my conversation with the | :31:47. | :31:50. | |
secretary of state for just this, I put forward a Bill to make sure | :31:51. | :31:53. | |
high-powered laser pens are prohibited item. Will the secretary | :31:54. | :31:58. | |
of State speak with him to see if the Bill can be taken forward? The | :31:59. | :32:03. | |
member opposite makes the point that it is about the accessibility of | :32:04. | :32:08. | |
certain types of laser pens which should be controlled. I'm aware of | :32:09. | :32:12. | |
the Bill and I can assure him that not only will I talk to the | :32:13. | :32:16. | |
Secretary of State for Justice but we are talking to other departments | :32:17. | :32:20. | |
as well. This issue is something which is taken very seriously | :32:21. | :32:25. | |
indeed, and I will also listen to representations made to the | :32:26. | :32:33. | |
Department by the CAA. This issue has had coverage in the media over | :32:34. | :32:39. | |
the last few months, the number of incidents has rocketed and no more | :32:40. | :32:42. | |
so than in my neighbouring Glasgow where there were more are aircraft | :32:43. | :32:47. | |
targeted in the first two months of this year than the whole of last | :32:48. | :32:53. | |
year. Have you made any representations to the Scottish | :32:54. | :32:56. | |
Government and can you show it to the House? I am more than happy to | :32:57. | :33:02. | |
ensure the Scottish Government is consulted if further measures are | :33:03. | :33:05. | |
taken. This is something that is taken seriously by all sides of the | :33:06. | :33:09. | |
House, and I welcome the point the honourable lady has made. I have no | :33:10. | :33:24. | |
plans. The secretary of state will be aware that Treasury backed sure | :33:25. | :33:30. | |
reports, the final version published next week about the financing of | :33:31. | :33:39. | |
railways has made it clear that full privatisation of Network Rail is on | :33:40. | :33:43. | |
the table. -- Shaw. I am sure the Minister will agree that we do not | :33:44. | :33:47. | |
want to go back the dark chaotic days of the private management of | :33:48. | :33:53. | |
our rail system under Railtrack and will he commits himself to reject | :33:54. | :33:59. | |
any new recommendations that leads to the privatisation of Network | :34:00. | :34:06. | |
Rail? I would like to congratulate the honourable member of seeing a | :34:07. | :34:08. | |
report which has not been published yet X macro how he knows what the | :34:09. | :34:17. | |
content is is beyond me! I am proud with what we have achieved with the | :34:18. | :34:21. | |
rail industry in this country, it has been a fantastic success with | :34:22. | :34:24. | |
the franchising that takes place, I am very sorry that the only people | :34:25. | :34:29. | |
putting it at danger are not the government that the opposition. Does | :34:30. | :34:34. | |
my right honourable friend agree that evidence from other sectors | :34:35. | :34:37. | |
shows that privatisation has the potential to increase efficiency and | :34:38. | :34:44. | |
improve performance? Ie Do agree but I also think there is obviously | :34:45. | :34:50. | |
responsibility the four a system of railway maintenance and improvements | :34:51. | :34:56. | |
that is very important, and we have seen through the private sector, | :34:57. | :35:02. | |
vast improvements. At the time of radicalisation of our railways, | :35:03. | :35:05. | |
there were 700 and million people using trains and last year there | :35:06. | :35:09. | |
were 1.6 billion and that figure is growing year on year so I do not | :35:10. | :35:13. | |
have to be convinced about the advantages of the system which has | :35:14. | :35:19. | |
evolved over a number of years of using the private sector, and I will | :35:20. | :35:23. | |
look at other ways we can involve the private sector in providing a | :35:24. | :35:26. | |
better railways nervous for our constituents. Network Rail has | :35:27. | :35:33. | |
confirmed it has considered selling up to 18 major stations and a number | :35:34. | :35:39. | |
of other asset as it struggles to plug the 2.5 billion budget black | :35:40. | :35:44. | |
hole, would you like to comment on that? The way you talk about the | :35:45. | :35:47. | |
black hole, we are investing over this way away period some ?38 | :35:48. | :35:56. | |
billion in Network Rail. -- railways. I don't see anything wrong | :35:57. | :36:04. | |
with that and indeed there were a number of asset sales which took | :36:05. | :36:08. | |
place under the last government as well. When the secretary of state | :36:09. | :36:17. | |
reads the Shaw report, I hope he recognises the words of the great | :36:18. | :36:21. | |
railway manager who said that when you reorganise you bleed, and for | :36:22. | :36:25. | |
many months, the few top people who keep their momentum up are | :36:26. | :36:28. | |
distracted from their proper job, punctuality goes to hell, said he | :36:29. | :36:35. | |
slips, don't reorganise, don't, don't, don't. There is broad | :36:36. | :36:40. | |
cross-party support for investment in railways, maintaining the safety | :36:41. | :36:45. | |
record and delivering projects like HS2, so will he give me reassurance | :36:46. | :36:48. | |
that the progress that has been made will not be jeopardised by pursuing | :36:49. | :36:54. | |
a needed, unneeded, and unwonted plans to privatise Network Rail? I | :36:55. | :37:00. | |
can tell you with absolute certainty there are no plans to continue a | :37:01. | :37:06. | |
disastrous policy of nationalising the railways, which is one she puts | :37:07. | :37:10. | |
forward and her party leader puts forward. She talks about all the | :37:11. | :37:15. | |
investment going on and she has seen quite a bit of it in her own | :37:16. | :37:18. | |
constituency, not least at Nottingham station and which she | :37:19. | :37:24. | |
welcomed that investment, of course she did, I welcome investment in our | :37:25. | :37:28. | |
railways, but it is also worthwhile asking how we carry on that level of | :37:29. | :37:33. | |
investment, an investment at a level which she would only have dreamt of | :37:34. | :37:44. | |
when she was in government. Mr Speaker, in the north-west, the | :37:45. | :37:47. | |
first ever electric trains are running between Liverpool and | :37:48. | :37:51. | |
Manchester and between Liverpool and Wigan, and the tunnel is now open, | :37:52. | :37:56. | |
further proof that this government's commitments to electrification, part | :37:57. | :38:00. | |
of the biggest investment since Victorian times. Network Rail last | :38:01. | :38:04. | |
month marked a milestone with the introduction of brand-new trains | :38:05. | :38:09. | |
which completed 1377 foundations needed for the overhead line | :38:10. | :38:16. | |
electrification towards Didcot. Thank you for the answer. I have to | :38:17. | :38:22. | |
note that in the Transport for the North document, the focus is on | :38:23. | :38:27. | |
large cities. If the fast-growing regions of Cheshire should not be | :38:28. | :38:32. | |
squeezed out, would you look again at the possibility of better | :38:33. | :38:35. | |
electrification programme that includes areas not mentioned? I | :38:36. | :38:42. | |
thought I mention quite a few. The truth is that the investment which | :38:43. | :38:47. | |
is taking place in the northern hub, the redevelopment of Manchester | :38:48. | :38:52. | |
Victoria station, does do a lot to increase connectivity across the | :38:53. | :38:54. | |
North West and that links up a number of the towns which the | :38:55. | :38:58. | |
honourable member refers to directly into our northern cities. Rail | :38:59. | :39:04. | |
commuters in my constituency have put up with severe overcrowding or | :39:05. | :39:13. | |
many years. Because of the delay, can the government examine whether | :39:14. | :39:16. | |
there is any rolling stock available to alleviate overcrowding? We are | :39:17. | :39:26. | |
looking at all problems relating to rolling stock as a result of any | :39:27. | :39:30. | |
delays in the finalisation of electrification. There is a large | :39:31. | :39:34. | |
amount of new rolling stock coming onto our railways over the next five | :39:35. | :39:40. | |
years, not used the new trains but also the new trains on Thames Link, | :39:41. | :39:44. | |
the Siemens contract which is being developed at the moment and coming | :39:45. | :39:49. | |
into operation later this year. There was an awful lot of | :39:50. | :39:54. | |
engineering work to be carried on in Manchester and that will almost | :39:55. | :39:56. | |
certainly require the re-routing of trains through to big Tory while | :39:57. | :40:02. | |
that work takes place. When that happens and we consider using the | :40:03. | :40:07. | |
line through reddish South and Denton stations which are currently | :40:08. | :40:11. | |
served by one train a week in one direction only? If it can be | :40:12. | :40:16. | |
re-routed can they please stop at the stations so we can assess the | :40:17. | :40:24. | |
passionate Amant there is there? -- passenger demand. If it is such a | :40:25. | :40:31. | |
bad experience, I am sorry that you have not got better services in the | :40:32. | :40:38. | |
past. I am always willing to look at any suggestions but can I make the | :40:39. | :40:42. | |
point that the first point you made was a serious point, about the | :40:43. | :40:44. | |
problems... LAUGHTER The point that he makes | :40:45. | :40:52. | |
about the problems as far as work being carried out on the railways, | :40:53. | :40:57. | |
engineering work, which does lead to inconvenience while the work is | :40:58. | :41:00. | |
carried out, and that is something we do address, and is something I | :41:01. | :41:05. | |
readily talk to the chief Executive and chairman of network rail about. | :41:06. | :41:14. | |
No progress has been made on the electrification in Northern | :41:15. | :41:16. | |
Lincolnshire which is probably one of the reasons why the recent | :41:17. | :41:21. | |
railway magazine had headlines saying railways truly bad for | :41:22. | :41:28. | |
Grimsby. The transport for the North publication this week does not even | :41:29. | :41:33. | |
include northern Lincolnshire routes on its map. Can you assure me that | :41:34. | :41:37. | |
more will be done to improve services to my constituency? Indeed. | :41:38. | :41:45. | |
After a successful campaign, we did manage when we renegotiated the | :41:46. | :41:49. | |
franchises or his area, to protect the services in his area, and I know | :41:50. | :41:54. | |
he has always pressed for greater services to his constituency. It is | :41:55. | :41:59. | |
something I will look up, particularly when the new franchise | :42:00. | :42:01. | |
starts operating later in the year. A great deal of work has already be | :42:02. | :42:14. | |
completed. Actual construction will start next year. Tempted as I am to | :42:15. | :42:19. | |
propose that the government build HS2 some time in the Parliament | :42:20. | :42:23. | |
after next, when it will be seen for the white elephant that it is, then | :42:24. | :42:27. | |
he just reassure me that there is time enough to deal with all the | :42:28. | :42:31. | |
environment of impacts of HS2, for example the construction impact, in | :42:32. | :42:34. | |
the historic village of West Wycombe in my constituency? He did promise | :42:35. | :42:41. | |
me an impatient supplementary question and I was not disappointed. | :42:42. | :42:46. | |
We will have no net environmental loss during the construction. | :42:47. | :42:49. | |
Indeed, 2 million trees will be planted as part of the phase one | :42:50. | :42:53. | |
construction. This is a project that we can be proud of and which people | :42:54. | :42:57. | |
up and down the country will value as part of our economic plans. I | :42:58. | :43:04. | |
rather like elephants, white or otherwise. Let's look at the | :43:05. | :43:09. | |
building of phase two of HS2. Secretary of State has said in the | :43:10. | :43:12. | |
past that serious consideration would be given to the possibility of | :43:13. | :43:15. | |
beginning construction on the northern part of HS2 phase two | :43:16. | :43:21. | |
between Sheffield and Leeds in parallel with work on the southern | :43:22. | :43:27. | |
part? How far has that serious consideration now got, and is there | :43:28. | :43:31. | |
a real positivity that work between Sheffield and Leeds could begin | :43:32. | :43:35. | |
before the very end of the project? It is important that we prioritise | :43:36. | :43:39. | |
the Birmingham bit because that is where the congestion is and that is | :43:40. | :43:44. | |
where the real benefits are. Those trains will run through two stations | :43:45. | :43:47. | |
in the north, and to Scotland, from day one. It is important that we | :43:48. | :43:53. | |
look at how we can deliver this. Indeed, some of the investment at | :43:54. | :43:56. | |
the station locations in the north can go ahead even before the trains | :43:57. | :44:01. | |
reach those locations. Demand for driving tests has increased, and | :44:02. | :44:07. | |
with it, waiting times. The driver and vehicle standards agency is | :44:08. | :44:11. | |
recruiting more examiners, improving its forecasting model to match | :44:12. | :44:14. | |
resources with demand, and redeploying examiners appropriately. | :44:15. | :44:24. | |
We have a particular local problem in the driving centre in my | :44:25. | :44:30. | |
constituency for motorcyclists, where the motorcycle area is | :44:31. | :44:35. | |
regularly covered in moss. Can the minister look into, make sure every | :44:36. | :44:40. | |
effort is taking to ensure that motorcyclists are not disadvantaged? | :44:41. | :44:45. | |
I will look into it and I will respond to the honourable gentleman. | :44:46. | :44:52. | |
What assessment has the minister made of cancellations? I have been | :44:53. | :44:56. | |
made aware of a number of cases where people have received them just | :44:57. | :45:00. | |
minutes before a test has been due. I would be interested to know what | :45:01. | :45:04. | |
assessment he has made of that and the impact it is having on waiting | :45:05. | :45:08. | |
times? I will not enter the points my honourable friend is making. The | :45:09. | :45:13. | |
challenge faced by the devious a is really one of increasing demand. -- | :45:14. | :45:29. | |
by the DVSA. The DVSA is responding with more people, but they also need | :45:30. | :45:33. | |
to respond in a customer friendly way. It is an important point and I | :45:34. | :45:40. | |
will look into it. Mr Speaker, we have continued to make progress on | :45:41. | :45:44. | |
transport infrastructure schemes across the country. In the north, | :45:45. | :45:48. | |
the northern transport strategy Spring report has set out more | :45:49. | :45:51. | |
details on how we are building the northern powerhouse. In the east, we | :45:52. | :45:56. | |
are evaluating bids for the East Anglia franchise, which will start | :45:57. | :45:59. | |
in October this year. In the south-west, highways England has | :46:00. | :46:06. | |
started community engagement on the work for the A303 and the A358 | :46:07. | :46:10. | |
improvement plans. The select committee has published its final | :46:11. | :46:15. | |
report after 17 months of hard work. I would like to thank all members | :46:16. | :46:19. | |
who were involved in that work for their significant time and effort | :46:20. | :46:24. | |
over the course of those hearings. The businesses and residents in my | :46:25. | :46:30. | |
area have longed for a new road linking the town to the A30. A new | :46:31. | :46:37. | |
road would provide relief for the villages on that route. Can I ask | :46:38. | :46:45. | |
the Secretary of State if he would confirm the governments continued | :46:46. | :46:49. | |
support for this new road and if his department will continue to work | :46:50. | :46:52. | |
with me to make sure it is delivered as soon as possible averaged my | :46:53. | :46:56. | |
honourable friend has made the case for this road to me on many | :46:57. | :47:00. | |
occasions, not least when I was in Cornwall, when he took me around the | :47:01. | :47:04. | |
area that we are talking about. The government is making funds available | :47:05. | :47:07. | |
through the local growth fund for such schemes. It will be up to | :47:08. | :47:12. | |
Cornwall council to prepare and submit the bid for funding in the | :47:13. | :47:17. | |
normal way. But Cornwall has had a very successful history of obtaining | :47:18. | :47:20. | |
funds through this grant and I wish you well on this scheme. Mr Speaker, | :47:21. | :47:32. | |
the board investigated 23 near misses between aircraft and drones | :47:33. | :47:37. | |
in six months last year. Of those, 12 were deemed to involve a serious | :47:38. | :47:45. | |
risk of collision. BALPA wants the government to run tests on what | :47:46. | :47:48. | |
would happen if there was a collision. The government has had a | :47:49. | :47:53. | |
working grip on this since 2013. So why is it only this summer that | :47:54. | :47:57. | |
ministers will say anything? Should we note know already what tests have | :47:58. | :48:02. | |
been done, what options are being considered, regulatory and | :48:03. | :48:04. | |
otherwise, and when would any agreed option we put into practice? We take | :48:05. | :48:11. | |
this matter very seriously indeed, the risk of a collision with a drone | :48:12. | :48:15. | |
is one which we are aware of you. Yesterday I met with representatives | :48:16. | :48:19. | |
of the British airline pilots Association and this was one topic | :48:20. | :48:26. | |
which came up. There are very severe penalties in place for people who do | :48:27. | :48:30. | |
get involved with this. And there are technologies such as geo- | :48:31. | :48:32. | |
fencing which would prevent these aircraft entering sensitive | :48:33. | :48:36. | |
airspace. We are considering what action to take. On a different but | :48:37. | :48:43. | |
also topical subject, I was in Kent yesterday speaking to businesses who | :48:44. | :48:49. | |
had felt first-hand the traffic chaos surrounding 33 days of | :48:50. | :48:59. | |
operation started last year. -- Operation Stag. What is the | :49:00. | :49:04. | |
government going to do to prevent a repeat of last year's seems? | :49:05. | :49:14. | |
Operation Stack is a critical part of controlling access to the ports, | :49:15. | :49:18. | |
and trying to make the ports flowed more smoothly. We had exceptional | :49:19. | :49:22. | |
circumstances last summer, with strikes and challenges with migrants | :49:23. | :49:30. | |
closing the tunnel. The proposal, which is effectively to create an of | :49:31. | :49:38. | |
the highway holding area, is a significant investment, it is a ?250 | :49:39. | :49:43. | |
million project. The closure of the consultation is only a few days away | :49:44. | :49:47. | |
I think. I have met with highways England and with local providers of | :49:48. | :49:52. | |
highways, doing all we can do in the short-term. I will keep local | :49:53. | :50:02. | |
members informed of progress. On the 4th of February this year, hundreds | :50:03. | :50:06. | |
of my constituents were gridlocked on the M6 and M42 for an entire day | :50:07. | :50:12. | |
following and accident. Will he examine proposals to open the M6 | :50:13. | :50:20. | |
toll road when such circumstances occur? Certainly there is an | :50:21. | :50:25. | |
agreement in place where M6 tolls can be lifted in such an | :50:26. | :50:29. | |
extraordinary circumstance. The government is looking at options | :50:30. | :50:33. | |
over this agreement but there are substantial cost, policy and value | :50:34. | :50:37. | |
for money indications involved with removing the tolls. As part of the | :50:38. | :50:41. | |
process I am more than happy to meet with my honourable friend to discuss | :50:42. | :50:49. | |
it. With an estimated skills gap of some 50,000 HGV drivers predicted by | :50:50. | :50:51. | |
the end of this Parliament, would the minister agree that it makes | :50:52. | :50:54. | |
sense for the government to contribute towards the ?3500 | :50:55. | :50:59. | |
training fee required for licences? It would mean more people working, | :51:00. | :51:07. | |
and reducing welfare? Mr Speaker, I am looking at various options to | :51:08. | :51:11. | |
help as far as this issue is concerned, along with other | :51:12. | :51:15. | |
departments. But it is also for the industry to step up to the mark in | :51:16. | :51:20. | |
its training programme. Will the minister join me in welcoming the | :51:21. | :51:23. | |
report published earlier in the week by the independent transport | :51:24. | :51:28. | |
commission, which set up way the mental impact of expansion at | :51:29. | :51:31. | |
Heathrow can be mitigated? Given the weight of opinion included in the | :51:32. | :51:35. | |
Davies report, when can we look forward to a statement of progress | :51:36. | :51:39. | |
on this issue? I have noted the publication of the report by the | :51:40. | :51:43. | |
independent transport commission. That obviously feed into the | :51:44. | :51:49. | |
considerations we are making. As far as the wider issue of airport | :51:50. | :51:53. | |
capacity and making a decision on the location, as I have said before, | :51:54. | :51:57. | |
I hope to be able to do that later this year. I have been contacted by | :51:58. | :52:03. | |
one of my constituents, who has described the impact of late running | :52:04. | :52:07. | |
trains on her job and her income. She says, please understand that I | :52:08. | :52:11. | |
am so employed and I cannot call in sick if I am late for work. This | :52:12. | :52:17. | |
means that the job worth ?5,000 to me personally would be affected. | :52:18. | :52:22. | |
Turning up 30 minutes late would cost me my work. Does the rail | :52:23. | :52:26. | |
minister accept that late running trains and lamentable performance of | :52:27. | :52:30. | |
southern rail, is having an impact on the productivity of the South of | :52:31. | :52:33. | |
England? The gentleman knows I absolutely accept that. Over the | :52:34. | :52:39. | |
country, rail passenger satisfaction is actually up three percentage | :52:40. | :52:43. | |
points. But I think the challenge we have got is that there are some | :52:44. | :52:46. | |
lines, like the one he mentions, where customers are not getting the | :52:47. | :52:51. | |
punctuality and the service they deserve. That's why we are so | :52:52. | :52:53. | |
committed to getting Network Rail and the franchise holder working | :52:54. | :52:57. | |
together. There is no blame but we want them to work together. Does the | :52:58. | :53:03. | |
rail Minister agree that improvements to the north junction | :53:04. | :53:10. | |
are crucial to securing improved services on the King's Cross- | :53:11. | :53:12. | |
Kingsley line and thus unlocking more economic growth? Will she and | :53:13. | :53:16. | |
her colleagues work with me to help secure this crucial investment? The | :53:17. | :53:22. | |
honourable gentleman and others have left me in no doubt as to the value | :53:23. | :53:27. | |
of this Ely north junction work and I am disappointed that this work | :53:28. | :53:31. | |
will not be completed until after 2019. But as a result of the | :53:32. | :53:34. | |
discussions which he and others have organised, I am now confident that | :53:35. | :53:39. | |
the preparatory work can go ahead sooner, with funding coming from a | :53:40. | :53:46. | |
variety of sources. Can I ask what progress there has been with the top | :53:47. | :53:53. | |
three projects recommended by the northern electrification task force, | :53:54. | :53:56. | |
which was chaired by the honourable member for Harrogate and Nesbitt? Mr | :53:57. | :54:03. | |
Speaker that was a cross-party report, chaired by my honourable | :54:04. | :54:08. | |
friend. A lot has been learned about since then. That report will form | :54:09. | :54:13. | |
part of the foundation for how we move forward with further | :54:14. | :54:16. | |
electrification and how we prioritise those schemes. I know the | :54:17. | :54:23. | |
government keeps under review the status of trust ports. Poole has | :54:24. | :54:30. | |
that status. It has the support of the local community. I hope the | :54:31. | :54:34. | |
shipping minister understands that. Can I first of all put on record our | :54:35. | :54:39. | |
gratitude for the very hard work that my honourable friend has | :54:40. | :54:41. | |
carried out as part of the HS2 committee. We do ask trust ports | :54:42. | :54:48. | |
occasionally to review their status. But certainly all the feedback I | :54:49. | :54:52. | |
have had is that the trust board model is working well in his case | :54:53. | :54:57. | |
and we would not wish to interfere. Whilst it is clearly in the public | :54:58. | :55:01. | |
interest that a person reporting somebody as being unfit to drive has | :55:02. | :55:05. | |
anonymity, does the minister agree that where it appears that the | :55:06. | :55:09. | |
abrogation is malicious, anonymity should be rescinded, and the | :55:10. | :55:13. | |
reporting form should clearly state that if false Accies Asians are made | :55:14. | :55:17. | |
about an individual, the accuser would be liable to prosecution? -- | :55:18. | :55:26. | |
false accusations. I think that is a matter for the Secretary of State | :55:27. | :55:29. | |
for Justice but I will reflect on the question. Could my right | :55:30. | :55:34. | |
honourable friend update the House on the reinstatement of the Holton | :55:35. | :55:47. | |
Curve, which is so important for my part of the country. That's right. | :55:48. | :55:50. | |
It is a vital link. I understand that the business case will be | :55:51. | :55:53. | |
considered by the combined authorities in April. If approved, | :55:54. | :55:59. | |
and I hope it is, it should be completed by 2018. It would be a | :56:00. | :56:02. | |
pleasure to meet with the honourable gentleman. I would be very grateful | :56:03. | :56:14. | |
to feed him some buns to keep up his weight during his marathon training! | :56:15. | :56:17. | |
It is always useful to have some additional information! May I thank | :56:18. | :56:22. | |
the minister of State for transport for his visit to Northern Ireland. | :56:23. | :56:30. | |
He visited Belfast international airport as well as the air sea | :56:31. | :56:34. | |
rescue. But will he help influence various projects which we saw at the | :56:35. | :56:39. | |
time of road, rail, air passenger duty, enterprise zone, and of | :56:40. | :56:44. | |
course, one day, a new runway here to help the links to Northern | :56:45. | :56:49. | |
Ireland? It was certainly great to visit Ulster and to see some of the | :56:50. | :56:54. | |
good news in terms of the 300 new jobs at Belfast international | :56:55. | :56:57. | |
airport. And indeed the fact that Ryanair are now based at that | :56:58. | :57:00. | |
airport, with flights to Gatwick and new routes including Milan and | :57:01. | :57:05. | |
Berlin in the pipeline. I will look forward to coming to Northern | :57:06. | :57:06. | |
Ireland again. In my constituency we have a link | :57:07. | :57:16. | |
road going to he should import that is going to be open in the next six | :57:17. | :57:23. | |
months. This is a strategic route. Is there any plan to open a trunk | :57:24. | :57:30. | |
road? I visited the site with my honourable friend not long ago and | :57:31. | :57:36. | |
it is a major piece of new infrastructure that will serve his | :57:37. | :57:42. | |
area well. It has not been raised before but I will consider it. I'm | :57:43. | :57:46. | |
very pleased that my honourable friend and his constituents will see | :57:47. | :57:50. | |
the benefit of our massive road investment scheme in the near | :57:51. | :57:58. | |
future. When I raised some time ago the need for a road tunnel between | :57:59. | :58:04. | |
Sheffield and Manchester, many thought I was kite flying. Some | :58:05. | :58:11. | |
thought this was going to be a desk top study. Will the Secretary of | :58:12. | :58:17. | |
State confirm that this proposed tunnel might become a reality. I'm | :58:18. | :58:26. | |
not sure whether the honourable member is asking me to comment on | :58:27. | :58:31. | |
his demise at this particular stage but I will resist from doing so. He | :58:32. | :58:39. | |
may be right that, past governments have raised this issue and been a | :58:40. | :58:44. | |
desktop job, this is a proper serious of work that is going on. | :58:45. | :58:50. | |
This infrastructure isn't just for 30 years, it is the kind of | :58:51. | :58:54. | |
infrastructure that will be around for 100 years and very important to | :58:55. | :58:59. | |
the area and therefore will certainly see the demise of both | :59:00. | :59:07. | |
others. The government is making welcome investment in rail in the | :59:08. | :59:11. | |
North with electrification bringing huge benefits to constituencies like | :59:12. | :59:17. | |
mine. What is the government doing to improve disabled access at | :59:18. | :59:21. | |
stations like Morley and Will the Secretary of State meet with me to | :59:22. | :59:27. | |
discuss improvements at Morley station? It is right to raise this | :59:28. | :59:32. | |
but there are many other stations ahead of it in the queue in terms of | :59:33. | :59:37. | |
passenger fought for. We are catching up after decades of | :59:38. | :59:40. | |
neglect. It would be a pleasure to meet with her and discuss disabled | :59:41. | :59:52. | |
access in particular. The re-routing of services that is necessary in | :59:53. | :59:58. | |
Piccadilly and Oxford Road which will utilise the line in my | :59:59. | :00:02. | |
constituency so can I have a meeting with them so I can explain to him | :00:03. | :00:05. | |
the importance of being able to assess whether Denton and Reddish | :00:06. | :00:11. | |
South stations can make a business case for future investment? Topical | :00:12. | :00:19. | |
questions seem to have given him the chance to raise a question again for | :00:20. | :00:23. | |
which he wasn't happy with the first answer. I understand that he is | :00:24. | :00:31. | |
meeting my honourable friend the Parliamentary under Secretary of | :00:32. | :00:36. | |
State in 30 minutes and no doubt he might want to add this to the | :00:37. | :00:45. | |
discussing. I recently visited a company that are refurbishing trains | :00:46. | :00:50. | |
for mainline use. These would make an excellent replacement for the | :00:51. | :00:56. | |
decrypted rolling stock on the line to Boston. There are fantastic | :00:57. | :01:05. | |
innovations with rolling stock made from aluminium. In future successful | :01:06. | :01:15. | |
bidders will be required to be innovative regarding rolling stock. | :01:16. | :01:18. | |
We want to improve the rolling stock in his region. The proposed | :01:19. | :01:25. | |
trans-Pennine tunnel that has just been mentioned would be | :01:26. | :01:29. | |
transformative, not just for congestion in my constituency but | :01:30. | :01:34. | |
for the local economy. It is an ambitious project but the North is | :01:35. | :01:40. | |
worthy of that level of ambition. Will the Secretary of State urge the | :01:41. | :01:46. | |
Chancellor to support it as well. I don't need to encourage the | :01:47. | :01:50. | |
Chancellor at all in infrastructure spending. I have been incredibly | :01:51. | :01:55. | |
successful in securing funding for infrastructure from the Chancellor | :01:56. | :01:59. | |
who gets the importance of investment, not least in the north. | :02:00. | :02:04. | |
His policy has been pursuing the whole question of the Northern | :02:05. | :02:07. | |
powerhouse and taking forward transferred for the North which will | :02:08. | :02:12. | |
have a transformative effect on transport between northern cities | :02:13. | :02:15. | |
and it is something that other parts of the country are looking to | :02:16. | :02:21. | |
follow. The minister will recall the Shaw show crash which tragically | :02:22. | :02:26. | |
claimed the lives of 11 men in my constituency last August. I have | :02:27. | :02:30. | |
been asked by the media for my comments on the report on the air | :02:31. | :02:35. | |
crash which apparently is being published today. Why was I not aware | :02:36. | :02:40. | |
of that and what plans do the governments have two respond to it? | :02:41. | :02:48. | |
I am not sure that we do preview notification of the Branch report | :02:49. | :02:51. | |
before they are published. It is part of the reported that is being | :02:52. | :02:58. | |
published today but by no means is it the full report, a parliament | :02:59. | :03:08. | |
investigation will be updated and they are notifying people where they | :03:09. | :03:15. | |
have got to so far. Demand today has heavily outstripped supply and we | :03:16. | :03:20. | |
must now move on. Urgent question. Mr Greg Mulholland. Will the | :03:21. | :03:36. | |
Minister of State make a comment on the appointment | :03:37. | :03:37. |