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that a humble address be presented to her Majesty as on the order | :00:00. | :00:07. | |
paper. I call the Secretary of State for Transport, secretary McCloclan. | :00:08. | :00:10. | |
I would like to make a brief statement about the loss of Egyptian | :00:11. | :00:22. | |
flight flight. The Airbus 320 was carrying 56 passengers and 10 crew | :00:23. | :00:27. | |
between Paris and Cairo, disappeared from radar at approximately 1. 30am | :00:28. | :00:31. | |
over the waters of the eastern Mediterranean. We understand that | :00:32. | :00:35. | |
one of those passengers on board is a UK national and that consu lar | :00:36. | :00:40. | |
staff are in contact with the family and providing support. I know the | :00:41. | :00:44. | |
House will want to join me in saying our thoughts are with the family and | :00:45. | :00:47. | |
friends of all of those on board T Government is in touch with the | :00:48. | :00:51. | |
Egyptian and French Government, the French authorities and has offered | :00:52. | :00:55. | |
full assistance. The air accident investigation branch has offered to | :00:56. | :00:58. | |
assist with the investigation in anyway that it can. | :00:59. | :01:07. | |
I am extremely grateful to my Right Honourable friend, as party of the | :01:08. | :01:14. | |
all party Egypt group, may I thank him and associate myself and the | :01:15. | :01:18. | |
group with the condolences he has expressed. Can I ask one question, | :01:19. | :01:22. | |
will the Government be seeking to discuss with the French authorities, | :01:23. | :01:27. | |
in particular, whether the French authorities are satisfied that the | :01:28. | :01:32. | |
measures that they are taking to screen passengers and luggage at | :01:33. | :01:36. | |
Paris meets the kind of requirements that we in the United Kingdom feel | :01:37. | :01:40. | |
are necessary, bearing in mind that I believe a number of people | :01:41. | :01:45. | |
air-side in Paris have had their authorityisation revoked because of | :01:46. | :01:49. | |
their association with Islamic association? As I said, it is far | :01:50. | :01:53. | |
too early yet to make any assumptions as to what has happened. | :01:54. | :01:57. | |
Of course we will be wanting to look at all of these issues and discuss | :01:58. | :02:01. | |
them with the French authorities and others as well. I can assure my | :02:02. | :02:04. | |
honourable friend that is something that we will want to take further | :02:05. | :02:11. | |
further. Mr -- further forward. It is a pleasure to open the debate on | :02:12. | :02:18. | |
Her Majesty's gracious speech. I welcome the talks of transport and | :02:19. | :02:25. | |
infrastructure. Yesterday was about building a stronger and modern | :02:26. | :02:29. | |
economy, which provides security for all people and opportunity at every | :02:30. | :02:32. | |
stage of life. A country fit for the future. No matter what the | :02:33. | :02:35. | |
challenges it faces, because if we have learnt anything from the past | :02:36. | :02:40. | |
decade, it is that we need to be better prepared, more responsible | :02:41. | :02:44. | |
during the times of plenty, so that when, so we can weather the more | :02:45. | :02:47. | |
difficult times. In the last Parliament we had to take some tough | :02:48. | :02:51. | |
economic decisions. But they were the right economic decisions. We | :02:52. | :02:56. | |
earned a hard-fought recover fri recession and the financial crisis N | :02:57. | :03:05. | |
2014, Britain was the fastest major advance economy in the world N 2015 | :03:06. | :03:09. | |
we were the second fastest after the United States. Mr Speaker, 2016, the | :03:10. | :03:14. | |
employment rate hit another record high. More families are benefits | :03:15. | :03:20. | |
from the security of regular wages. And unemployment has fallen once | :03:21. | :03:24. | |
again. The deficit is down by two-thirds as a share of GDP from | :03:25. | :03:30. | |
2010. And the OBR have forecast it will be eliminated by 2019-2020. | :03:31. | :03:35. | |
That recovery is still going on today. And with the global economy | :03:36. | :03:40. | |
slowing, it is even more vital that we stick to our long-term economic | :03:41. | :03:44. | |
plan. But it is not just responsible | :03:45. | :03:49. | |
fiscal statutory we need, we also need to invest for Britain's future, | :03:50. | :03:54. | |
to create the capacity and space we need to grow. For decades, we have | :03:55. | :03:59. | |
been slipping down with global infrastructure league tables. Mr | :04:00. | :04:04. | |
Speaker, if I were to take an example from recent history, and let | :04:05. | :04:10. | |
me pluck two years out of thin air, say between 1997 and 2010, it is | :04:11. | :04:16. | |
true to say that in those 13 years that I take at random, Mr Speaker, | :04:17. | :04:23. | |
Britain has slipped from seventh to 33rd in the world infrastructure | :04:24. | :04:28. | |
league tables. The result, we watched as our roads | :04:29. | :04:34. | |
have grown congested, our railways overcrowded and our town centres | :04:35. | :04:39. | |
choked with traffic. We cannot move goods and people efficiently from | :04:40. | :04:44. | |
one place to another, how can we expect businesses to invest in | :04:45. | :04:47. | |
Britain? Building the infrastructure Britain needs to compete is one of | :04:48. | :04:51. | |
the defining challenges of the age. So, we have spent the past six years | :04:52. | :04:55. | |
in Government turning things around. Now I could, Mr Speaker, take a | :04:56. | :05:00. | |
lesson from the Leader of the Opposition yesterday, but I hope my | :05:01. | :05:04. | |
speech will not be as bad thaz, so I give way to my honourable friend. I | :05:05. | :05:08. | |
am grateful to the Secretary of State. I wonder if he would | :05:09. | :05:12. | |
recognise that one of the areas of gaining employment is the | :05:13. | :05:17. | |
infrastructure from where you live to where you want to work. I wonder | :05:18. | :05:22. | |
if he will recall standing on the platform of a former railway stages | :05:23. | :05:28. | |
and whether he could bring forward plans to extend the robinhood line | :05:29. | :05:32. | |
in the future. I remember being with my honourable friend just over 12 | :05:33. | :05:35. | |
months ago. I cannot remember what was happening at the time, but I | :05:36. | :05:39. | |
well remember my visit to his efficient and I well remember the | :05:40. | :05:44. | |
fantastic result he had at the subsequent general election and the | :05:45. | :05:48. | |
way in which he's always pushed for more infrastructure in his area. I | :05:49. | :05:51. | |
would like to see us working with him and the local authority to see | :05:52. | :05:58. | |
what other systems of transport we could give. Nottingham has not done | :05:59. | :06:03. | |
too bad as far as infrastructure investment is concerned. The fact is | :06:04. | :06:07. | |
we have seen a huge amount of investment as far as the new station | :06:08. | :06:12. | |
is concerned. And the dualing of the A 457, which I am very grateful that | :06:13. | :06:17. | |
the honourable lady was able to join me at when it was opened. Well, she | :06:18. | :06:25. | |
says, thanks to a Labour County Council. Actually those plans were | :06:26. | :06:31. | |
progressed by a Conservative county council when it was in office and | :06:32. | :06:37. | |
had not been progressed as she well knows. I will give way to my | :06:38. | :06:42. | |
honourable friend. I thank the Secretary of State for giving way. | :06:43. | :06:46. | |
He knows whatly raise with him and he picked the years of 1997 to 2010 | :06:47. | :06:53. | |
at random. In 1997, my predecessor said a by pass would get built. In | :06:54. | :06:59. | |
2010 it was no longer a spade in the ground. Promised before the last | :07:00. | :07:05. | |
election that we build the relief road and spur and we are looking at | :07:06. | :07:10. | |
that to deal with the problem. Can he confirm to me we are prepared to | :07:11. | :07:14. | |
press ahead with that as fast as possible because we talk about | :07:15. | :07:18. | |
growing the economy and growing jobs, that is very vital for my | :07:19. | :07:24. | |
area. My honourable #23re7bd is a neighbour. We border -- friend is a | :07:25. | :07:29. | |
neighbour. We border a lot of the constituencies. I am pleased to | :07:30. | :07:33. | |
confirm our road investment strategy. And the pointed we want to | :07:34. | :07:38. | |
go further and we have commissioned a report from quol lin Matthews | :07:39. | :07:42. | |
about connectivity between Manchester and Sheffield, which | :07:43. | :07:46. | |
would have a huge beneficial effect for his own constituency. I am | :07:47. | :07:50. | |
slightly worried about the amount of time I will take and the amount of | :07:51. | :07:54. | |
people who are seeking to intervene on me. I cannot resist the | :07:55. | :07:57. | |
honourable lady. I hope the secretary of state will | :07:58. | :08:07. | |
comment on the woeful transport situation in my constituency. There | :08:08. | :08:11. | |
are no plans to improve Ahki road network and the three motorways | :08:12. | :08:15. | |
there, there are no plans for substantial goods to our real | :08:16. | :08:20. | |
services through Eccles, our bus services are woeful and we've had a | :08:21. | :08:26. | |
3.6% increase in traffic in Salford, three times the greater Manchester | :08:27. | :08:29. | |
average and on Monday I'm missing the register speak about them | :08:30. | :08:32. | |
building their fifth garden which will bring 1 million visitors in | :08:33. | :08:35. | |
Salford every year, how will they be brought in? I will come on to say | :08:36. | :08:39. | |
more about the infrastructure wouldn't want roads and the | :08:40. | :08:42. | |
devolution were given to local authorities and I think offer should | :08:43. | :08:45. | |
be a strong position to take advantage of some those measures. Mr | :08:46. | :08:51. | |
Speaker, thing for the final time at this stage I will give way. Grateful | :08:52. | :08:57. | |
for giving way, can I pick two years out of thin air? 2010-2020 will mark | :08:58. | :09:04. | |
a decade of zero investment on the entity six in Chester when the | :09:05. | :09:09. | |
Government is not refusing to that -- to upgrade the motorway but has | :09:10. | :09:12. | |
refused to take a responsible tea for even installing police and | :09:13. | :09:16. | |
Highways Agency cameras so that we can know what problems there are. | :09:17. | :09:21. | |
What can my constituents look forward to? The honourable member is | :09:22. | :09:26. | |
calling for more spending on infrastructure and I join him insane | :09:27. | :09:30. | |
week to spend more money when of the structure and make sure that when we | :09:31. | :09:34. | |
spend it we spend it properly and do it in a planned manner. Of the | :09:35. | :09:37. | |
investment we are doing we will look at some of the places that even with | :09:38. | :09:42. | |
the extra investment we've given, will speak more about that, in areas | :09:43. | :09:47. | |
with not be able to cover providing the get the other sides of the | :09:48. | :09:52. | |
economy in good order. Mr Speaker, as I was saying before I took those | :09:53. | :09:57. | |
interventions, in the past six years we've turned things around as far as | :09:58. | :10:00. | |
infrastructure is concerned, we've climbed the global infrastructure | :10:01. | :10:04. | |
investment league table and were in the top ten ahead of France, Japan | :10:05. | :10:10. | |
and Germany. Action is on the way, wider roads, faster trains, better | :10:11. | :10:17. | |
urban transport, south-west widening A30 and Afeels great. Brand-new | :10:18. | :10:24. | |
trains on order and the north-west Manchester Victoria station | :10:25. | :10:25. | |
transformed an electric trains on the northern half and motorways | :10:26. | :10:31. | |
whitened. In East Anglia, A11 opened at Norwich distributor road under | :10:32. | :10:36. | |
construction and finally to act on the A47, was a nose of great | :10:37. | :10:39. | |
interest, honourable friend who will wind up this debate and the A14 in | :10:40. | :10:44. | |
the Midlands. A transformation at Birmingham new Street station, the' | :10:45. | :10:50. | |
one partly covered and the four lane running, could go on, the Crossrail | :10:51. | :10:56. | |
in an -- in London, action right around the country. Time will not | :10:57. | :11:00. | |
allow me to take more interventions and carry on with my list of | :11:01. | :11:05. | |
improvements. I will give way. Thank you for his mention of the | :11:06. | :11:10. | |
south-west and the real key issue for us is making sure we have an | :11:11. | :11:14. | |
alternative railway line from the one gender doll which allowed we get | :11:15. | :11:21. | |
the A303 so we have better transport and have a better productivity, | :11:22. | :11:26. | |
which is lamentable. Thank you. I'm grateful to honourable friend. I | :11:27. | :11:30. | |
remember him deliver party manifesto that they were going to cancel some | :11:31. | :11:33. | |
of the road programmes we were speaking about in south-west and | :11:34. | :11:37. | |
they mentioned specifically something that we all remind them of | :11:38. | :11:43. | |
time and time again. A Treasury report last year revealed over 400 | :11:44. | :11:47. | |
billion of infrastructure workers currently planned across the country | :11:48. | :11:51. | |
and the biggest slice of that is transport. Overall cross-border | :11:52. | :11:55. | |
infrastructure spending will rise by 50% during this parliament. That | :11:56. | :12:00. | |
means we can invest ?50 million to maintain and improve our roads. The | :12:01. | :12:04. | |
largest figure for a generation. ?6 billion from local highways | :12:05. | :12:08. | |
maintenance, double the spending of the last Labour Government, and | :12:09. | :12:11. | |
giving local authorities are multi-year funding settlement for | :12:12. | :12:15. | |
the first time this has ever been done with an additional ?250 million | :12:16. | :12:21. | |
to find a local portals. Contrast that with the Labour record, between | :12:22. | :12:29. | |
2001 and 2010, an extra 574 Extra Lane miles were added to our | :12:30. | :12:34. | |
motorways. We are adding 1/1000 300 miles, Labour only electrified ten | :12:35. | :12:38. | |
miles of railway track, already we've done five times that amount | :12:39. | :12:44. | |
and anyone who goes on the great Western line can see there are many | :12:45. | :12:48. | |
more to come very soon. We are delivering the most ambitious rail | :12:49. | :12:52. | |
modernisation programme since the Victorian era, the ?40 billion | :12:53. | :12:58. | |
investment. Crossrail, Thames link electrification, intercity IEP | :12:59. | :13:01. | |
programme, new carriages being built and new factories opened by the | :13:02. | :13:06. | |
Prime Minister in the north-east, by a company that has moved its global | :13:07. | :13:10. | |
headquarters to Britain, Hitachi. And HS2, which starts construction | :13:11. | :13:17. | |
next year. This is a new staff infrastructure which will make | :13:18. | :13:20. | |
Britain one of the leading transport investors. The gracious speech also | :13:21. | :13:27. | |
supports legislation to back infrastructure commission, the | :13:28. | :13:29. | |
commission was much influence is already being felt. These | :13:30. | :13:33. | |
recommendations we've invested an extra 250 million to improve what -- | :13:34. | :13:39. | |
northern transport connectivity. And it is on top of the record ?13 | :13:40. | :13:44. | |
billion already committed across the North, we've given the Green light | :13:45. | :13:48. | |
to HS2 E between Leeds and Manchester and allocated an extra | :13:49. | :13:52. | |
?80 million to help fund the development of Crossrail. Obi | :13:53. | :14:00. | |
pleased to say by the end of this Parliament Crossrail one will be | :14:01. | :14:04. | |
operating, the Elizabeth line, which will be a significant investment in | :14:05. | :14:08. | |
transport in London for many generations I think it will make a | :14:09. | :14:13. | |
very welcome addition to the infrastructure in the capital. I | :14:14. | :14:19. | |
give way. Thank you. I'm just worried about Sheffield's position | :14:20. | :14:24. | |
in that list of schemes. HS three was referred as going from digester | :14:25. | :14:28. | |
to Leeds, not connecting to Sheffield, as that dispute the | :14:29. | :14:34. | |
Government's raider, Whiley secretary confirmed there is no trip | :14:35. | :14:38. | |
-- truth in the stories of consideration being given to abandon | :14:39. | :14:43. | |
the -- abandoning decision Sheffield for HS2, there will be a station and | :14:44. | :14:49. | |
will get NHS to be as well? And coming on to say something is wet | :14:50. | :14:54. | |
HS2 and if the honourable member does the live as it is question I | :14:55. | :14:59. | |
will give way later on. As Mike does not think I answer. I hope you will | :15:00. | :15:03. | |
be reassured. This all adds up to an ambitious pipeline of schemes that | :15:04. | :15:07. | |
will not only free of capacity, boost freight and improve travel, | :15:08. | :15:11. | |
but will also help us to attract jobs, rebalance the economy and make | :15:12. | :15:15. | |
us a more prosperous country. Of course, well some of this is | :15:16. | :15:19. | |
happening there will be disruption, there will be inconvenience, but | :15:20. | :15:23. | |
when the work is done you get the benefits, adult Reading station was | :15:24. | :15:27. | |
the new Wakefield station or at Nottingham station, infrastructure | :15:28. | :15:32. | |
that will prepare Britain for the future. That is what is behind the | :15:33. | :15:36. | |
modern transport Bill, Bill to pave the way for the technologies and | :15:37. | :15:38. | |
transport of tomorrow, we already developing the charge it | :15:39. | :15:47. | |
infrastructure for electric and hybrid vehicles, space flight and | :15:48. | :15:52. | |
drool -- drivers cause might be science fiction but these boys are | :15:53. | :15:56. | |
vast and were damaged Britain will benefit by leading their | :15:57. | :15:59. | |
development, driverless cars will come under new legislation so they | :16:00. | :16:02. | |
can be insured under ordinary policies, those new laws will help | :16:03. | :16:09. | |
toddlers and driverless vehicles become an option for private by -- | :16:10. | :16:13. | |
buyers and fleets. -- autonomous. The Giza tablet is one of the best | :16:14. | :16:17. | |
kisses to research and develop those vehicles, just as we are leading the | :16:18. | :16:21. | |
way with words testing to ensure cars meet emissions standards, | :16:22. | :16:24. | |
cleaning up the air quality in our cities. Through this bill we will | :16:25. | :16:27. | |
strengthen our position as a leader in the intelligence more stability | :16:28. | :16:33. | |
sector that is currently growing by next to make -- estimated 16% and | :16:34. | :16:37. | |
which some experts could be worth up to ?900 billion worldwide by 2020. | :16:38. | :16:45. | |
Despite my initial gloom that's descended on me when he mentioned | :16:46. | :16:50. | |
HS2, can I say how delighted I am to hear about the growth in, strive and | :16:51. | :16:56. | |
May I congratulate my honourable friend and the Government for | :16:57. | :16:58. | |
promoting this. There is no question that the UK leads the way in this | :16:59. | :17:05. | |
area working alongside Japan on this area. I would simply say this will | :17:06. | :17:11. | |
increase the density of traffic potentially by fourfold on our | :17:12. | :17:14. | |
motorways. Let's stick to it and I will resist the temptation to say | :17:15. | :17:21. | |
that with autonomous drive cars we would not need HS2. That would be | :17:22. | :17:26. | |
the wrong thing to say and I think. I'm never sure when my friend | :17:27. | :17:32. | |
magnate and integration of I should regard it that something is helpful | :17:33. | :17:36. | |
or not. I think that one the jury 's still out. The bill will also allow | :17:37. | :17:41. | |
for the construction of the first commercial spaceport, a full range | :17:42. | :17:46. | |
of viable options have been put forward and we support those bits. | :17:47. | :17:49. | |
The bill will create the right framework for the market to select | :17:50. | :17:54. | |
what the best location will be. The also legislate to encourage British | :17:55. | :17:57. | |
entrepreneurs to make the most of the commercial opportunities of | :17:58. | :18:01. | |
space, forming part of the Government's wider support for the | :18:02. | :18:04. | |
UK space sector aimed at raising revenues for almost 12 billion to 40 | :18:05. | :18:11. | |
billion by 2030. That is around 10% of the global space economy. We are | :18:12. | :18:17. | |
also preparing for HS2. The biggest infrastructure scheme this country | :18:18. | :18:20. | |
has seen for a generation. The transformation of rail travel across | :18:21. | :18:25. | |
Britain to free up capacity on the rest of the network and rebalance | :18:26. | :18:30. | |
our economy and our economic geography. Already before a single | :18:31. | :18:33. | |
track has been leaked HS2 factor is having an impact we've seen a | :18:34. | :18:41. | |
blue-chip companies like Burberry choosing to move to Leeds while HSBC | :18:42. | :18:45. | |
has relocated its banking headquarters from London to | :18:46. | :18:50. | |
Birmingham. They have cited HS2 Everton -- significant factor in | :18:51. | :18:55. | |
these decisions are busy ambitious regeneration plans around places | :18:56. | :18:59. | |
like Curzon Street in Birmingham and oral common. As it is like Leeds, | :19:00. | :19:03. | |
Manchester, crew and Sheffield are preparing for phase two. On that | :19:04. | :19:14. | |
very point! Will this be helpful lot -- helpful or not? My honourable | :19:15. | :19:22. | |
friend mentioned Curzon Street and given that there will be HS2, could | :19:23. | :19:26. | |
I did mention to him and put down a marker perhaps that he will know | :19:27. | :19:30. | |
there is a cross city line from Lichfield Trent Valley to Redditch, | :19:31. | :19:37. | |
if HS2 eventually links up with the continent and doesn't have to go via | :19:38. | :19:47. | |
Saint pancreas, it would be hugely advantageous if they were a halt at | :19:48. | :19:52. | |
Curzon Street on the cross city line because that rail line goes | :19:53. | :19:56. | |
immediately adjacent to that terminus prayer HS2 goes. -- were. | :19:57. | :20:08. | |
Well, Mr Speaker, I think although my honourable friend was against HS2 | :20:09. | :20:11. | |
I'm pleased to see he's already thinking of how he can benefit his | :20:12. | :20:16. | |
area and region so much, and I join him in his partial conversion. I | :20:17. | :20:19. | |
will take that as a helpful intervention. Mr Speaker, for HS2 | :20:20. | :20:27. | |
businesses, that means they will be able to access new markets, drawing | :20:28. | :20:32. | |
their employees for a much wider catchment area and perhaps for the | :20:33. | :20:35. | |
first time consider moving offices away from London. When HS2 | :20:36. | :20:41. | |
construction begins next year, we will build something much bigger | :20:42. | :20:45. | |
than a new railway, we will invest in the economic prosperity of the | :20:46. | :20:49. | |
next half a century or more, training a New Generation of | :20:50. | :20:53. | |
engineers, developing new skills for a New Generation of apprentices and | :20:54. | :20:57. | |
rebalancing the growth that for far too long is because treating the | :20:58. | :21:02. | |
Simic has been concentrated in London and the South East. I'm | :21:03. | :21:09. | |
delighted to hear the honourable Jesmond talk of such great Panther | :21:10. | :21:14. | |
England. What progress has he made with electrification to my | :21:15. | :21:19. | |
constituency in Swansea East? I'm glad to say to the honourable lady | :21:20. | :21:22. | |
I've made a lot more progress than was being made in the 13 years of | :21:23. | :21:30. | |
the last Labour Government because to get to Swansea we've first got to | :21:31. | :21:33. | |
get to Cardiff, and we will get to Cardiff and then to Swansea, as has | :21:34. | :21:38. | |
been promised. Work is on the way, she will be a traveller on the great | :21:39. | :21:43. | |
Western Railway line and she will be seeing all the work that is going | :21:44. | :21:48. | |
on. She will be a regular traveller through Reading and will have seen | :21:49. | :21:53. | |
the 800 million pounds spent on that scheme. I think we are doing a fair | :21:54. | :21:58. | |
job insuring her constituents and that of my honourable friend for | :21:59. | :22:01. | |
Gareth, who has often made the case for going to Swansea, actually to | :22:02. | :22:11. | |
fruition. I can't resist. I thank the Transport Secretary forgiving | :22:12. | :22:14. | |
way, would you like to confirm that a letter vocation of the great | :22:15. | :22:18. | |
Western mainline was set out by the former Transport Secretary in 2009 | :22:19. | :22:22. | |
and cookie confirming that you how long it has delayed and how much | :22:23. | :22:29. | |
overbudget? Well, she says it was set out in 2009, might have been set | :22:30. | :22:40. | |
out then, ... One has to wait while they waited for 12 years on knowing | :22:41. | :22:45. | |
they are about to lose office in 2010, they came out with some plans | :22:46. | :22:51. | |
that carried them through in substance and, yes, the costs have | :22:52. | :22:55. | |
gone up, regret the fact they've gone up but I still think overall | :22:56. | :22:58. | |
it's worth a project that is well worth well during and if it had been | :22:59. | :23:03. | |
studied 15 or 20 years ago it would not cost what it is costing today. | :23:04. | :23:08. | |
-- started. Anyone can lay out plans. | :23:09. | :23:14. | |
It fails of delivery of those particular plans and it is left to | :23:15. | :23:21. | |
us to deliver those plans. So, Mr Speaker, as I was saying, we will be | :23:22. | :23:25. | |
firing up the north and the Midlands to take advantage of this | :23:26. | :23:29. | |
transformational project. After overwhelming support in this House t | :23:30. | :23:33. | |
bill has moved to another place. I look forward to the Lords Select | :23:34. | :23:38. | |
Committee stages. I am a strong supporter of remaining in the | :23:39. | :23:46. | |
European Union. But I am glad, Mr Speaker that will I not only be able | :23:47. | :23:51. | |
to get a high-speed train to London or Brussels but soon to Manchester, | :23:52. | :23:57. | |
Leeds or Sheffield and no matter how big the scheme it is now vital for | :23:58. | :24:02. | |
Britain's national infrastructure. We will always remember that the | :24:03. | :24:07. | |
vast majority of journeys people make are local in nature. So, local | :24:08. | :24:13. | |
transport and infrastructure is no less crucial to preparing Britain | :24:14. | :24:17. | |
for the future. Backing safer routes for more cycling and better buses. | :24:18. | :24:21. | |
We involving powers out to our cities and regions to give | :24:22. | :24:25. | |
communities a bigger stake in local planning. Transport is just one | :24:26. | :24:31. | |
aspect of that. As we heard yesterday the neighbour #450d | :24:32. | :24:35. | |
planning and instra structure bill will make local planning process | :24:36. | :24:40. | |
easier beyond quickly, to deliver new instra structure and support our | :24:41. | :24:46. | |
ambition to build one million new homes, while protecting the areas | :24:47. | :24:51. | |
such as the greenbelts. It has resulted in councils granting | :24:52. | :24:54. | |
planning applications for more than a quarter of a million homes in a | :24:55. | :24:58. | |
past year. Our plans go further, to become a country where everybody who | :24:59. | :25:02. | |
works hard can have a home of their own. The gracious speech featured | :25:03. | :25:08. | |
the local jobs and growth bill. This will allow local authorities to | :25:09. | :25:12. | |
retain 100% of local taxes to spend on local services by the end of this | :25:13. | :25:17. | |
particular. That is worth an extra ?13 billion from the business rates. | :25:18. | :25:22. | |
Councils have called for more fiscal autonomy, now they are getting it. A | :25:23. | :25:25. | |
real commitment from central Government. Real devolution and real | :25:26. | :25:31. | |
self-sufficiently for regions across England. Arguably the biggest change | :25:32. | :25:36. | |
to local Government finance for a generation. The bill will give | :25:37. | :25:42. | |
authorities the power to cut business rates, to boost enterprise | :25:43. | :25:46. | |
and to grow their local economies. As announced in the budget, we will | :25:47. | :25:51. | |
pilot the new system in Greater Manchester and Liverpool and | :25:52. | :25:54. | |
increase the share retained in London. Madam Deputy Speaker it is | :25:55. | :26:00. | |
little wonder that the members operate are giving up the life of | :26:01. | :26:05. | |
opposition and seeking to find new roles in life. I do offer today the | :26:06. | :26:12. | |
Shadow Home Secretary my best wishes for his mayoral nomination bid. He | :26:13. | :26:15. | |
obviously doesment think he will be Home Secretary after the next | :26:16. | :26:21. | |
general election, nor do I. I thank the Secretary of State for | :26:22. | :26:25. | |
giving way on this issue. I am very proud on this Conservative majority | :26:26. | :26:29. | |
Government that we actually are looking at the whole issues when it | :26:30. | :26:33. | |
comes to serving our local communities. Infrastructure, | :26:34. | :26:36. | |
retaining the business rates and where we have no local plans this | :26:37. | :26:40. | |
Government is giving us an opportunity to intervene and get | :26:41. | :26:46. | |
more local plans. Almost 50% of commuting is out of Eastly and | :26:47. | :26:50. | |
standing traffic and air pollution is a big problem. Thank you, | :26:51. | :26:53. | |
Secretary of State. I am very grateful to my honourable friend. I | :26:54. | :26:59. | |
know how important transport connectivity is in our efficiency. | :27:00. | :27:02. | |
We have discussed it on many occasions. I hope some of the | :27:03. | :27:07. | |
measures we are taking out, as I set out today in the overall transport | :27:08. | :27:11. | |
policies, will go someway to bring some of the changes she may want. | :27:12. | :27:17. | |
Yesterday did illustrate how we are devolving powers for local transport | :27:18. | :27:21. | |
services. The bus services bill will provide new powers to local | :27:22. | :27:24. | |
authorities, to improve bus services and increase passenger numbers. It | :27:25. | :27:28. | |
will deliver for passengers, local authorities and bus companies, all | :27:29. | :27:32. | |
working in partnership together to improve services. We will replace | :27:33. | :27:39. | |
the disastrous quality contract scheme, pieron neared by the party | :27:40. | :27:43. | |
opposite when they were in office. A failed theory that has not been | :27:44. | :27:47. | |
successfully applied over the past 16 years. Stronger partnerships will | :27:48. | :27:51. | |
allow local authorities to agree a new set of standards for bus | :27:52. | :27:55. | |
services, including branding, ticketing and how often buses run. | :27:56. | :27:58. | |
Passengers will want to know when they next bus will turn up and how | :27:59. | :28:03. | |
many it will cost. So, the bill will mandate the release of fares, pun | :28:04. | :28:09. | |
cualty routes and real time bus ofgs. It will help with more | :28:10. | :28:14. | |
transport as it has in London, right across the country. New journey | :28:15. | :28:19. | |
planners and others products to help passengers get the most out of their | :28:20. | :28:26. | |
buses. This is about delivering for customs and empowering local | :28:27. | :28:31. | |
communities. My honourable friend is being generous. Will he confirm the | :28:32. | :28:35. | |
buses bill will enable communities in devolved areas such as mine in | :28:36. | :28:40. | |
the west of England to integrate smart car ticketing which will | :28:41. | :28:44. | |
encourage more people to use buses for less? I want to see more use of | :28:45. | :28:49. | |
smart ticketing and I think the bus companies are now addressing that. | :28:50. | :28:55. | |
There will be certain criteria as to where bus companies can apply, local | :28:56. | :28:58. | |
authorities can apply for the franchising. We will need to see if | :28:59. | :29:03. | |
my honourable friend's area lives up to those sort of priorities. Mr | :29:04. | :29:07. | |
Speaker, this is... I am hearing of a train that runs | :29:08. | :29:17. | |
once a week. No. No. In one direction only. | :29:18. | :29:23. | |
And of course I would quite like to have a train service that goes into | :29:24. | :29:28. | |
Manchester. Really on the issue of smart ticketing, can he knock some | :29:29. | :29:32. | |
common sense into some of the transport planners who are trying to | :29:33. | :29:36. | |
reinvent the wheel? We've had a bit of a farce in Greater Manchester, | :29:37. | :29:40. | |
where millions of pounds have been spent trying to develop the | :29:41. | :29:45. | |
technology of the get-me-there card, when we actually already have some | :29:46. | :29:51. | |
technology in our own pockets - called a contactless card. Why do we | :29:52. | :29:56. | |
have to reinvent the wheel, why not use technology that exists? I agree | :29:57. | :30:00. | |
that there are new technologies. One has to say that is a fairly new | :30:01. | :30:04. | |
technology and those who are able to use it in London see it being used | :30:05. | :30:09. | |
regularly now. These are the areas we should look and move further | :30:10. | :30:13. | |
forward. I hope it is one of the things that we will be able -- that | :30:14. | :30:18. | |
will be able to happen. Madam Deputy Speaker, this is about delivering | :30:19. | :30:24. | |
for customers. New powers to franchised services will be able to | :30:25. | :30:29. | |
combine the services with newly elected mayors as there are in | :30:30. | :30:35. | |
London. Together, these measures demonstrate the Government's | :30:36. | :30:38. | |
ambition to deliver transport which helps the public get around and get | :30:39. | :30:44. | |
about. The coalition Government and this one-nation Conservative | :30:45. | :30:46. | |
Government have a record to be proud of. Investment is up. Projects under | :30:47. | :30:53. | |
way, journeys getting easier. Backing growth, jobs and new | :30:54. | :30:58. | |
technology. Helping local people get the homes and infrastructure they | :30:59. | :31:04. | |
need. Striking a fairer deal, giving delow lugss to local -- devolution | :31:05. | :31:11. | |
to local... And transport infrastructure is playing its part. | :31:12. | :31:17. | |
Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker. Can I begin by echoing the Transport | :31:18. | :31:27. | |
Secretary in relation to the lost of the EgyptAir flight. Our thoughts | :31:28. | :31:31. | |
are also with the family and friends of the passengers and crew and we | :31:32. | :31:35. | |
await the outcome of the investigations under way. | :31:36. | :31:37. | |
While we are not discussing the Queen's speech that I would have | :31:38. | :31:41. | |
won'ted to see -- wanted to see, it is fitting we are starting on | :31:42. | :31:46. | |
transport T challenges facing this country's network systems are | :31:47. | :31:50. | |
profound and there are some important cross-party points of | :31:51. | :31:53. | |
agreement for meeting them. I welcome the Transport Secretary to | :31:54. | :31:56. | |
his place. I must point out his speech was a timely reminder of the | :31:57. | :32:01. | |
need for ministers to mind the gap between their rector rit and | :32:02. | :32:06. | |
reality. He said the Government is delivering investment. Let's look at | :32:07. | :32:12. | |
the real Conservative record. Bus and rail fares up by a quarter. | :32:13. | :32:18. | |
Billions cancelled from road investment schemes. New projects | :32:19. | :32:23. | |
under threat. The hard shoulder stripped from the motorways, the | :32:24. | :32:27. | |
wheels falling off the cycling revolution. A ?12 billion road | :32:28. | :32:32. | |
maintenance backlog on our local roads. Rail pun cualty at its worst | :32:33. | :32:40. | |
in a decade and of course, Madam Deputy Speaker, they promised a | :32:41. | :32:44. | |
Northern Ireland powerhouse, but they inflicted a northern power cut | :32:45. | :32:49. | |
instead. That said, we welcome the Government's stated intention to | :32:50. | :32:54. | |
introduce new local transport powers, extending to the country the | :32:55. | :32:58. | |
ability to employ the successful models in the capital. Now I am sure | :32:59. | :33:03. | |
the whole House will want to extend its congratulations to Mr Khan, the | :33:04. | :33:09. | |
former member for Tooting and now the London Mayor of London. It is a | :33:10. | :33:12. | |
little known fact that the new mayor is the son of a bus driver and the | :33:13. | :33:18. | |
proposal in the bus service's bill to extend London-style bus powers to | :33:19. | :33:21. | |
the rest of the country is long overdue. | :33:22. | :33:26. | |
It is perhaps no coincidence that the Transport Secretary didn't even | :33:27. | :33:30. | |
mention buses until he got 27 minutes into his speech, because of | :33:31. | :33:34. | |
course these plans could have been made in the last Parliament, but | :33:35. | :33:40. | |
ministers consistently opposed any proposals for the tendering of bus | :33:41. | :33:46. | |
services to reverse the disastrous consequences of the 1985 transport | :33:47. | :33:54. | |
act. Well, Madam Deputy Speaker, can I join the honourable lady in | :33:55. | :33:58. | |
congratulating Mr Khan on his election as Mayor of London. Does | :33:59. | :34:03. | |
she agree with his words when he was Transport Minister, when he said one | :34:04. | :34:07. | |
of the reasons we are able to invest record sums in our railway services | :34:08. | :34:12. | |
is the revenue that franchises bring in and the premiums they pay. That | :34:13. | :34:16. | |
was his view in 2009 when he was doing this job. | :34:17. | :34:21. | |
I was very pleased that under the last Labour Government there was | :34:22. | :34:25. | |
record investment in our railways. So many of the things that the | :34:26. | :34:30. | |
Transport Secretary forgets to talk about when every week I travel up to | :34:31. | :34:37. | |
the Midlands on the middle main line through St Pancras railway station, | :34:38. | :34:41. | |
which has been transformed and was under the Labour Government, but he | :34:42. | :34:47. | |
never mentions that. I welcome the Transport Secretary's conversion to | :34:48. | :34:51. | |
the cause of bus regulation. You might call it a stretching U-turn | :34:52. | :34:56. | |
mad dom Deputy Speaker. But the devil will be in the detail. | :34:57. | :35:05. | |
I I would remind the Government benches that last year's Queen's | :35:06. | :35:11. | |
Speech promised to introduce a buses bill. You wait five years for a | :35:12. | :35:18. | |
Conservative Queen's speech that mentions buses and then two come | :35:19. | :35:22. | |
along at once, even if they are running late. We will subject the | :35:23. | :35:26. | |
bill to close scrutiny and it is vital that it provides a legal | :35:27. | :35:31. | |
framework that protects local authorities from eye-watering | :35:32. | :35:34. | |
compensation claims and safeguards work and conditions. | :35:35. | :35:40. | |
I am grateful to my honourable friend and she talks about local | :35:41. | :35:45. | |
authorities. Of course if she had been listening carefully to the | :35:46. | :35:48. | |
Queen's Speech yesterday Her Majesty said these powers would be extended | :35:49. | :35:53. | |
to the areas of England with directly elected mayors only. Given | :35:54. | :35:57. | |
that, does she think that actually the powers in the buses bill that we | :35:58. | :36:02. | |
expect to be published soon should extend to all parts of England, | :36:03. | :36:06. | |
whether or not they have a mayoral model? I thank my honourable friend | :36:07. | :36:10. | |
for that question. I shall address his point just in one moment. | :36:11. | :36:15. | |
Because the bill must address the decline in rural bus services, which | :36:16. | :36:21. | |
have seen some of worst cuts and highest fare rises in the country. | :36:22. | :36:25. | |
We need to make sure that the powers are available to any area that wants | :36:26. | :36:28. | |
them, as my honourable friend has just sasmtd I welcome the concession | :36:29. | :36:33. | |
the Transport Secretary has made. The Queen's Speech briefing | :36:34. | :36:36. | |
published yesterday said the bill will allow communities without a | :36:37. | :36:41. | |
directly elected mayor to apply for contracting powers. It is unclear | :36:42. | :36:45. | |
why those powers should remain within the gift of the department. | :36:46. | :36:49. | |
He and I represent areas which have so far not agreed a devolution deal. | :36:50. | :36:56. | |
Perhaps The Right Honourable member for Derbyshire Dales can explain why | :36:57. | :37:00. | |
the powers are good enough for Manchester, but may not be good | :37:01. | :37:04. | |
enough format lock. We saw the announcement of what the Government | :37:05. | :37:08. | |
calls its modern transport bill. Given the minister of state, who is | :37:09. | :37:15. | |
sad not in his place now drives a 126-year-old car seasoned a noted | :37:16. | :37:20. | |
steam engine enthuz yass tick perhaps we should -- enthusiastic, | :37:21. | :37:26. | |
perhaps we should look at that. It is short on details. The Queen's | :37:27. | :37:31. | |
Speech briefs said the law on drones would be reformed, but in answers to | :37:32. | :37:35. | |
my honourable friend, the member for Birmingham North field, the | :37:36. | :37:38. | |
Government have consistently said that the EU is leading in this area. | :37:39. | :37:43. | |
It is unacceptable that ministers seem to be waiting for a serious | :37:44. | :37:48. | |
drone strike to occur before taking action. It is vital that we don't | :37:49. | :37:50. | |
wait for an accident to happen. Electric cars will place a crucial | :37:51. | :38:02. | |
role in driving donations but we are playing catch-up because the | :38:03. | :38:04. | |
Government fails to deliver its promise of a coalition agreement is | :38:05. | :38:07. | |
to establish a national charging network. We welcome the development | :38:08. | :38:10. | |
of personal autonomous vehicles, which could be a boon for our car | :38:11. | :38:17. | |
manufacturing industry and I know they're a fully anticipated for many | :38:18. | :38:21. | |
to save the people. Given that insurance premiums have risen by 20% | :38:22. | :38:27. | |
over the last year, Government's Postal to insure drivers cause on | :38:28. | :38:32. | |
the same basis as existing policies might not offer much reassurance to | :38:33. | :38:37. | |
prospective buyers. That said, the focus on driverless cars is perhaps | :38:38. | :38:39. | |
understandable given the Government's tendency to run on | :38:40. | :38:46. | |
autopilot. I thank my honourable friend forgiving way but before we | :38:47. | :38:50. | |
leave the question of bosses on the bus services bills and wonder as she | :38:51. | :38:53. | |
is talking about velvet and technology if she would really bus | :38:54. | :38:57. | |
services bill provides an option to make all new buses accessible for | :38:58. | :39:01. | |
people with sight loss through talking buses with next stop and | :39:02. | :39:05. | |
final destination announcements. 2 million people would really | :39:06. | :39:07. | |
appreciate that it's a move we should make for it with new buses. | :39:08. | :39:13. | |
My honourable friend is right to draw attention to the lack of | :39:14. | :39:17. | |
accessibility on buses. A number of buses do have audiovisual announcers | :39:18. | :39:21. | |
which it is really only in London and outside of London there are few | :39:22. | :39:29. | |
examples. That should be addressed. It Mr Stater said the UK should | :39:30. | :39:33. | |
adopt a light touch approach to bribe -- driverless car development | :39:34. | :39:36. | |
but we need to make sure the risks have been fully analysed. It's | :39:37. | :39:41. | |
important the ministers are not moving to find too fast. It should | :39:42. | :39:45. | |
be said that is just about the only are where the Government could be | :39:46. | :39:50. | |
accused of acting too quickly. There is difference to supporting the | :39:51. | :39:53. | |
growing space industry by constructing the first spaceport in | :39:54. | :39:58. | |
the UK. I'm grateful to the honourable lady forgiving way but | :39:59. | :40:03. | |
will she accept that Toyota, Nissan, Mercedes and BMW have all welcomed | :40:04. | :40:08. | |
the Government's initiatives to see driverless cars or autonomous cars | :40:09. | :40:13. | |
being tested on British roads, they think Britain is a leader. I think | :40:14. | :40:21. | |
the -- thank you member for his intervention and I believe it offers | :40:22. | :40:24. | |
a great opportunity for our excellent automotive industry but we | :40:25. | :40:29. | |
do need to be aware of the present difficulties of these at ology and | :40:30. | :40:35. | |
the safety implications. In fairness, it is impressive he can | :40:36. | :40:39. | |
put a rocket in space even though he can't fix our pothole ridden roads. | :40:40. | :40:44. | |
We also need to look at the bills that were not announced yesterday. | :40:45. | :40:48. | |
The department has had two years to respond to look -- the Law | :40:49. | :40:53. | |
Commission 's report on taxes and private hire vehicles, the rise of | :40:54. | :40:57. | |
Aruba and other services makes the need for reform of the more urgent. | :40:58. | :41:01. | |
Yesterday during the debate on the well addressed the honourable member | :41:02. | :41:04. | |
for marriage and said that personal safety on transport services was | :41:05. | :41:09. | |
women's highest priority. And there can be no excuse for the delay in | :41:10. | :41:12. | |
reforming licensing and regulation this area. I'm grateful to my | :41:13. | :41:19. | |
honourable friend, she will know I had debate on the adjournment on the | :41:20. | :41:24. | |
4th of May about precisely this issue. Is she is concerned as I am | :41:25. | :41:29. | |
that there are some taxi licensing authorities that are effectively | :41:30. | :41:35. | |
handing out licences to taxi drivers across the country who have been | :41:36. | :41:38. | |
legitimately refused to taxi licences by their all local | :41:39. | :41:44. | |
authorities? I thank my honourable friend for his intervention, there | :41:45. | :41:48. | |
are real concerns about taxi licensing and regulation and those | :41:49. | :41:53. | |
were very carefully addressed by the Law Commission in its report. That | :41:54. | :41:56. | |
is why it is so disappointing that the Government have yet to respond | :41:57. | :42:01. | |
properly and act in this area. Ministers have also had almost three | :42:02. | :42:05. | |
years to respond to the Law Commission on reforming level | :42:06. | :42:09. | |
crosses, the single greatest cause of risk on the railways. In the | :42:10. | :42:13. | |
Department's level crossing reform action plan legislation was planned | :42:14. | :42:21. | |
but that does not make Queen's speech. It sporting such safety | :42:22. | :42:27. | |
critical legislation has not been treated as a priority by the | :42:28. | :42:32. | |
Government. -- it is disappointing that the returning to the wider | :42:33. | :42:35. | |
record on passport, time and again promises are broken, investment is | :42:36. | :42:40. | |
delayed and the interests of passengers and road users are not | :42:41. | :42:45. | |
preferred. -- record on transport. There was a light breeze the | :42:46. | :42:48. | |
Chancellor in the Queen's speech, saying the Government will continue | :42:49. | :42:51. | |
supporting the development of a northern powerhouse. You can tell | :42:52. | :42:56. | |
the honourable member for Tatton is a wallpaper salesman, these days he | :42:57. | :43:01. | |
spends most of his time papering over the cracks. Let's look at this | :43:02. | :43:05. | |
Government's real record on transport in the North. Rail | :43:06. | :43:09. | |
spending in the north-west has fallen from ?97 bread to ?93 per | :43:10. | :43:16. | |
head. In the north-east is followed from ?59 per head to ?52 per head, | :43:17. | :43:21. | |
less than half the national average. Under the bus services in Yorkshire | :43:22. | :43:27. | |
and Humber is down 31%, traffic police numbers have fallen by over | :43:28. | :43:30. | |
10% across the North. And shamefully, ministers hiked real | :43:31. | :43:36. | |
first death metal rail fares by up to 162% and they allowed more than | :43:37. | :43:41. | |
Trans Pennine trains to be transferred from the north to the | :43:42. | :43:43. | |
South, costing taxpayers ?20 million. The Transport Secretary | :43:44. | :43:52. | |
initially wanted causes railway pledges the real investment plan. | :43:53. | :43:54. | |
Until a civil servant pointed out that would be shortened to RIP. | :43:55. | :44:02. | |
Delays to electrification schemes were shamefully covered up before | :44:03. | :44:07. | |
the election and only confessed once the ballot boxes have close. There | :44:08. | :44:11. | |
are real concerns that promised Rory Best Mint could suffer the same | :44:12. | :44:16. | |
fate. -- Road investment could suffer. We have publicly discussed | :44:17. | :44:22. | |
the challenges on the current construction programme, including | :44:23. | :44:24. | |
the level of uncertainty about projects due to begin in the final | :44:25. | :44:28. | |
year and the potential knock-on effect on funding RIS two. Those | :44:29. | :44:35. | |
plans include the trans-Pennine route, and spending on existing | :44:36. | :44:41. | |
links on the Acity six, A6 night and' 64 stop you cannot trust the | :44:42. | :44:47. | |
Tories on road rail for local transport. Northern cities are | :44:48. | :44:52. | |
succeeding under Labour leadership in spite of this Government. I thank | :44:53. | :44:55. | |
my honourable friend forgiving way. 200 workers in Sheffield listened to | :44:56. | :45:01. | |
transport sector incredulously when he spoke about HS2 benefiting | :45:02. | :45:06. | |
Sheffield and that HS2 should be a reason for companies to look at | :45:07. | :45:09. | |
transferring jobs out of London to northern cities. Yet the Business | :45:10. | :45:14. | |
Secretary is currently transferring 200 jobs from Sheffield down to | :45:15. | :45:20. | |
London in a reverse of that process transferring down the Midland | :45:21. | :45:22. | |
mainline said of back-up the HS2 line. How will workers in Sheffield | :45:23. | :45:27. | |
feel about that contradiction to his own colleague? My honourable friend | :45:28. | :45:33. | |
makes a good point and it is no surprise that people in the city of | :45:34. | :45:36. | |
Sheffield reject this Government completely. The North was a | :45:37. | :45:42. | |
powerhouse long before the Chancellor arrived and it will be a | :45:43. | :45:48. | |
powerhouse long after he has gone. An HS2, the Government's delivery | :45:49. | :45:51. | |
has been anything other than high-speed. A decision on the route | :45:52. | :45:57. | |
of phase two has been delayed by two years. And I would like to remind | :45:58. | :46:00. | |
the ministers opposite of the Conservative Party press release | :46:01. | :46:04. | |
that was issued in Yorkshire on April the 2015, it's not about camp | :46:05. | :46:12. | |
are's campaign bus expenses. No question from the local media were | :46:13. | :46:15. | |
allowed and it's not difficult to see why, it said: Phase two of HS2 | :46:16. | :46:20. | |
will also start construction from the northern end, with the leads to | :46:21. | :46:25. | |
Sheffield Meadowhall section made a priority to open even before the | :46:26. | :46:30. | |
line as a whole balance. Those plans to build HS2 from the North have | :46:31. | :46:36. | |
already been dropped, the ever existed, and once again we are faced | :46:37. | :46:39. | |
with a Conservative election promise that is being broken. Over the last | :46:40. | :46:44. | |
fortnight it's been reported that phase two is under review and the | :46:45. | :46:47. | |
prominent critics of HS2 have been invited into the Treasury to set out | :46:48. | :46:53. | |
the case against the project. That stations at Sheffield and Manchester | :46:54. | :47:00. | |
airports could be dropped along with the link that will allow high-speed | :47:01. | :47:04. | |
trains to run to Stoke and Staffordshire, even though the | :47:05. | :47:07. | |
Secretary of State has given his civic assurances in this house on | :47:08. | :47:11. | |
the link's future. There are specific questions that the | :47:12. | :47:15. | |
Government will still answer, if those reports have no basis, then | :47:16. | :47:21. | |
why did the Business Minister say on Sunday that we need to sort this out | :47:22. | :47:28. | |
or Sheffield might miss out on HS2? And the Government calls the | :47:29. | :47:35. | |
appropriate third party as a contribution which the transport | :47:36. | :47:38. | |
sector is said Manchester Airport station was dependent on been | :47:39. | :47:43. | |
agreed? Two months ago this house voted overwhelmingly in favour of | :47:44. | :47:48. | |
HS2 are specific understanding of the project. Of course costs must be | :47:49. | :47:52. | |
kept under control but it will be totally unacceptable if the plans | :47:53. | :47:56. | |
for high-speed rail in the Midlands and North were downgraded by a | :47:57. | :48:02. | |
regrettable and secretive review there's not forget the record on | :48:03. | :48:08. | |
aviation. In 2009 the Prime Minister famously said that the third runway | :48:09. | :48:15. | |
at Heathrow will not go ahead, no ifs, no buts. By last July this had | :48:16. | :48:20. | |
morphed into guarantee that I can give is that a decision will be made | :48:21. | :48:25. | |
by the end of the year. It's difficult to take the latest pledge | :48:26. | :48:30. | |
to report by the summer's -- seriously. While this is our failing | :48:31. | :48:39. | |
to deliver on local transport seems -- International schools, local | :48:40. | :48:42. | |
services are squeezed. More than 2400 bus routes have been downgraded | :48:43. | :48:47. | |
or cut altogether. The rail minister said a Christmas that our part of | :48:48. | :48:50. | |
passengers is improving journeys for everyone. But the Galletier 's | :48:51. | :48:56. | |
commuters are being honest buses and trains and some season tickets cost | :48:57. | :49:03. | |
?2000 more than they did in 2010. -- but the reality is. Actuality is at | :49:04. | :49:06. | |
its worst in a decade, worse than when the network was recovering from | :49:07. | :49:09. | |
the Hatfield disaster and ministers are considering further cut to | :49:10. | :49:14. | |
Network Rail's maintenance plans. The possible crisis on local roads | :49:15. | :49:19. | |
gets worse by the day after local upkeep budgets fell by 27% in real | :49:20. | :49:26. | |
terms. And even on walking and cycling, an area where the Prime | :49:27. | :49:30. | |
Minister had a personal interest, I'm worried that ministers might | :49:31. | :49:33. | |
have misinterpreted their brief. That can be the only explanation for | :49:34. | :49:38. | |
publishing a cycling and walking investment strategy that is so | :49:39. | :49:45. | |
utterly pedestrian. Targets for increasing walking journeys have | :49:46. | :49:51. | |
been inexplicably dropped and I hope it didn't make the secular state | :49:52. | :49:53. | |
will take advantage of national walking month to reduce that | :49:54. | :49:58. | |
session. One year ago the premise is that it was his aim to increase | :49:59. | :50:03. | |
spending on cycling further to ?10 a head. -- secretary of state. | :50:04. | :50:09. | |
Analysis of spending figures shows that Government funding for cycling | :50:10. | :50:13. | |
is due to fall to just 72p per head outside London. It is clear that the | :50:14. | :50:20. | |
Government has produced a cycling and walking investment strategy with | :50:21. | :50:25. | |
no investment and the promise to raise spending on cycling has been | :50:26. | :50:31. | |
broken. I'm grateful for the Lady forgiving way, is one of the | :50:32. | :50:34. | |
problems of going first and not being able to follow, asking a | :50:35. | :50:38. | |
number of questions I'm unable to answer but I do find it odd that she | :50:39. | :50:43. | |
talks about the capital investment when David Miliband said in the 2010 | :50:44. | :50:49. | |
general election we will have to halve the share of national income | :50:50. | :50:53. | |
going into capital spending, that was on five live in July 20 ten. | :50:54. | :50:59. | |
That is what he said then and that is what their plans were, plans have | :51:00. | :51:02. | |
been to massively increase the investment in public transport and | :51:03. | :51:09. | |
transport across. Wouldn't it make a change if he took some | :51:10. | :51:13. | |
responsibility for the six years and their failings in this place. Across | :51:14. | :51:19. | |
the Government, this Government is failing to deliver the investment we | :51:20. | :51:24. | |
need and is failing to support local sustainable transport. But there can | :51:25. | :51:27. | |
be no doubt the situation would be made even worse if we left the EU. | :51:28. | :51:33. | |
We are on the verge of making a decision that will affect countless | :51:34. | :51:38. | |
generations. Europe has made real improvements to the quality of | :51:39. | :51:42. | |
journeys within the UK and from it to the continent and beyond. | :51:43. | :51:46. | |
Although we need to urgently move to real-world testing of overall | :51:47. | :51:47. | |
emissions from new vehicles had been emissions from new vehicles had been | :51:48. | :51:51. | |
reduced by 95% in the last few years. Next European standards. The | :51:52. | :51:59. | |
EU is a vital source of funding for international and local projects, | :52:00. | :52:03. | |
whether it is Crossrail, new trains or major ports and upgrades, who is | :52:04. | :52:07. | |
often European funded by the transport improvements we | :52:08. | :52:11. | |
desperately need. -- there is often. If we voted to leave airlines would | :52:12. | :52:15. | |
lose their current rights to access the American market, spelling chaos | :52:16. | :52:18. | |
for jobs in the aviation industry and some of our largest car and | :52:19. | :52:23. | |
train manufacturers have made it clear that inward investment and | :52:24. | :52:26. | |
jobs depend on access to the single market. I will close by saying that | :52:27. | :52:32. | |
the transport case for staying in the EU is a whelming, as it is in | :52:33. | :52:38. | |
other policy areas. I hope that when we plan transport services over the | :52:39. | :52:41. | |
coming decades that it is on the basis of a new -- renewed mandate | :52:42. | :52:44. | |
from Embassy of the EU. Before I call the honourable member, | :52:45. | :52:52. | |
there are 18 members wishing to speak in this debate, that works out | :52:53. | :52:55. | |
at about ten minutes, so if everybody takes ten minutes, | :52:56. | :53:00. | |
everybody will get in. This does exclude the SNP spokesperson. Bill | :53:01. | :53:05. | |
Ratcliffe. It is a pleasure to rise in support of the humble address. | :53:06. | :53:11. | |
The programme of government for the upcoming session contains many | :53:12. | :53:15. | |
welcome measures, for example my constituents will be welcoming of | :53:16. | :53:18. | |
the universal service obligation for internet providers to be brought in | :53:19. | :53:23. | |
through the Digital Economy Bill. This will mean that every UK | :53:24. | :53:27. | |
household will have the right to an affordable, fast broadband | :53:28. | :53:31. | |
connection with minimum guaranteed connection speeds, something I have | :53:32. | :53:34. | |
been campaigning for my constituency for some years, one of my pledges at | :53:35. | :53:38. | |
the general election. The more rural areas of my constituency will, I | :53:39. | :53:43. | |
hope, particularly welcome this policy, as many living there over | :53:44. | :53:47. | |
22nd rate internet connections services for far too long. I am | :53:48. | :53:53. | |
pleased also that through the in the direction of the neighbourhood | :53:54. | :53:55. | |
planning and infrastructure built there will be an opportunity to give | :53:56. | :53:59. | |
local communities more power to shape their own areas. I am proud of | :54:00. | :54:05. | |
the diligent work undertaken by members of civic societies across | :54:06. | :54:09. | |
the country, including my own constituency, of which I am a | :54:10. | :54:13. | |
member. Let me be clear neighbourhood planning is not about | :54:14. | :54:17. | |
nimbyism, we're not against development, and indeed I praise Her | :54:18. | :54:21. | |
Majesty's Government's ambition for house-building. It is about working | :54:22. | :54:25. | |
constructively with communities, determining sites for appropriate | :54:26. | :54:28. | |
development and providing the infrastructure necessary to make it | :54:29. | :54:32. | |
viable. Neighbourhood planning is a way to bring communities on board | :54:33. | :54:35. | |
with developers and therefore get more built. A case in point was a | :54:36. | :54:40. | |
recently established neighbourhood forum in order to establish a | :54:41. | :54:44. | |
network band. I'm sure honourable members will have experience of this | :54:45. | :54:51. | |
in their own constituencies. -- a neighbourhood plan. Whilst I may | :54:52. | :54:54. | |
regret the Government could not accept the amendment from the Lords | :54:55. | :54:57. | |
on the community right of appeal in the recent housing and planning act, | :54:58. | :55:03. | |
an amendment many of us supported, I hope the Neighbourhood Planning and | :55:04. | :55:07. | |
Infrastructure Bill would go some of the way to achieving the same | :55:08. | :55:11. | |
sentiment. I also welcome the education, and I commend the goal of | :55:12. | :55:15. | |
continuing to increase the number and quality of academy schools in | :55:16. | :55:19. | |
the coming years. I do, importantly, however, welcomed the fact that this | :55:20. | :55:23. | |
will no longer be on a compulsory basis, as previously proposed, | :55:24. | :55:26. | |
following a rethink from the Government. I wish to extend my | :55:27. | :55:30. | |
thanks to the Secretary of State for Education for taking the time to | :55:31. | :55:34. | |
listen to the concerns of myself and other colleagues about the programme | :55:35. | :55:37. | |
and this important change of tack. I look forward to working with her and | :55:38. | :55:41. | |
others to progress this bill, which includes the vital new national | :55:42. | :55:45. | |
funding formula for schools, which will end the entrenched disparities | :55:46. | :55:49. | |
in school funding and bring about fairness for all pupils. On a | :55:50. | :55:52. | |
related note, I was pleased to hear that measures will be introduced to | :55:53. | :55:56. | |
strengthen social services for children in care, and to increase | :55:57. | :55:59. | |
the number and speed of adoptions in this country. But I say gently that, | :56:00. | :56:03. | |
in desiring greater speed, we should be careful not to sacrifice the | :56:04. | :56:08. | |
suitability of placements or, as the intention of adoptions to find a | :56:09. | :56:12. | |
permanent, stable, loving home, a rushed process could lead to harm in | :56:13. | :56:17. | |
long-term process of systems being overly streamlined. The Children and | :56:18. | :56:23. | |
Social Work Bill will also improve social work provision through better | :56:24. | :56:25. | |
training and standards of social workers and mean that children | :56:26. | :56:28. | |
leaving care will be made aware of the ongoing services they are | :56:29. | :56:33. | |
entitled to, including access to a personal adviser until the age of | :56:34. | :56:39. | |
25. This is particularly welcome, coming just after a report on the | :56:40. | :56:43. | |
disparities in mental health care provision for looked after children. | :56:44. | :56:49. | |
And of course mental health performance is prevalent amongst the | :56:50. | :56:52. | |
prisoner population, and the current levels of mental health care and | :56:53. | :56:55. | |
service for prisoners is not to be standard and should be. I hope that | :56:56. | :56:59. | |
the Government will put a particular focus on improving this as it works | :57:00. | :57:04. | |
to build new reforming presence. The Queen's Speech also contains welcome | :57:05. | :57:09. | |
plans to introduce the NHS Overseas Visitors Charging Bill, which will | :57:10. | :57:12. | |
mean overseas visitors and migrants will be charged for using NHS | :57:13. | :57:16. | |
services that they are not entitled to. Entitled residence will mean | :57:17. | :57:22. | |
that fewer visits from the EU and EEA countries will be able to access | :57:23. | :57:26. | |
free health care. In the NHS, we have one of the greatest and most | :57:27. | :57:29. | |
envied systems in the world, but it has led to the NHS becoming the | :57:30. | :57:35. | |
victim of its own success, with a Charente of health tourism. Overseas | :57:36. | :57:39. | |
visitors coming to the UK to visit from our excellent NHS services | :57:40. | :57:42. | |
without making a contribution and with the British taxpayer paying the | :57:43. | :57:48. | |
bill. Health tourism has been particularly prevalent among | :57:49. | :57:51. | |
visitors from the EU, abusing the AHI scheme for too long. Hundreds of | :57:52. | :57:56. | |
thousands of overseas visitors as per train on our health service. | :57:57. | :58:02. | |
Many Britons receive treatment overseas, but the number is far | :58:03. | :58:13. | |
fewer than those who come here. And of course another way we could | :58:14. | :58:19. | |
provide a huge boost for our NHS is to stop the ?350 million we send | :58:20. | :58:24. | |
every week to the EU, and I fear I may be in Sanders agreement with my | :58:25. | :58:27. | |
right honourable friend on the front bench about this matter. -- in some | :58:28. | :58:38. | |
disagreement. Those contributions are enough to build a fully staffed | :58:39. | :58:43. | |
NHS hospital every week. However, Madam Deputy Speaker, this is not | :58:44. | :58:47. | |
the only way that the EU is currently threatening our NHS, and | :58:48. | :58:52. | |
unfortunately the Gracious Speech did not address it. The | :58:53. | :58:56. | |
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP, which the EU | :58:57. | :59:01. | |
was determined to pass, May but the UK Government and the NHS facing | :59:02. | :59:05. | |
legal challenge from foreign corporations if we refuse to put | :59:06. | :59:08. | |
some of our public services, including the NHS, and to tender for | :59:09. | :59:16. | |
privatisation. TTIP could forced the partial privatisation of the NHS, | :59:17. | :59:19. | |
and there would be nothing for the UK Government or the British people | :59:20. | :59:24. | |
to do about it, were we to stay as a member of the EU. We on these | :59:25. | :59:27. | |
benches must not be blind to the issue and leave it to other parties | :59:28. | :59:32. | |
to make the case. Now, the symbols and surest way, therefore, to | :59:33. | :59:35. | |
protect the NHS from the unbearable strain of visitor costs, forced | :59:36. | :59:43. | |
privatisation, and the amount of money that would be the new hospital | :59:44. | :59:48. | |
every week, would be for Britain to leave the EU. There is going to be | :59:49. | :59:52. | |
at some stage a trade agreement between the EU and the United | :59:53. | :59:55. | |
States. If we want to protect ourselves from any unintended | :59:56. | :00:00. | |
consequences, it is best to be in there, arguing the case as part of | :00:01. | :00:03. | |
those negotiations, rather than having to stay on the outside and | :00:04. | :00:08. | |
then except the negotiation once it is done, whatever is included in | :00:09. | :00:13. | |
that agreement. I thank the honourable gentleman for his | :00:14. | :00:17. | |
intervention, but if it was a risk of sacrificing our own sovereignty | :00:18. | :00:20. | |
and the ability of this demand to determine its own public policy in | :00:21. | :00:25. | |
the process of international tribunal is determining matters | :00:26. | :00:28. | |
between governments and companies, then I would quite frankly except | :00:29. | :00:34. | |
President Obama's offer to be at the back of the queue for such an | :00:35. | :00:38. | |
agreement. I will go further, because I was delighted to hear in | :00:39. | :00:41. | |
the Queen's Speech that the Government will continue to | :00:42. | :00:44. | |
strengthen national security for investment in the Armed Forces and a | :00:45. | :00:47. | |
commitment to the Armed Forces covenant, and a promise to fulfil | :00:48. | :00:52. | |
our Nato commitment of 2% spending on defence. Let us not forget that | :00:53. | :00:56. | |
it is first and foremost our work and friendship with allies through | :00:57. | :01:00. | |
Nato, not the European Union, that maintains our security on the | :01:01. | :01:05. | |
international stage. The world is a turbulent place, Madam Deputy | :01:06. | :01:08. | |
Speaker, but our security and defence forces keep as strong, and | :01:09. | :01:12. | |
it is right that the Queen's Speech recognises and protect that. Now is | :01:13. | :01:16. | |
not just the time for strengthening our national governance is. We will | :01:17. | :01:20. | |
soon come to a time and the British people will need to sew the strength | :01:21. | :01:23. | |
of their convictions, and I hope they will do the right thing for | :01:24. | :01:29. | |
Britain and vote to leave the European Union next month, allowing | :01:30. | :01:32. | |
us to forge new and prosperous relationships with neighbours all | :01:33. | :01:36. | |
around the world, and not just the ones on our doorstep. However, I am | :01:37. | :01:41. | |
heartened by Her Majesty's Government Gracious Speech, as it | :01:42. | :01:43. | |
lays out a positive programme for government for the next year. It | :01:44. | :01:48. | |
means that after the referendum vote on June 23, I am confident, and | :01:49. | :01:53. | |
indeed hopeful that on the 25th of June we will have a strong | :01:54. | :01:56. | |
Conservative majority government who will go on and lead is united to a | :01:57. | :02:02. | |
Britain brighter and better both at home and abroad. Drew Hendry. Thank | :02:03. | :02:07. | |
you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Can I associate the SNP group the comments | :02:08. | :02:11. | |
from the Secretary of State about the Egyptian air incident, and of | :02:12. | :02:16. | |
course those of the shadow minister as well this morning. During my | :02:17. | :02:20. | |
remarks, I will focus on three themes, firstly the measures that we | :02:21. | :02:25. | |
in the SNP welcome, at least in their outline descriptions. | :02:26. | :02:28. | |
Secondly, the areas where we feel that other options and measures | :02:29. | :02:31. | |
could have and should have been incorporated, or should be | :02:32. | :02:36. | |
incorporated, and it is never too late, of course, for ministers to | :02:37. | :02:39. | |
take heed of these ideas and take them forward, so I hope they are | :02:40. | :02:43. | |
listening carefully. Thirdly, the actions and examples and lessons to | :02:44. | :02:46. | |
be learned to take the steps required to deliver for the people | :02:47. | :02:51. | |
of the nations of the UK. Before that, however, I'm sure that the | :02:52. | :02:54. | |
Secretary of State will join me in welcoming Fergus Ewing MSP to his | :02:55. | :02:59. | |
new position of Cabinet Secretary for rural economy and connectivity, | :03:00. | :03:02. | |
and also the new Minister for transport in the islands. I would | :03:03. | :03:10. | |
also like to put on record my thanks to the former cabinet secretary and | :03:11. | :03:15. | |
Minister Derek Mackay for their work, some of which I will refer to | :03:16. | :03:20. | |
today, both now performing new roles in the Scottish and Cabinet, and I | :03:21. | :03:24. | |
am sure that UK Government ministers will agree they have worked | :03:25. | :03:27. | |
positively with them during their time in office. Madam Deputy | :03:28. | :03:31. | |
Speaker, I am happy to give way. Can I echo what the honourable member | :03:32. | :03:36. | |
says? Can I also say that I had heard of the appointments just | :03:37. | :03:39. | |
before I came into the chamber but very much hope that we can work | :03:40. | :03:43. | |
together positively in the future on a number of issues which affect both | :03:44. | :03:47. | |
Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom. And I'm sure that weather | :03:48. | :03:52. | |
is a progressive move, that will be the case. Madam Deputy Speaker, I | :03:53. | :03:56. | |
said that I wanted to start with the areas weather is a common purpose, | :03:57. | :04:00. | |
and there are some innovative measures on transport, or at | :04:01. | :04:06. | |
promises of innovative measures in transport. That said, to gain | :04:07. | :04:10. | |
support, the rhetoric will need to be followed with an inclusive vision | :04:11. | :04:13. | |
that benefits all of the nations of the UK. An area where this is not | :04:14. | :04:18. | |
yet clear if the investment in further research into autonomous | :04:19. | :04:22. | |
vehicles. Obviously, safety implications and deployment will be | :04:23. | :04:26. | |
considerations, and, Madam Deputy Speaker, this investment is most | :04:27. | :04:29. | |
welcome but will be meaningless to most of the UK nations if it is not | :04:30. | :04:34. | |
supported by the required investment in delivering a truly universal | :04:35. | :04:39. | |
Mobile complications network. Let's not yet again take the approach | :04:40. | :04:46. | |
where the benefits are only seen in some urban areas of the UK. Future | :04:47. | :04:50. | |
network licensing deals should have the conditions of contract as a | :04:51. | :04:53. | |
requirement for rural areas to be prioritised. In these areas all | :04:54. | :04:59. | |
across the nations of the UK, they have suffered for decades because of | :05:00. | :05:02. | |
ill thought out strategy and indeed the ignorance of the needs of those | :05:03. | :05:07. | |
outside the larger cities. Linked closely to this is the need for | :05:08. | :05:11. | |
broadband infrastructure. Madam Deputy Speaker, the SNP have | :05:12. | :05:15. | |
campaigned for a universal service obligation for broadband and are | :05:16. | :05:19. | |
pleased that this is included in the Digital Economy Bill. The Scottish | :05:20. | :05:23. | |
Government is committed to superfast broadband to 100% of premises, all | :05:24. | :05:27. | |
businesses and homes, and when I recently at the Leader of the House | :05:28. | :05:33. | |
in this chamber to match that ambition, he said he did not know | :05:34. | :05:36. | |
how it could be done. It is hoped that the UK Government have figured | :05:37. | :05:39. | |
this out and will roll-out and demonstrate action that matches the | :05:40. | :05:42. | |
words. If it does, that is positive news. UK infrastructure commission | :05:43. | :05:48. | |
is also welcome, but only if it looks beyond the old horizons and | :05:49. | :05:52. | |
prioritises infrastructure for, as I say, all the nations of the UK. To | :05:53. | :05:56. | |
achieve this, more ambition is required in the development and | :05:57. | :05:59. | |
deployment of electric vehicle infrastructure, and I agree with the | :06:00. | :06:03. | |
remarks made earlier by the Labour front bench on this. In addition to | :06:04. | :06:07. | |
autonomous vehicle investment, the two must go hand-in-hand. If that is | :06:08. | :06:11. | |
to happen, it is good, but let's see the detail and that ambition | :06:12. | :06:17. | |
matching what is being said. We possibly entering a point and | :06:18. | :06:20. | |
development where, counterintuitively, roads may | :06:21. | :06:23. | |
actually have the potential to provide another vision for the | :06:24. | :06:26. | |
future of transport. I would like to see the explored more by the UK | :06:27. | :06:32. | |
Government. Green travel, indeed greener travel measures in general, | :06:33. | :06:39. | |
we would have sort greater ambition from the UK Government. While the | :06:40. | :06:42. | |
recent Budget did not remove salary sacrifice games aiding the promotion | :06:43. | :06:47. | |
of cycling, and that is to be welcomed, there is huge opportunity | :06:48. | :06:52. | |
for further investment in cycling. This leads to how the atoms for | :06:53. | :06:55. | |
people and healthier economic benefits. But the lack of a detailed | :06:56. | :07:02. | |
implementation plan for accelerating cycling infrastructure is something | :07:03. | :07:06. | |
we would urge ministers to reconsider. -- healthier outcomes | :07:07. | :07:10. | |
for people. Where is the promised strategy? Given the stated | :07:11. | :07:15. | |
objectives, why is it not a headline this time? What is needed is greater | :07:16. | :07:20. | |
vision, greater urgency, proof that the words equal a true commitment. | :07:21. | :07:25. | |
The SNP Scottish Government are investing ?1 billion annually into | :07:26. | :07:28. | |
public transport and other sustainable transport options to | :07:29. | :07:31. | |
encourage people to get out of their cars. But since 2011, Scotland has | :07:32. | :07:37. | |
built 190 calamities of cycling and walking paths to match the | :07:38. | :07:39. | |
commitment to healthier lives for the people of Scotland where we have | :07:40. | :07:43. | |
seen an increase of around a third of people cycling since 2003. -- 190 | :07:44. | :07:46. | |
kilometres. The Secretary of State mentioned HS2 | :07:47. | :07:59. | |
earlier. But he ominously omitted Scotland from his list. The Scottish | :08:00. | :08:03. | |
Government are committed to working in partnership with the UK | :08:04. | :08:08. | |
Government on HS2, but the UK Government must demonstrate that | :08:09. | :08:12. | |
their commitment is factual. Will he confirm that is correct and he will | :08:13. | :08:17. | |
commit with this and he will go to Scotland with the full investment | :08:18. | :08:22. | |
needed? HS2 is not the only possibility for a cross-border rail | :08:23. | :08:28. | |
development. The Borders rail link, a programme delivered on time and | :08:29. | :08:31. | |
under budget by the Scottish Government is now open for | :08:32. | :08:37. | |
investigation for going all the way to Carlisle. The Scottish Government | :08:38. | :08:41. | |
will support a feasible study will stop with the UK Government match | :08:42. | :08:45. | |
that to see if it can be realised for the people of the Borders? Was | :08:46. | :08:54. | |
the future of green travel exists for service users through active | :08:55. | :09:00. | |
travel and the development of road, rail and electric, especially if | :09:01. | :09:04. | |
powered by renewable sources, there remains no vision for the UK | :09:05. | :09:08. | |
Government on alternative air travel. The UK is stuck in the | :09:09. | :09:13. | |
vapour trails on this issue. Oslo has become the world's first airport | :09:14. | :09:20. | |
to offer a sustainable biofuels to all airlines with Lufthansa, SAS and | :09:21. | :09:25. | |
KLM already signed up. In the UK there is no such commitment. The UK | :09:26. | :09:30. | |
Government can change this and I would urge ministers to include | :09:31. | :09:34. | |
aviation in the renewable transport fuel obligation. We welcome the UK | :09:35. | :09:40. | |
Government's commitment to do more to the UK airspace strategy. It is | :09:41. | :09:46. | |
overdue. We ask that action in this area be accelerated to address the | :09:47. | :09:51. | |
deficit of more than 40 years. To ignore this poses an increased risk | :09:52. | :09:54. | |
of delays and a damaging impact on commerce. Tackling this and coming | :09:55. | :10:01. | |
into line with the European Commission initiative offers an | :10:02. | :10:05. | |
opportunity to boost the UK economy and provide a benefit for all of the | :10:06. | :10:11. | |
UK nations. But, speaking of things up in the air, whilst nobody will be | :10:12. | :10:16. | |
shocked by a lack of commitment to decide on airport expansion, it | :10:17. | :10:22. | |
remains the elephant in the room. Our frustration is shared by the | :10:23. | :10:27. | |
ministers on these benches. I am certain freed from the internal | :10:28. | :10:31. | |
pressures they would have made a decision, but they remain paralysed | :10:32. | :10:35. | |
by the orders of internal party politics. Madame Deputy Speaker, you | :10:36. | :10:39. | |
were in the chair on a previous occasion when I overran on a | :10:40. | :10:44. | |
response to the statement on yet another delay to airport expansion, | :10:45. | :10:52. | |
whether government ministers and the Prime Minister promised a full and | :10:53. | :10:56. | |
final decision, promises broken over and over. When a person sees and | :10:57. | :11:03. | |
hears that long catalogue of missed opportunities for leadership, what | :11:04. | :11:06. | |
becomes understandable is the frustration and anger of these | :11:07. | :11:10. | |
delays. Rather than repeat the exercise, let me quote the words of | :11:11. | :11:16. | |
the Secretary of State from way back on October 2000 and 12. He said in | :11:17. | :11:20. | |
the South east of the runways are filling up and the Jets are circling | :11:21. | :11:25. | |
our skies. That is hitting our prosperity, it is bad for the | :11:26. | :11:29. | |
environment, it is bidding of investors, it is costing jobs and it | :11:30. | :11:34. | |
is holding Britain back. Madame Deputy Speaker, he was right. Nearly | :11:35. | :11:40. | |
five years ago he was right and in spite of those sage words of the | :11:41. | :11:45. | |
runways are fuller, more Jets are circling and the environment | :11:46. | :11:47. | |
continues to be damaged and investors have been put off. Who | :11:48. | :11:51. | |
knows how many jobs it could have cost? I am grateful to the | :11:52. | :11:58. | |
honourable gentleman. He has now had time to study the Davis report, | :11:59. | :12:04. | |
perhaps he will now tell us which option he supports? I would be | :12:05. | :12:07. | |
delighted if the Secretary of State and the UK Government wants to hand | :12:08. | :12:12. | |
control of development of the UK infrastructure over to the SNP. Like | :12:13. | :12:19. | |
the Borders rail link, like the Queensferry Crossing, we deliver | :12:20. | :12:23. | |
things on time and under budget. By all means give us that decision and | :12:24. | :12:28. | |
we will make that choice for you. Let me come on to wipe this is | :12:29. | :12:34. | |
important to Scotland. Over 90% of international visitors to Scotland's | :12:35. | :12:38. | |
travel by air, more than a third of those use Heathrow as a hub. | :12:39. | :12:44. | |
Combined with Gatwick, that is about half of international visitors | :12:45. | :12:47. | |
travelling through the south-east. It is not just tourism. The ?5 | :12:48. | :12:53. | |
billion annual whiskey industry, the salmon industry and other exporters | :12:54. | :12:58. | |
need to get international markets. All the time a decision is fudged | :12:59. | :13:03. | |
this harms the Scottish economy. There is another air opportunity | :13:04. | :13:10. | |
open to the UK Government. Not just to Scotland, but to many other parts | :13:11. | :13:14. | |
of the UK, and that is by bringing forward a commitment to public | :13:15. | :13:19. | |
service obligations linking regional airports, point-to-point with the | :13:20. | :13:24. | |
London hubs. This would be a much more enlightened and inclusive | :13:25. | :13:32. | |
airport strategy. Our strategic choice is indeed needed. We also | :13:33. | :13:41. | |
support the establishment of a UK spaceport. This is an exciting | :13:42. | :13:46. | |
opportunity and again subject to how this is progress, we see this... I | :13:47. | :13:52. | |
am happy to give way. I wonder if my honourable friend would ask the | :13:53. | :13:56. | |
Minister to clarify that in his statement, and I was trying to | :13:57. | :14:01. | |
intervene and he did not hear me, was that he mention it would be up | :14:02. | :14:05. | |
to market forces to decide where the spaceport was. We have had | :14:06. | :14:09. | |
discussions in this place in the past talking about awarding a | :14:10. | :14:16. | |
licence to UK spaceport, but you need multiple licenses because you | :14:17. | :14:19. | |
have to license every vehicle. Maybe you could ask on my behalf whether | :14:20. | :14:24. | |
the minister would clarify whether he is going to let the market make | :14:25. | :14:28. | |
the decision and whether there will be the possibility of multiple | :14:29. | :14:35. | |
spaceport is. It is a very important point and I think you have made | :14:36. | :14:39. | |
questing clear, but I am delighted to ask the Secretary of State to | :14:40. | :14:44. | |
respond. We see this development as having great possibilities and would | :14:45. | :14:47. | |
anticipate the UK Government wilfully appreciate the excellent | :14:48. | :14:52. | |
potential sites in Scotland. We encourage the UK Government to work | :14:53. | :14:57. | |
with the Scottish Government, Scottish local authorities and | :14:58. | :14:59. | |
public agencies to realise this potential in Scotland. We would also | :15:00. | :15:06. | |
welcome more detail on developing a genuine aerospace strategy. Part of | :15:07. | :15:10. | |
this must be the investment to address the skills gap in the | :15:11. | :15:14. | |
engineering sector. I would urge ministers to consider some of the | :15:15. | :15:18. | |
work progressed in gender balance issues. It was not that long ago | :15:19. | :15:24. | |
that I quoted the deputy director for the National Aerospace programme | :15:25. | :15:29. | |
with over 40 years experience. She highlighted her struggles as a woman | :15:30. | :15:35. | |
in the industry with only 11% of women, even with 20% graduates of | :15:36. | :15:42. | |
women. This is the lowest female employment in this sector across | :15:43. | :15:45. | |
Europe. There are apprenticeship opportunities in shipping. Transport | :15:46. | :15:50. | |
should include reference to shipping. The Scottish Government | :15:51. | :15:56. | |
work tirelessly, as they did with the Scottish steel issue, to save | :15:57. | :16:00. | |
the iconic Ferguson shipyard, vital to providing vessels and employment | :16:01. | :16:05. | |
for the future. Of course in this place the decision has been to put a | :16:06. | :16:12. | |
delay on the order over the review of shipbuilding and that delay | :16:13. | :16:19. | |
threatens jobs in Scotland just now. I hope the ministers opposite will | :16:20. | :16:24. | |
take this message back to their Cabinet colleagues and get the | :16:25. | :16:26. | |
Treasury to release the brake on that particular development. Madame | :16:27. | :16:34. | |
Deputy Speaker, on the subject of shipping there is also an | :16:35. | :16:37. | |
opportunity to put right the dangerous deficit that has been | :16:38. | :16:41. | |
allowed to continue parentheses of the UK and particularly in Scotland, | :16:42. | :16:46. | |
nowhere more striking than on the West Coast. The right honourable | :16:47. | :16:49. | |
member for Murray has highlighted the dangers of maritime aircraft | :16:50. | :16:56. | |
patrol for Scotland. When added to the removal of Scotland's two | :16:57. | :17:02. | |
emergency towing vessels, it is easy to see why ministers opposite are | :17:03. | :17:06. | |
facing calls from every quarter to commit to permanently securing the | :17:07. | :17:10. | |
remaining vessel and reinstating the second. These are vessels that have | :17:11. | :17:17. | |
deployed sensitively and can assist drifting ships, prevent them from | :17:18. | :17:23. | |
running aground, head of disaster, protecting human lives and fragile | :17:24. | :17:27. | |
environments. They are called emergency towing vessels for a | :17:28. | :17:32. | |
simple reason, they are available for emergencies, such as when they | :17:33. | :17:36. | |
were called into rescue one of the nuclear submarines that had run | :17:37. | :17:41. | |
aground off Skye. Anyone and everyone who understands the risks | :17:42. | :17:48. | |
indices around Scotland, from the industry, from the unions, every | :17:49. | :17:54. | |
Highlands and Islands MP and MSP and local authorities and agencies are | :17:55. | :17:57. | |
all pointing out we cannot wait for another disaster to happen before | :17:58. | :18:02. | |
there is a reaction. There needs to be protected in order to prevent | :18:03. | :18:07. | |
such a disaster. To conclude what the nations of the UK need is not | :18:08. | :18:14. | |
just more words of support for good ideas, but a conductivity strategy, | :18:15. | :18:20. | |
a plan for air, technology, for suitable, sustainable fuels, a plan | :18:21. | :18:27. | |
for marine operators, a plan for health and well-being, tourism, | :18:28. | :18:31. | |
trade and enterprise and a plan for productivity. We must see more and | :18:32. | :18:34. | |
better work from the UK Government on these fronts. Thank you, Madam | :18:35. | :18:41. | |
Deputy Speaker. I am grateful for being called early in this debate. I | :18:42. | :18:45. | |
must give advance apologies for not being able to be here at the wind-up | :18:46. | :18:53. | |
at the end. I have to answer an invitation from her Majesty the | :18:54. | :18:57. | |
Queen to attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace this afternoon. I | :18:58. | :19:00. | |
am sure the Minister will understand I am keen to keep that one. | :19:01. | :19:07. | |
Yesterday in the speech we learned of the government's plans to ensure | :19:08. | :19:11. | |
that the UK will be at the forefront of new forms of transport in the | :19:12. | :19:16. | |
modern transport bill. It is an exciting time for the country as we | :19:17. | :19:22. | |
push forward towards a modern transport revolution which includes | :19:23. | :19:25. | |
the potential of the UK's first commercial spaceport, something I | :19:26. | :19:31. | |
shall return to later. The magnitude of the progress we are poised to | :19:32. | :19:36. | |
make becomes very clear when you consider the many years and neglect | :19:37. | :19:40. | |
our transport system has suffered, particularly for those of us" while. | :19:41. | :19:46. | |
However, at long last we are seeing serious investment in the county's | :19:47. | :19:50. | |
infrastructure that will create the opportunities for the future. ?60 | :19:51. | :19:58. | |
million project for the main link to Cornwall and the rest of the country | :19:59. | :20:02. | |
is well under way and will relieve massive congestion and delays. I am | :20:03. | :20:07. | |
incredibly proud to be part of this government that is finally | :20:08. | :20:11. | |
delivering on this project which was cancelled by the Labour government | :20:12. | :20:15. | |
when they came to power in the 90s. A further nine mile stretch of the | :20:16. | :20:19. | |
single carriageway further west on the a 30 is due to be upgraded. This | :20:20. | :20:25. | |
route experiences at 25% rise in traffic flow in the holiday periods, | :20:26. | :20:31. | |
so you can understand how important projects like this are for the | :20:32. | :20:36. | |
ongoing growth of this area. For many years residents of Saint | :20:37. | :20:39. | |
Austell have been making impassioned calls for an upgrade on the road | :20:40. | :20:46. | |
between Saint Austell and the A30. Now they're called have finally been | :20:47. | :20:50. | |
answered by this government. This project is planned to go ahead next | :20:51. | :20:57. | |
to funding will have a significant and positive impact on congestion | :20:58. | :21:01. | |
and traffic issues in my constituency, as well as an lock | :21:02. | :21:05. | |
future potential economic growth. But it is not just the roads that | :21:06. | :21:10. | |
are being upgraded. The South West will benefit from new trains, | :21:11. | :21:15. | |
replacing ones that are 40 years old. An upgraded sleeper service, as | :21:16. | :21:20. | |
well as reports into cutting journey times between London by half an hour | :21:21. | :21:26. | |
and a much needed additional route through Devon. Meanwhile, passenger | :21:27. | :21:34. | |
numbers at Cornwall Newquay airport continue to grow and thanks to the | :21:35. | :21:38. | |
government's backing, it has been able to fly into the jet age with | :21:39. | :21:44. | |
its link to Gatwick as well as seeing new routes opening up. | :21:45. | :21:48. | |
Through all this Cornwall has been transformed and its potential is | :21:49. | :21:51. | |
starting to be realised, but there is still much more to do. With our | :21:52. | :21:57. | |
unquestionable appetite to demonstrate our aspiration for | :21:58. | :22:00. | |
growth and better times ahead, Cornwall finds itself edging towards | :22:01. | :22:06. | |
the forefront of the next generation of travel opportunities and is | :22:07. | :22:10. | |
proving itself to be the right choice for the UK's first spaceport. | :22:11. | :22:16. | |
While we wait for the criteria to be released, it is clear that Newquay | :22:17. | :22:20. | |
has established itself as the front runner in this process. I put to you | :22:21. | :22:26. | |
it is the best option of the six short listed. Newquay airport | :22:27. | :22:30. | |
already has a wide and long runway, with the added bonus it has the | :22:31. | :22:33. | |
capacity to be extended fairly easily. The airport is established | :22:34. | :22:38. | |
and thriving and goes from strength to strength and will embrace the | :22:39. | :22:42. | |
growth and development the spaceport would bring. The proposed site is | :22:43. | :22:48. | |
ideally located next to the coast. It has easy access to uncongested | :22:49. | :22:55. | |
airspace and is not in a densely populated area. Making Newquay's bid | :22:56. | :23:00. | |
even more attractive either hugely beneficial links that exists between | :23:01. | :23:03. | |
the neighbouring enterprise zone. After the Chancellor announced the | :23:04. | :23:14. | |
expansion of that zone, the boost for choral's space ambitions works | :23:15. | :23:20. | |
to make the area and even more attractive for commercial | :23:21. | :23:25. | |
investment. As well as permitting the possibility of space tourism and | :23:26. | :23:27. | |
high-speed travel, the spaceport would embrace the commercial | :23:28. | :23:33. | |
satellite market even further. The UK is a world leader, but with a | :23:34. | :23:38. | |
spaceport we could finally secure launching satellites on our own. It | :23:39. | :23:43. | |
is antennae but that it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for | :23:44. | :23:48. | |
Cornwall and my constituency to transform our economy. -- it is | :23:49. | :23:54. | |
undeniable. We will see job opportunities and well-paid careers | :23:55. | :23:56. | |
in cutting-edge opportunities in one of the lowest paid areas in the | :23:57. | :24:02. | |
country, higher paid jobs, as well as welcoming new people to the area, | :24:03. | :24:06. | |
the next generation of skilled Cornishman and women will be a body | :24:07. | :24:10. | |
stay in the county they love to call home. -- will be able to stay. For | :24:11. | :24:19. | |
decades, they have been torn between their love and desire to live in | :24:20. | :24:23. | |
their beautiful homeland or seek serious job opportunities elsewhere. | :24:24. | :24:26. | |
I count myself lucky to have been able to make a living for myself | :24:27. | :24:30. | |
without having to leave Cornwall, working in a number of sectors over | :24:31. | :24:33. | |
many years, as well as running my own business. But this is not the | :24:34. | :24:37. | |
case for many of my peers, who were forced to move away in search of | :24:38. | :24:44. | |
other opportunities. But it is still happening today with scores of | :24:45. | :24:46. | |
talented, skilful young people leaving Cornwall behind, often never | :24:47. | :24:50. | |
to return. This has gone on for too long, but we can stop this. Our | :24:51. | :24:55. | |
young people deserve a chance, a real opportunity, just as much as | :24:56. | :25:00. | |
the rest of the country. It is clear the spaceport needs a home that will | :25:01. | :25:05. | |
embrace the brand-new sector of space tourism, and Cornwall can and | :25:06. | :25:09. | |
will pioneer this. As well as boosting visitor numbers from within | :25:10. | :25:12. | |
the UK even further, this could be the key that finally gets a large | :25:13. | :25:19. | |
proportion of the country's overseas visitors to the south-west. Only a | :25:20. | :25:23. | |
small percentage of overseas visitors currently venture outside | :25:24. | :25:26. | |
of London. The benefits of this would be felt right across the | :25:27. | :25:32. | |
south-west. Furthermore, Cornwall has historically led from the front | :25:33. | :25:37. | |
and it comes to industry. Our tin mining and China clay activities are | :25:38. | :25:41. | |
world-renowned, and they have transformed the landscape and the | :25:42. | :25:44. | |
future of Cornwall. As a county, we are also at the forefront of | :25:45. | :25:54. | |
inventions, the mighty Cornishman Richard sugar that created the first | :25:55. | :25:57. | |
steam locomotive, Humphrey Davies signed millions of lives with his | :25:58. | :26:01. | |
safety lamp, and the first-ever radio transmission was sent across | :26:02. | :26:04. | |
the Atlantic Ocean from Cornwall by Marconi. But this heritage is not | :26:05. | :26:14. | |
stopped Cornwall being stifled, unable to build on these advances, | :26:15. | :26:18. | |
Cornwall has not been able to live up to its true potential. Often | :26:19. | :26:22. | |
forgotten by Westminster, its ambitions ignored. But the tide is | :26:23. | :26:27. | |
changing, and Cornwall is on the up under this Government. The granting | :26:28. | :26:30. | |
of the Newquay spaceport would be another major advancement for the | :26:31. | :26:35. | |
region, and we are ready. The county and Newquay in particular, is | :26:36. | :26:39. | |
already a premier tourist destination with millions of people | :26:40. | :26:43. | |
already flocking to the area to enjoy all it has to offer. Not only | :26:44. | :26:47. | |
is Cornwall readily equipped for such an influx of visitors, we | :26:48. | :26:51. | |
understand tourism better than anyone else. Our communities thrive | :26:52. | :26:55. | |
on it, and we have done so for over a century. The Government's latest | :26:56. | :27:03. | |
infrastructure commitments show their commitment to the county, and | :27:04. | :27:08. | |
the six Cornish Conservative MPs are unequivocally working hard with the | :27:09. | :27:12. | |
Conservative Government deliver for Cornwall. What better time now than | :27:13. | :27:17. | |
to push this forward? I personally feel the Government's ongoing | :27:18. | :27:21. | |
commitment to the county shows a belief that Cornwall holds the key | :27:22. | :27:25. | |
for a fairer distribution of growth, and real evidence of our one nation | :27:26. | :27:29. | |
vision, a belief that Cornwall can pave the way forward in this | :27:30. | :27:34. | |
exciting new sector, and a belief that Cornwall will deliver. Madam | :27:35. | :27:38. | |
Deputy Speaker, the right choice is clear, Newquay's bidder for the | :27:39. | :27:43. | |
spaceport holds the excitement and enthusiasm for exploration, the | :27:44. | :27:46. | |
spirit of adventure, and the capability of being the driving | :27:47. | :27:49. | |
force in scientific and technological advances. Let's make | :27:50. | :27:55. | |
the right choice for Newquay, for Cornwall, and for the country. | :27:56. | :28:04. | |
There is a great deal to welcome in this Queen's Speech in relation to | :28:05. | :28:10. | |
transport, and it is reassuring to see how many issues contained in the | :28:11. | :28:15. | |
speech do reflect the requests that have come from the Transport Select | :28:16. | :28:20. | |
Committee. But the real test will be whether the promised measures are | :28:21. | :28:24. | |
actually implemented and do not simply remain aspirations, and of | :28:25. | :28:28. | |
course we will have to see the important details of what is being | :28:29. | :28:32. | |
proposed. I am pleased that the national infrastructure commission | :28:33. | :28:36. | |
is to be made a statutory body charged with a strategic vision for | :28:37. | :28:50. | |
2050. I just hope we are not still discussing increasing hub capacity | :28:51. | :28:53. | |
in the south-east by that date, it is important that a decision is made | :28:54. | :29:00. | |
soon. Heathrow is the right location, it is important decision | :29:01. | :29:03. | |
is made in the interests of the country as a whole and also on | :29:04. | :29:06. | |
behalf of the regions and nations this country. The Northern | :29:07. | :29:13. | |
powerhouse too pictures in the Queen's Speech, and that is | :29:14. | :29:17. | |
extremely important, and again we need to hear not just more words but | :29:18. | :29:21. | |
say actual implementation of proposals and ideas that have been | :29:22. | :29:25. | |
put forward. And that means that transport for the North needs to | :29:26. | :29:30. | |
have effective powers and full accountability, and I don't see any | :29:31. | :29:35. | |
mention of that in this Queen's Speech. It is of course particularly | :29:36. | :29:39. | |
important that electrification schemes, which have already been put | :29:40. | :29:44. | |
forward, are properly costed and implemented. We don't want to see | :29:45. | :29:50. | |
any more stop start processes, where promises are made and much-needed | :29:51. | :29:53. | |
schemes are delayed, or indeed cancelled. And when we are looking | :29:54. | :30:00. | |
at much-needed improvements across the Pennines, the Trans-Pennine | :30:01. | :30:03. | |
improvements, the so-called HS3, I think it is very important for | :30:04. | :30:08. | |
members to remember that Trans-Pennine improvements are not | :30:09. | :30:14. | |
confined to Manchester and Leeds. They also include Liverpool, | :30:15. | :30:17. | |
Newcastle, Sheffield and Hull, just to name a few of the very important | :30:18. | :30:24. | |
places. I am very pleased that age is going ahead, but I would like to | :30:25. | :30:30. | |
hear more clarity from the Minister about the current stories that are | :30:31. | :30:34. | |
now being circulated about possible changes to the face two of HS2, and | :30:35. | :30:41. | |
to get maximum impact from that very important infrastructure, we need to | :30:42. | :30:45. | |
see high-speed 2 linked with other rail investments, as we have been | :30:46. | :30:50. | |
promised they will, and, for example, enabling a direct line to | :30:51. | :30:59. | |
be built from Liverpool to link up with HS2 and HS3, just one example | :31:00. | :31:03. | |
of the way in which major infrastructure investments of | :31:04. | :31:05. | |
national importance can also give great benefit to the regions of this | :31:06. | :31:12. | |
country. I am, Madam Deputy Speaker, pleased to see the Modern Transport | :31:13. | :31:18. | |
Bill. Its promises for commercial development, transport innovations, | :31:19. | :31:21. | |
is extremely important for this country, and it is something that | :31:22. | :31:26. | |
has to often been neglected. I note too the reference to the importance | :31:27. | :31:34. | |
of using new technology for road safety. It is important to note that | :31:35. | :31:40. | |
while the trend on road safety over a decade or so is for improvements, | :31:41. | :31:47. | |
there has been a change in very recent years, and in the last year | :31:48. | :31:52. | |
for which we have recorded figures, 2014, we regrettably saw an actual | :31:53. | :32:00. | |
increase in road casualties. 1705 people were killed on our roads, and | :32:01. | :32:08. | |
22,807 people were seriously injured. Using technology to improve | :32:09. | :32:13. | |
road safety is important, but technology on its own cannot do the | :32:14. | :32:20. | |
job. Education and promotional campaigns are extremely important, | :32:21. | :32:24. | |
and so is enforcement, and I would remind ministers that it matters, | :32:25. | :32:28. | |
yes, that we have the latest technology, but also that we have | :32:29. | :32:33. | |
more people enforcing the rules of the road and looking at bad driver | :32:34. | :32:39. | |
behaviour by having more road traffic officers. During this year, | :32:40. | :32:42. | |
the transport committee produced a report which showed the impact of | :32:43. | :32:49. | |
reductions in road traffic officers, and to improve road safety we need | :32:50. | :32:54. | |
to harness the technology there, but we also need education and fulsome | :32:55. | :33:00. | |
and, P3 go together. I do, Madam Deputy Speaker, have a special | :33:01. | :33:11. | |
welcome for the Bus Services Bill. For too long, buses have been | :33:12. | :33:15. | |
treated as the Cinderella of public transport, yet more people use buses | :33:16. | :33:20. | |
than any other form of public transport. They are a lifeline for | :33:21. | :33:24. | |
millions, enabling people to get to their jobs and to access important | :33:25. | :33:30. | |
local amenities. And this bill, and I hope I can repeat this when we | :33:31. | :33:34. | |
actually see the detail of the bill, is an attempt to put right the | :33:35. | :33:41. | |
weaknesses of the 1985 Transport Act, which left bus services at the | :33:42. | :33:45. | |
mercy of the free market, leaving local authorities to pick up the tab | :33:46. | :33:51. | |
for profitable services, except in London, of course, which is spared | :33:52. | :33:56. | |
deregulation, and which has gone on from success to success, with | :33:57. | :33:59. | |
franchised services using the private sector, but the private | :34:00. | :34:06. | |
sector being employed to follow our transport plan as decided by the | :34:07. | :34:10. | |
public sector, Transport for London. And in terms of the rest of the | :34:11. | :34:14. | |
country, when local gum and cats started to bite and financial cuts | :34:15. | :34:20. | |
started to be amended, local authority support for those | :34:21. | :34:23. | |
subsidised services inevitably fell away. -- when local government cuts. | :34:24. | :34:31. | |
Increased numbers of people feel left out of essential transport | :34:32. | :34:36. | |
services, and they are left without access to work, without access to | :34:37. | :34:39. | |
hospitals, and two shops, and this is not solely rural communities that | :34:40. | :34:44. | |
are being affected, although they have been affected very badly. It is | :34:45. | :34:48. | |
also significant parts of towns and cities who are losing not only | :34:49. | :34:52. | |
night-time services, but important daytime services as well. I want to | :34:53. | :34:57. | |
thank my honourable friend for making those points, and I really do | :34:58. | :35:01. | |
agree with the punchy has made. Night buses have just been cuts in | :35:02. | :35:09. | |
my constituency. -- with the point she has made. But she also agreed | :35:10. | :35:13. | |
that people affected include those with sight loss, and she agreed that | :35:14. | :35:17. | |
this bill is an opportunity to make all new buses accessible for people | :35:18. | :35:25. | |
with sight loss with next stop and final destination announcements? I | :35:26. | :35:28. | |
thank my honourable friend for comments that I certainly agree | :35:29. | :35:33. | |
with. A proper public transport service, including buses, has to be | :35:34. | :35:38. | |
accessible for all people, and proper facilities to enable people | :35:39. | :35:42. | |
with sight loss, and indeed people with other sorts of disabilities, it | :35:43. | :35:47. | |
is absolutely important to have the right facilities there, and I think | :35:48. | :35:51. | |
this is a very important opportunity to do that. And indeed the whole | :35:52. | :35:56. | |
pattern we have seen since passed the regulation is that, while | :35:57. | :36:00. | |
services in London, where the regulation did not take place, have | :36:01. | :36:06. | |
increased, services and indeed there is, services have produced elsewhere | :36:07. | :36:09. | |
in the country while bus fares have increased. This is not acceptable, | :36:10. | :36:16. | |
it cannot be tolerated any further, and the measures to try and remedy | :36:17. | :36:25. | |
this, quality partnerships, quality contracts, they have not resolved | :36:26. | :36:28. | |
the basic question, so I look forward to the publication of the | :36:29. | :36:33. | |
Bus Services Bill. I noticed that the proposal is to enable devolved | :36:34. | :36:39. | |
areas with an elected mayor to use franchise services, following the | :36:40. | :36:45. | |
situation and currently works in London, but I would like to see the | :36:46. | :36:50. | |
details of how that can be extended to other sorts of authorities as | :36:51. | :36:55. | |
well, and to see what financial support goes with that. The power to | :36:56. | :37:03. | |
make bus services accessible, accountable and effective is | :37:04. | :37:06. | |
extremely important, but the finance to make that a real possibility must | :37:07. | :37:11. | |
be there, so I look forward to seeing that. So in summary, Madam | :37:12. | :37:18. | |
Deputy Speaker, I do welcome some very important measures in this | :37:19. | :37:24. | |
bill. We need to see them and acted, and not just to remain aspirations, | :37:25. | :37:29. | |
we need to see proper funding. -- enacted. It is vital proper chance | :37:30. | :37:34. | |
but infrastructure is provided nationally, regionally and locally, | :37:35. | :37:39. | |
and it is also important that there are effective transport services | :37:40. | :37:42. | |
that are accessible and our passenger friendly, and the test of | :37:43. | :37:47. | |
whether this Queen's Speech will deliver those objectives is yet to | :37:48. | :37:48. | |
come. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I | :37:49. | :37:59. | |
would like to focus my remarks on neighbourhood planning and the | :38:00. | :38:02. | |
effect on housing delivery, but first I would like to draw the | :38:03. | :38:06. | |
House's attention to my member's interest. Might I say to the | :38:07. | :38:15. | |
minister before he leaves, the roads minister, a very quick pitch for the | :38:16. | :38:22. | |
A64. I welcome the ?100 billion of investment from this Parliament and | :38:23. | :38:26. | |
the ?13 billion in the Northern powerhouse. 250 million is being | :38:27. | :38:35. | |
allocated to the A64. If that improvement does not include a dual | :38:36. | :38:39. | |
carriageway as far as Barton Hill, it will keep that pinch point down | :38:40. | :38:44. | |
the road. I would ask if he would bear that in mind and look at this | :38:45. | :38:52. | |
for future discussions. I was astounded to hear the Leader of the | :38:53. | :38:58. | |
Opposition yesterday in this house claim that house-building had sunk | :38:59. | :39:01. | |
to its lowest level since the 1920s. The reality is quarterly housing | :39:02. | :39:11. | |
starts, the most reliable guide to housing activity, has doubled since | :39:12. | :39:18. | |
2009. It was below 20,000 at that point and the current quota is over | :39:19. | :39:24. | |
40,000, doubling in anyone's terms, according to the Office of National | :39:25. | :39:28. | |
Statistics. For further prove could I suggest members opposite visit any | :39:29. | :39:35. | |
building site and talk to any brickie, chippy or spiky who will | :39:36. | :39:40. | |
put you right. If they do not know any business people I am very happy | :39:41. | :39:46. | |
to put them in touch with them. I am very much welcoming of the fact that | :39:47. | :39:52. | |
all local authorities have to have a plan in place by 2017, but also | :39:53. | :39:57. | |
neighbourhood plans. They give local communities a say into what is built | :39:58. | :40:05. | |
where and what it will look like. Clearly neighbourhood planning must | :40:06. | :40:09. | |
work with local authorities to agree the numbers allocated to a | :40:10. | :40:14. | |
particular settlement. I am very grateful to my honourable friend who | :40:15. | :40:18. | |
has been generous with his time, both in terms of working with the | :40:19. | :40:23. | |
government, but also volunteering to visit my constituency to help our | :40:24. | :40:27. | |
local communities develop their own neighbourhood plans. These plans are | :40:28. | :40:32. | |
without question part of the solution to the increase in house | :40:33. | :40:37. | |
building that we need to see. I very much welcome the changes contained | :40:38. | :40:42. | |
within the Queen's speech to make neighbourhood planning easier and | :40:43. | :40:46. | |
more powerful for local communities. I do not support any community right | :40:47. | :40:51. | |
of appeal will stop planning is tough enough without adding more | :40:52. | :40:56. | |
obstacles to the planning process. However, I do think current rules | :40:57. | :41:03. | |
and subjective calculations with a five-year land supply can undermine | :41:04. | :41:06. | |
the expensive and time-consuming process of neighbourhood planning. | :41:07. | :41:13. | |
To give you an example, Gladman, a name that strikes fear into many | :41:14. | :41:18. | |
planning officers, have been successful twice recently in my | :41:19. | :41:28. | |
constituency, due to their ability to demonstrate the District Council | :41:29. | :41:35. | |
only had 1.47 years of land supply, yet nine months later the revised | :41:36. | :41:39. | |
analysis carried out by the local authority by Anne expensive | :41:40. | :41:42. | |
consultant, Hamilton District Council now believe they have an | :41:43. | :41:49. | |
eight year plus land supply. In effect, this creates two perverse | :41:50. | :41:55. | |
outcomes. A subjective approach to assessment housing market needs | :41:56. | :41:58. | |
incentivises the kite flying carpetbaggers like Gladman, but this | :41:59. | :42:05. | |
incentivises local communities from establishing a neighbourhood plan. | :42:06. | :42:09. | |
Even though the neighbourhood may be ahead of its own housing, a shortage | :42:10. | :42:16. | |
by the local authority over all can mean an inappropriate development | :42:17. | :42:19. | |
can be forced onto the local community. Perhaps, Madam Deputy | :42:20. | :42:25. | |
Speaker, I can suggest two simple solutions. They are consistent with | :42:26. | :42:30. | |
the recommendations of the local planning expert group that says | :42:31. | :42:35. | |
there is currently no definitive guidance on the way to operate the | :42:36. | :42:42. | |
strategic housing market assessment. One would be a definitive and | :42:43. | :42:49. | |
objective guidance on housing need revised only at specified intervals. | :42:50. | :42:55. | |
If I might suggest a brutally simple formula, we have 26 million homes in | :42:56. | :43:00. | |
the UK and we need to build 250,000 homes per annum. If each local | :43:01. | :43:06. | |
authority group build a minimum 1%, we would meet our national housing | :43:07. | :43:14. | |
targets. Secondly, a housing delivery chest for a neighbourhood | :43:15. | :43:18. | |
planning area. If the neighbourhood was hitting its prescribed numbers, | :43:19. | :43:23. | |
it could not be subject to an aggressive application based upon | :43:24. | :43:27. | |
local authority under delivery. This would deter the kite flyers and | :43:28. | :43:32. | |
encourage and incentivise more communities to develop their own | :43:33. | :43:36. | |
neighbourhood plans and bring forward schemes that communities | :43:37. | :43:42. | |
proposed and consented to. I am interested in his comments about | :43:43. | :43:46. | |
common basis for assessing housing need. It is something the Select | :43:47. | :43:52. | |
Committee recommended, it is something that Lord Matthew Taylor | :43:53. | :43:56. | |
recommended in his work on planning guidance. It would take a lot of the | :43:57. | :44:01. | |
heat out of local controversy about how numbers are arrived at. I think | :44:02. | :44:08. | |
he is putting forward a very good proposal that the government ought | :44:09. | :44:14. | |
to take seriously. On many occasions in the Select Committee we are in | :44:15. | :44:20. | |
full agreement. I want to move onto another very important area in my | :44:21. | :44:25. | |
community, the number one business priority in the UK, for many | :44:26. | :44:32. | |
business people in my community, according to every business person | :44:33. | :44:37. | |
you speak to, or according to the Institute of directors, it is access | :44:38. | :44:41. | |
to digital connection, superfast broadband and mobile phone networks. | :44:42. | :44:46. | |
To give the government credit, we have seen a step change in access to | :44:47. | :44:51. | |
these networks since 2010, even in rural North Yorkshire. 88% of | :44:52. | :44:57. | |
premises are now covered by superfast broadband and 91% will be | :44:58. | :45:05. | |
by 2017 and 95% by 2019. But there is a growing gap between the haves | :45:06. | :45:13. | |
and the have-nots. The voices of those without broadband | :45:14. | :45:15. | |
understandably grow louder and more vociferous. For a home or business | :45:16. | :45:22. | |
superfast broadband is no longer considered a luxury, but an | :45:23. | :45:26. | |
essential for utility and we must treat it as such. I welcome the very | :45:27. | :45:33. | |
bold ambition in the Queen's speech for our universal service | :45:34. | :45:37. | |
obligation, a digital imperative that this government will deliver | :45:38. | :45:42. | |
on. To meet this imperative and a further commitment to increase speed | :45:43. | :45:46. | |
as demand and behaviour also increases, we need a new | :45:47. | :45:51. | |
relationship between the consumer and the network operator, in | :45:52. | :45:57. | |
particular BT. I must say I am sceptical about Ofcom's halfway | :45:58. | :46:01. | |
house solution, an internal separation of open reach and BT. It | :46:02. | :46:07. | |
is inconceivable that a separation of assets will separate the vested | :46:08. | :46:13. | |
interests of the network from the commercial opportunity of the | :46:14. | :46:17. | |
wholesale and retail and content provider operations of BT. I and | :46:18. | :46:25. | |
many colleagues will hold Ofcom and BT to account for the huge | :46:26. | :46:29. | |
improvements required, including particular fare cost for access to | :46:30. | :46:35. | |
its ducts and a clear network map of the allocations. Only this and a | :46:36. | :46:40. | |
technology neutral approach will deliver the solutions we need. BT | :46:41. | :46:48. | |
and open reach have actively plus far deterred third-party operators | :46:49. | :46:50. | |
and complimentary technology solutions from reaching the past | :46:51. | :46:56. | |
other technologies cannot reach, namely point-to-point wireless, and | :46:57. | :47:07. | |
a roll-out of fibre to premise. The only future solution available. | :47:08. | :47:15. | |
Fibre to premise in the UK is 2% in this country, compared to 6% in | :47:16. | :47:20. | |
Spain where competitors can access ducts and polls more cheaply and | :47:21. | :47:25. | |
readily. Can we also look at creative community solutions. A | :47:26. | :47:32. | |
voucher scheme for satellite is welcome, but would ministers | :47:33. | :47:35. | |
consider allowing residents to combine vouchers to contribute | :47:36. | :47:40. | |
towards the cost of installing community-based fibre schemes. We | :47:41. | :47:43. | |
also need more clarity and operation between backbone operator open reach | :47:44. | :47:50. | |
and other technologies so solutions can be provided today. If community | :47:51. | :47:53. | |
or commercial point-to-point wireless providers are deterred | :47:54. | :48:00. | |
through future roll-out plans and uncertainty around the solutions, | :48:01. | :48:04. | |
those solutions are sidelined rather than rolled out to people in need. | :48:05. | :48:08. | |
These are real people with real businesses and real jobs. In my | :48:09. | :48:18. | |
constituency there is a provider of quality garments for the larger | :48:19. | :48:28. | |
lady, Ample Bosoms. The Black Swan, an award-winning hostelry close to | :48:29. | :48:35. | |
where I live is suffering as a result of these delays and | :48:36. | :48:40. | |
referrals. In conclusion, I am very pleased with the measures included | :48:41. | :48:46. | |
in the Queen's speech and I very much commend those initiatives to | :48:47. | :48:54. | |
the House. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I do not think I can follow | :48:55. | :48:59. | |
on from the last point that the honourable gentleman raised a | :49:00. | :49:03. | |
certain garment manufacturers in his constituency, so I will move on to | :49:04. | :49:08. | |
issues about devolution which I am particularly interested in. I want | :49:09. | :49:13. | |
to talk about the proposal with regard to the business rates, then | :49:14. | :49:18. | |
buses and then move on to housing. In terms of devolution we have had | :49:19. | :49:22. | |
the word Northern Power has mentioned again in the Queen's | :49:23. | :49:28. | |
speech. Ministers have to be aware that there is welcome for the | :49:29. | :49:33. | |
general intentions on devolution, the intention to get the economic | :49:34. | :49:36. | |
performance of our northern cities up to the level of the national | :49:37. | :49:40. | |
average, we are unique in the European Union and that our major | :49:41. | :49:44. | |
cities do not perform better than the national average economically, | :49:45. | :49:49. | |
while that is the intention there is a great deal of scepticism in my | :49:50. | :49:56. | |
constituency as we see job losses from HSBC, over 600 in Sheffield, | :49:57. | :50:09. | |
when we see as well a company in administration in my constituency | :50:10. | :50:13. | |
with 400 jobs at threat. We see uncertainty over steel plant at | :50:14. | :50:18. | |
Stockbridge and Rotherham. All these things are things we would look to | :50:19. | :50:22. | |
government to at least recognise the importance of. Then we see | :50:23. | :50:27. | |
government itself creating 600 job losses at HMRC and directly, and in | :50:28. | :50:34. | |
complete contradiction to what the Transport Secretary said, moving 200 | :50:35. | :50:38. | |
jobs from headquarters in Sheffield down to London without any rationale | :50:39. | :50:43. | |
being given in terms of cost savings. Indeed it will cost more to | :50:44. | :50:50. | |
move staff from Sheffield to London, but that is what the government | :50:51. | :50:55. | |
intends to do. They talk about devolving powers, but they actually | :50:56. | :51:00. | |
centralised jobs. That is causing a great deal of anger in Sheffield and | :51:01. | :51:04. | |
is something that the government could do here and now and give a | :51:05. | :51:09. | |
clear indication that the word Northern Power has start to mean | :51:10. | :51:13. | |
something in practice to the people who live in my constituency and in | :51:14. | :51:19. | |
the Sheffield region. In the Queen's speech the major devolved powers and | :51:20. | :51:23. | |
bills are firstly about business rates. I am pleased that the | :51:24. | :51:29. | |
Secretary of State has had discussions with the Select | :51:30. | :51:32. | |
Committee and we are conducting enquiries with the intention of | :51:33. | :51:35. | |
trying to assist that process. There is genuine support for the | :51:36. | :51:44. | |
localisation of business rates. We are already hearing about issues | :51:45. | :51:49. | |
that need resolution, whether it be about those matters that are going | :51:50. | :51:55. | |
to be devolved alongside the business rates, the appeals system, | :51:56. | :52:00. | |
or concerns about whether an area loses a major firm that contributes | :52:01. | :52:05. | |
to its rateable income, about revaluations, about the very | :52:06. | :52:11. | |
difficult issue of how to marry up providing incentives to growth and | :52:12. | :52:15. | |
at the same time helping those areas with needs that cannot grow as | :52:16. | :52:21. | |
quickly as others. There are a lot of issues, the government recognises | :52:22. | :52:25. | |
those complications, therefore they will do a further consultation in | :52:26. | :52:29. | |
the summer. It is right we get this issue correct, so making sure we | :52:30. | :52:34. | |
have more time to do that is more important than rushing it. The | :52:35. | :52:38. | |
Select Committee will produce an interim support and then come back | :52:39. | :52:43. | |
with ministerial information and evidence later on to produce a final | :52:44. | :52:49. | |
report. That is a good example of the Select Committee and the | :52:50. | :52:52. | |
government working together to better achieve an objective which we | :52:53. | :52:53. | |
share. The 100% retention of business rates | :52:54. | :53:05. | |
should only be Verstappen a wider fiscal devolution. -- a first step | :53:06. | :53:12. | |
in a. There was also the challenge that we are only really devolving | :53:13. | :53:15. | |
the retention of the money from business rates with a bit of power | :53:16. | :53:19. | |
over areas with elected mayors to reduce the business rate or to have | :53:20. | :53:24. | |
a small levy for infrastructure projects. What we won't have, | :53:25. | :53:29. | |
however, is local control over the business rates system itself, and if | :53:30. | :53:33. | |
in the future a government made a significant change, like they have | :53:34. | :53:36. | |
just done with small business rate relief, that could in the future | :53:37. | :53:41. | |
significantly affect the rate income of local authorities without their | :53:42. | :53:45. | |
having any say whatsoever in the system and the changes in it. So I | :53:46. | :53:49. | |
think there was a wider debate about whether it is just the retention of | :53:50. | :53:53. | |
business rates or why the localisation of the system itself | :53:54. | :53:56. | |
which we should be moving towards. That is an issue I am sure we will | :53:57. | :54:00. | |
come back to when we discuss the bill. I welcome the buses built, it | :54:01. | :54:05. | |
is right that, in the end, particularly in areas where there | :54:06. | :54:08. | |
has been devolution deals as an important part of that is the | :54:09. | :54:15. | |
ability, if they so wish, for local mayors to be able to take up | :54:16. | :54:18. | |
franchising arrangements, such as those that exist in London. The | :54:19. | :54:22. | |
current legislation is inadequate, because as has been found out in the | :54:23. | :54:26. | |
north-east, where a transport authority wants to go for quality | :54:27. | :54:32. | |
contracts, they are second-guessed by independent bodies which | :54:33. | :54:37. | |
themselves come to a different view about what the public interest is. I | :54:38. | :54:40. | |
have an old-fashioned view that local elected councillors, local | :54:41. | :54:45. | |
elected mayors, are better placed to decide the public interest than any | :54:46. | :54:49. | |
appointed quango, and therefore I support that. Franchising is not of | :54:50. | :54:54. | |
itself a panacea for everything, but it can help drive up standards, it | :54:55. | :54:59. | |
can improve ticketing arrangements, it can make better use of resources | :55:00. | :55:04. | |
by ensuring there is not over provision of buses on some routes | :55:05. | :55:08. | |
and no provision and others. It can better deal with pension | :55:09. | :55:11. | |
concessions, and it can reverse the trend of a 50% fall in the bus trips | :55:12. | :55:18. | |
per head of population, which has happened in areas like my own, in | :55:19. | :55:23. | |
Sheffield, since deregulation came into effect in the 1980s. We | :55:24. | :55:28. | |
pioneered cheap fares and public transport of a high quality in South | :55:29. | :55:34. | |
Yorkshire back in the 1970s, even before the GLC moved in that | :55:35. | :55:38. | |
direction. We were proud to do so, and it has been downhill ever since | :55:39. | :55:43. | |
once the regulation came into effect. -- deregulation. That will | :55:44. | :55:51. | |
only work in itself if it is seen as part of a wider approach to | :55:52. | :55:54. | |
integrated transport, and I put on record my very great disappointment | :55:55. | :55:59. | |
that the tram project has once again been delayed. Network Rail have | :56:00. | :56:03. | |
announced that, after ten years of thinking about it, the delayed to | :56:04. | :56:08. | |
2017 now cannot be achieved, and they cannot even tell us when the | :56:09. | :56:12. | |
delayed date is going to be that they will be set at some stage in | :56:13. | :56:16. | |
the future. This is an absolute disgrace, Network Rail have a system | :56:17. | :56:23. | |
which has been operating in Germany for 30 years. 30 years in Germany, | :56:24. | :56:27. | |
ten years thinking about it in the UK, and we have not even got a date | :56:28. | :56:32. | |
when the trams are going to start running on the network, even though | :56:33. | :56:35. | |
the transport minister, I am pleased to say I was with him when he got on | :56:36. | :56:39. | |
one of the trams that is being delivered, but we have no data about | :56:40. | :56:44. | |
when it will run on the tracks. This is a complete nonsense. The | :56:45. | :56:48. | |
Government should launch an inquiry into it. Indent of wider issues, we | :56:49. | :56:52. | |
want them assurances from government that a station for HS2 will be in | :56:53. | :56:58. | |
Sheffield and that HS3 will link Sheffield as well as Leeds across | :56:59. | :57:01. | |
the Pennines, as well as a commitment to the review of the | :57:02. | :57:05. | |
Pennine tunnel which many of us are really interested in. Finally, if I | :57:06. | :57:13. | |
could talk about housing, very interesting, we had in the general | :57:14. | :57:17. | |
election promises of a million homes from the Conservative Party, which I | :57:18. | :57:21. | |
think was a target. The minister afterward said, when I ask them | :57:22. | :57:25. | |
about the target, that it was only an aspiration. I presume, now it is | :57:26. | :57:29. | |
in the Queen's Speech, that it is now a clear and firm commitment. You | :57:30. | :57:33. | |
don't put figures in the Queen's Speech without committing to them, | :57:34. | :57:37. | |
do you, Madam Deputy Speaker? Of course you don't. My only concern is | :57:38. | :57:43. | |
looking at what the CML said yesterday in a very interesting | :57:44. | :57:45. | |
piece, when they said they were unsure that the 200,000 starter | :57:46. | :57:49. | |
homes and the 125,000 shared ownership bodies were a deliverable. | :57:50. | :57:52. | |
They thought the numbers were too big, they raised questions about the | :57:53. | :58:02. | |
distortions are the market, questions about the building block | :58:03. | :58:05. | |
of the Government's programme of getting towards 1 million homes. At | :58:06. | :58:10. | |
some point the penny might stop with ministers that we're not going to | :58:11. | :58:13. | |
achieve the 250,000 homes here we need to build in this country | :58:14. | :58:17. | |
without a substantial programme of social house-building with local | :58:18. | :58:20. | |
councils, as well as housing associations, as a key part of that. | :58:21. | :58:24. | |
Without that commitment, and the Government are taken all the money | :58:25. | :58:31. | |
away from social housing, I do not believe the Government will achieve | :58:32. | :58:35. | |
their aims. I do not know where the minister will be in four years' time | :58:36. | :58:39. | |
to answer that, probably elsewhere and not responsible for having to | :58:40. | :58:44. | |
explain why that figure has not actually been reached. Finally, | :58:45. | :58:49. | |
Madam Deputy Speaker, if I can just say, whooping off these subject | :58:50. | :58:53. | |
altogether, something completely different, yesterday, together with | :58:54. | :58:56. | |
the honourable member for Cardiff South and Penarth, and a number of | :58:57. | :59:02. | |
other members, it was a pleasure to go with members of the Somaliland | :59:03. | :59:08. | |
community in England to Downing Street to present a letter to the | :59:09. | :59:13. | |
Prime Minister. It is 25 years yesterday since Somaliland got its | :59:14. | :59:17. | |
independence from the British Empire. It has had a troubled | :59:18. | :59:20. | |
history since then, it had a union with Somalia, an Italian | :59:21. | :59:25. | |
protectorate. It then had a very bitter civil war to fight against a | :59:26. | :59:31. | |
dictatorship and achieved through that process its de facto | :59:32. | :59:35. | |
independence. It is now run as a democracy, having had had | :59:36. | :59:43. | |
presidential election, having had a narrow election result accepted by | :59:44. | :59:47. | |
the losers. Somaliland is a democracy that is not recognised by | :59:48. | :59:50. | |
the international community. I understand it is very difficult for | :59:51. | :59:53. | |
the UK Government as the former colonial power to be the first | :59:54. | :59:57. | |
country to recognise Somaliland. Well that is being asked for by the | :59:58. | :00:00. | |
Somaliland government and the community in this country is whether | :00:01. | :00:02. | |
the British Government now would at least give an undertaking that it | :00:03. | :00:09. | |
will accept that it would recognise, it would encourage an international | :00:10. | :00:14. | |
commission to look at the status of Somaliland with a Bluetooth looking | :00:15. | :00:18. | |
at the fact that it is de facto an independent country but the -- it is | :00:19. | :00:27. | |
not recognised de jure by the international community. I was | :00:28. | :00:32. | |
extremely pleased that infrastructure and transport | :00:33. | :00:34. | |
featured so prominently in the gracious address, not just because | :00:35. | :00:37. | |
of the impact that this debate will have on my own constituency, but | :00:38. | :00:44. | |
also because it shows the Government's keenness to get on and | :00:45. | :00:48. | |
deliver economic growth, and infrastructure and transport are at | :00:49. | :00:52. | |
the heart of growing our economy and the rest of England and in the UK | :00:53. | :00:56. | |
too. As the railways minister knows from the many times she has come to | :00:57. | :01:00. | |
my own constituency, she stood with me in orange overalls and all the | :01:01. | :01:07. | |
rest, train lines, breathing in heavy smoke, I campaigned last year, | :01:08. | :01:10. | |
and she joined me in my pledge to end up stopping stalling, and we are | :01:11. | :01:21. | |
doing everything we can to tackle the disgusting air-pollution | :01:22. | :01:24. | |
problems must as many members of the house will know from visiting Bath, | :01:25. | :01:30. | |
it is blighted by dangerously high levels of air pollution, and plans | :01:31. | :01:34. | |
to encourage residents to use public transport, as well as large-scale | :01:35. | :01:36. | |
infrastructure projects which divert traffic around the city will be huge | :01:37. | :01:41. | |
steps in improving this problem. Want except light up the ministerial | :01:42. | :01:47. | |
team here will pass onto the roads Minister. -- one example I hope. One | :01:48. | :01:54. | |
of our key plans within the area is our integrated transport plan that | :01:55. | :01:58. | |
involves the long overdue, well, 30 years overdue A36-46 link road, 30 | :01:59. | :02:07. | |
years is enough to get on with a critical transport project. For | :02:08. | :02:11. | |
vehicles to bypass path and still reach their destination, and it is | :02:12. | :02:14. | |
very crucial to get on and build this critical link road. -- Bath. No | :02:15. | :02:20. | |
surprise that I wanted to raise this issue, probably because it is the | :02:21. | :02:24. | |
only thing I ever talk about here! As well as the commitment to | :02:25. | :02:28. | |
transport, the Government looking to this crucial project, the Prime | :02:29. | :02:30. | |
Minister has written to me recently in order to extend his invitation | :02:31. | :02:35. | |
for me to work with highways England on that particular project. I really | :02:36. | :02:39. | |
do hope, following on from the changes to vehicle excise duty | :02:40. | :02:43. | |
announced in the previous Budget, that some funding will become | :02:44. | :02:45. | |
available in order to improve our strategic highways network. In fact, | :02:46. | :02:53. | |
anyone looking to use it for the next pub quiz, the A36-46 is the | :02:54. | :02:58. | |
only strategic highway in the entirety of the UK not to be | :02:59. | :03:01. | |
connected, and I'm sure that will be used in many pubs across the UK. | :03:02. | :03:08. | |
Other transport plans which will really help Bath become a more | :03:09. | :03:11. | |
prosperous city include a new junction on the M4, and is just | :03:12. | :03:22. | |
before the general election. -- announced just before. The greatest | :03:23. | :03:29. | |
investment in the railway since Victorian times, the great | :03:30. | :03:33. | |
electrification of the great Western mainline, will make a massive impact | :03:34. | :03:37. | |
to the regional economy in the West of England, as well as the | :03:38. | :03:40. | |
improvements to the cycling network, the rail network between Heathrow | :03:41. | :03:44. | |
and the great Western mainline, four miles of track which is long | :03:45. | :03:48. | |
overdue, and would make a massive impact to the west and does not need | :03:49. | :03:52. | |
to be put on hold until they make a decision on the Heathrow Airport | :03:53. | :03:57. | |
expansion. Some of these are already in place and I look forward to | :03:58. | :04:03. | |
working with the Government on some of these bills. I would join with | :04:04. | :04:06. | |
other members to say I really hope that the decision will be made on | :04:07. | :04:09. | |
where to build the third runway this year. It has taken far too long, and | :04:10. | :04:14. | |
we really need to start and make a decision ASAP in order to enable | :04:15. | :04:19. | |
Willie as a country to grow and our economy to grow too. -- enable | :04:20. | :04:32. | |
us as a country. Driverless cars present a unique opportunity to | :04:33. | :04:38. | |
fundamentally change transport in this country by cutting congestion, | :04:39. | :04:42. | |
reducing emissions and saving lives. It is important the Government | :04:43. | :04:48. | |
recognises the need to incorporate technological innovation, and it is | :04:49. | :04:53. | |
hoped the House will prepare legislation for driverless cars in | :04:54. | :04:56. | |
the future. Companies in Bath are looking at introducing this | :04:57. | :05:00. | |
technology to reap the benefits it promises to bring. I am glad there | :05:01. | :05:05. | |
is no whip here at the moment, but I look forward to reading the details | :05:06. | :05:12. | |
of the bill, just to find out exactly what the legislation will | :05:13. | :05:16. | |
say about how that will benefit the wider sector. Madam Deputy Speaker, | :05:17. | :05:19. | |
I would also like to turn to the bus is built, and your forms to public | :05:20. | :05:27. | |
transport services. -- the buses Bill. I promise to not bore the | :05:28. | :05:35. | |
House by going through the timetables, but the West and | :05:36. | :05:39. | |
evolution bill is in process, and I hope we can cover a positive | :05:40. | :05:42. | |
conclusion to seal this deal as quickly possible. -- the Western | :05:43. | :05:54. | |
devolution deal. Bath and the West of England will benefit from the | :05:55. | :05:56. | |
increased franchising powers being devolved to the region if he's come | :05:57. | :06:01. | |
to fruition. To encourage more people in Bath and the West of | :06:02. | :06:07. | |
England to use buses, an integrated strategy is needed across rural | :06:08. | :06:12. | |
areas especially. Economies of scale can help pass on savings to | :06:13. | :06:16. | |
travellers, just as they were in London when they were introduced. I | :06:17. | :06:23. | |
have met with numerous passenger focused groups, and they are all | :06:24. | :06:26. | |
concerned with the future viability of services. This new buses bill | :06:27. | :06:35. | |
will ensure the long-term stability of the project. Madam Deputy | :06:36. | :06:38. | |
Speaker, users want to be confident that they can complete their whole | :06:39. | :06:42. | |
journey easily, reduce cost and make it to their destination on time. | :06:43. | :06:46. | |
Passengers will be delighted to hear that the bill will require operators | :06:47. | :06:51. | |
to share route, fair and schedule data with app developers so that | :06:52. | :06:54. | |
they can keep up to date on the move on how their journey is likely to | :06:55. | :06:59. | |
progress, to make it even easier for commuters we need to see smart | :07:00. | :07:03. | |
ticketing introduced. At a time when you can pay for a cup of coffee with | :07:04. | :07:07. | |
a tap of your card, it is crazy across the bus network in Bath and | :07:08. | :07:10. | |
the rest of the country outside of London that the only way to pay for | :07:11. | :07:14. | |
a bus is by having the correct change in your pocket. Many of our | :07:15. | :07:18. | |
constituents rely almost solely on their bank cards, and the need to | :07:19. | :07:22. | |
find cash to use a bus leads many to get into their cars. Smart card | :07:23. | :07:28. | |
ticketing was introduced in London, passenger numbers went up, prices | :07:29. | :07:32. | |
went down. The introduction of a similar integrated and technology | :07:33. | :07:35. | |
focused system will reduce congestion across the country, and | :07:36. | :07:41. | |
confront the disgustingly high levels of air pollution. I hope | :07:42. | :07:46. | |
buses across the country will be brought into the 21st century. I | :07:47. | :07:49. | |
cannot speak on the infrastructure built without taking a moment to | :07:50. | :07:54. | |
discuss the important subject of broadband, which my honourable | :07:55. | :08:00. | |
friend spoke so eloquently about. I am inundated, like most of ours | :08:01. | :08:04. | |
across the House, about high-speed broadband, problems of access. Even | :08:05. | :08:11. | |
in a city like Bath, which has a fast-growing tech economy, they are | :08:12. | :08:15. | |
struggling to access high-speed broadband. Thus productivity is | :08:16. | :08:16. | |
awarded. I welcome the commitment to the | :08:17. | :08:38. | |
broadband service obligation. It is important to maintaining a strong | :08:39. | :08:46. | |
economy. Lastly, I cannot speak in relation to the infrastructure build | :08:47. | :08:50. | |
without drawing attention to the critical shortage of housing in the | :08:51. | :08:58. | |
west of England. I know that the Minister came to bar a couple of | :08:59. | :09:01. | |
months ago to lay the bricks in some of those homes, but in Victorian, | :09:02. | :09:07. | |
Georgian, Roman cities that many of us represent the housing that was | :09:08. | :09:11. | |
built was never made for cars and the road networks are not there in | :09:12. | :09:16. | |
order to sustain the nature of growth. If we lay more roads, better | :09:17. | :09:23. | |
roads, better equipped roads, as well as better railway systems in | :09:24. | :09:33. | |
order to fuel our housing needs, we will be able to deliver those new | :09:34. | :09:36. | |
towns we are in need of across the UK. In conclusion I welcome the | :09:37. | :09:42. | |
Government's continued commitment to supporting the economic recovery by | :09:43. | :09:48. | |
supporting jobs and apprenticeships and investing in infrastructure. We | :09:49. | :09:53. | |
have spent far too little compared to other countries. The actual | :09:54. | :10:01. | |
delivery of infrastructure projects, though, remains slow and a very | :10:02. | :10:05. | |
lengthy process. We must remember that efforts need to be made to | :10:06. | :10:10. | |
ensure that large infrastructure projects come to fruition in a | :10:11. | :10:16. | |
timely manner. This is the responsibility of Government, | :10:17. | :10:17. | |
devolved Government and local councils. Thank you, Madam Deputy | :10:18. | :10:29. | |
Speaker. I would like to start with an apology because unfortunately I | :10:30. | :10:35. | |
am unable to stay for the duration of the debate and listen to the | :10:36. | :10:39. | |
summit up. Unlike the honourable member for still a new peak I am not | :10:40. | :10:43. | |
going to Buckingham Palace, I have to go back to my constituency. The | :10:44. | :10:50. | |
theme of the day's debate is transport and local infrastructure | :10:51. | :10:56. | |
and infrastructure and investment drives growth and long-term business | :10:57. | :11:00. | |
related jobs. Any sensible investment in infrastructure should | :11:01. | :11:03. | |
be welcomed. I would argue that more can be done and that is why the | :11:04. | :11:09. | |
SNP's proposals of releasing an additional 0.5% spending per year | :11:10. | :11:15. | |
should be considered. This would free up an addition of ?150 million | :11:16. | :11:23. | |
and eliminate the need for cuts in the Chancellor's austerity budgets | :11:24. | :11:28. | |
and still leave left over for long-term investment and stimulate | :11:29. | :11:34. | |
growth. Not only that, such a proposal still leads to net debt and | :11:35. | :11:38. | |
borrowing falling over the current Government. Other ways of free up | :11:39. | :11:45. | |
money would be to scrap the idea of Trident renewal which is now | :11:46. | :11:55. | |
estimated to be ?205 billion. If the SNP's proposals for an alternative | :11:56. | :12:01. | |
summer budget was implemented, other giveaways could be reversed. We | :12:02. | :12:06. | |
could stab the ?28 million commitment to Hinkley Point C and | :12:07. | :12:09. | |
also the five other nuclear power stations in the pipeline. That would | :12:10. | :12:17. | |
create another half ?1 trillion of investment for infrastructure. That | :12:18. | :12:22. | |
would be a truly transformational summer. It would double the current | :12:23. | :12:28. | |
infrastructure delivery plan and allow that plan to be truly national | :12:29. | :12:32. | |
and for Scotland to get its fair share of it. What could we do with | :12:33. | :12:38. | |
that additional money? We have heard about roads a lot today in the | :12:39. | :12:44. | |
chamber and additional investment would be welcome. There is another | :12:45. | :12:50. | |
thing associated with roads, and that is the shortage of HGV drivers. | :12:51. | :12:58. | |
This has the potential to impact as all because of the potential | :12:59. | :13:00. | |
knock-on price of goods in the shops. 85% of goods within the UK | :13:01. | :13:08. | |
are delivered by road. It could also have a knock-on impact on exports. | :13:09. | :13:12. | |
It is another target the Chancellor is currently failing on. Madam | :13:13. | :13:17. | |
Deputy Speaker, industry at the moment suggests there is a potential | :13:18. | :13:23. | |
shortage of some 45,000 HGV drivers by the year 2020. It is well known | :13:24. | :13:30. | |
the cost of training is approximately ?3000, which prevents | :13:31. | :13:34. | |
many individuals from taking up the training. The test itself is ?230. | :13:35. | :13:40. | |
If you are unemployed, there is no way you can access this. If you are | :13:41. | :13:44. | |
young you can forget it because you do not have that money behind you. | :13:45. | :13:49. | |
Some initiative could create career opportunities for the younger | :13:50. | :13:59. | |
generation. The Government says it is the industry's responsibility to | :14:00. | :14:04. | |
step up. But given the average fleet size is six trucks and 85% of | :14:05. | :14:08. | |
businesses are classified as medium or small, the industry does not have | :14:09. | :14:14. | |
the capacity to step up and the Government is missing a trick. If | :14:15. | :14:20. | |
you think about covering the cost of training and tests, that is much | :14:21. | :14:26. | |
cheaper than the payments associated to companies involved in the work | :14:27. | :14:34. | |
programme and it reduces welfare payments in general if people are | :14:35. | :14:48. | |
put into work. In reality, although I am asking for additional | :14:49. | :14:51. | |
investment, this would be spent to save move and make inroads into | :14:52. | :14:58. | |
630,000 unemployed 18-24 -year-old is in this country. In terms of | :14:59. | :15:04. | |
local infrastructure, the most important aspect for many people is | :15:05. | :15:12. | |
housing. We cautiously welcome the UK's Government ambition for | :15:13. | :15:20. | |
creating the homes. However survive the UK Government has had a poor | :15:21. | :15:25. | |
record on affordable homes. I have often spoke out on the right to buy | :15:26. | :15:32. | |
scheme. It is obvious we have to build more homes, not just for sale, | :15:33. | :15:40. | |
but for rent at affordable prices. Instead we have got a Government | :15:41. | :15:43. | |
that is crippling housing associations with enforced rent cuts | :15:44. | :15:49. | |
as well as the sale of more attractive stock. In Scotland after | :15:50. | :15:55. | |
a sell-off without replacement, the SNP have also entered the right to | :15:56. | :15:59. | |
buy for council houses and that was the right thing to do when faced | :16:00. | :16:03. | |
with such an imbalance and depleted stock. The UK Government continues | :16:04. | :16:09. | |
with the men that with a 141 replacement it will solve matters. | :16:10. | :16:14. | |
There is no guarantee what like-for-like replacement means. The | :16:15. | :16:21. | |
replacement is clearly dependent on land supply. Is the right to buy was | :16:22. | :16:28. | |
introduced, there have been over 35,000 sales. At the moment it is | :16:29. | :16:37. | |
clear there will not be a realistic like for like replacement. A recent | :16:38. | :16:46. | |
National audit report confirms that in 2014-2015, 8500 homes were sold | :16:47. | :16:51. | |
and for them to be replaced, then there needs to be rise up to 2130 | :16:52. | :16:59. | |
per quarter. I would like to know what the minister is going to do to | :17:00. | :17:04. | |
achieve that. To demonstrate that much more can be done the Institute | :17:05. | :17:09. | |
for Fiscal Studies have highlighted that the Scottish Government spends | :17:10. | :17:13. | |
85% more per head on social housing than in England and Wales. The SNP | :17:14. | :17:18. | |
Government outperforms other parts of the UK in terms of social sector | :17:19. | :17:24. | |
completions and with over 31,000 affordable homes delivered today, | :17:25. | :17:28. | |
two thirds of these are available for social rank, the SNP is | :17:29. | :17:33. | |
delivering on promises and that is why we were elected for a third | :17:34. | :17:42. | |
term. I would like to see much more investment in general in transport | :17:43. | :17:47. | |
and infrastructure. My honourable friend for Inverness, Nairn, | :17:48. | :17:55. | |
Strathspey and Biden, suggested rail investment. More needs to be done in | :17:56. | :18:00. | |
relation to the high-speed rail line and it should be extended to | :18:01. | :18:04. | |
Scotland and at the very least the existing network north of crew needs | :18:05. | :18:17. | |
to be updated. -- Crewe. The idea of a spaceport has been touched on and | :18:18. | :18:22. | |
I welcome the idea, but it is critical that Government sets out a | :18:23. | :18:25. | |
clear assessment criteria for making a decision. In general I would | :18:26. | :18:32. | |
support any of the Scottish airports that are short listed, but I have to | :18:33. | :18:38. | |
say, like many people, I want to make a pitch for my local airport, | :18:39. | :18:43. | |
Prestwick airport. This would give my constituency a great boost. The | :18:44. | :18:47. | |
reality is it is the most logical choice. The railway concludes a halt | :18:48. | :18:57. | |
at Prestwick and there is a close motorway network, so Prestwick is | :18:58. | :19:00. | |
the most accessible of the airports under consideration. There is | :19:01. | :19:05. | |
already an aerospace industry located at Prestwick and the Glasgow | :19:06. | :19:10. | |
area has got existing technology firms. Other runways in the UK | :19:11. | :19:18. | |
suffer from fog problems, so it is a logical choice. In conclusion I | :19:19. | :19:24. | |
cannot emphasise enough the importance of infrastructure | :19:25. | :19:28. | |
investment. It is something the SNP has taken seriously since coming to | :19:29. | :19:34. | |
power in 2007. We have heard about the new Queensferry Crossing and 31 | :19:35. | :19:41. | |
miles of rail in the Borders. It drives growth, reduces congestion | :19:42. | :19:48. | |
and increases productivity. There are people on the benches opposite | :19:49. | :19:52. | |
and some beside me that I wedded to the idea of austerity and Trident at | :19:53. | :19:57. | |
any cost. I would suggest additional investment in roads, rails, housing, | :19:58. | :20:04. | |
broadband access for all and energy security are more likely to get | :20:05. | :20:07. | |
members elected and more importantly to create a true legacy that will | :20:08. | :20:13. | |
stand the test of time. I am grateful to be called to contribute | :20:14. | :20:19. | |
to the debate on the Queen's Speech and I am very pleased to follow the | :20:20. | :20:24. | |
honourable for Kilmarnock. I want to cover a few transport issues if I | :20:25. | :20:28. | |
may. Good to see the Government has taken action on drones. They are a | :20:29. | :20:34. | |
nuisance and a danger and are a menace to commercial aviation. But | :20:35. | :20:41. | |
the big absence in any reference in the Secretary of State's speech is | :20:42. | :20:46. | |
to aviation expansion and the airports commission report which is | :20:47. | :20:52. | |
overdue and has been referred to by my honourable friend, the Shadow | :20:53. | :20:56. | |
Secretary of State, and the honourable gentleman for Inverness, | :20:57. | :21:02. | |
Strathspey and now, who is just about to leave, I am glad I got that | :21:03. | :21:09. | |
in, on the basis that this is a long overdue decision. It is 50 years | :21:10. | :21:14. | |
since we have had any airport capacity increase in the south-east. | :21:15. | :21:20. | |
There was a 2003 white paper, the 2008 decision by the Labour | :21:21. | :21:25. | |
Government. The coalition decisions stimulated by the Lib Dems and the | :21:26. | :21:30. | |
Tory manifesto of 2010 to withdraw support of the third runway at | :21:31. | :21:35. | |
Heathrow. The U-turn, and the promise year on year that we will | :21:36. | :21:40. | |
get a decision and we are still awaiting that decision. We hope to | :21:41. | :21:44. | |
see that that comes forward sooner rather than later. My preference is | :21:45. | :21:51. | |
for Heathrow, but I would not like to see Gatwick frustrated because | :21:52. | :21:54. | |
aviation is an important economic tool for the UK internationally and | :21:55. | :22:01. | |
importantly for parts of the UK that rely on those international | :22:02. | :22:03. | |
connections. It would be good to see movement on that. The honourable | :22:04. | :22:08. | |
gentleman for Inverness also mentioned shipping to his credit. It | :22:09. | :22:13. | |
was disappointing that the Secretary of State did not mention shipping in | :22:14. | :22:18. | |
any sense on the basis that it is so important to the UK economy, it | :22:19. | :22:22. | |
contributes billions of pounds, notwithstanding the challenges | :22:23. | :22:28. | |
referred to. The Government has got a fairly good record on supporting | :22:29. | :22:31. | |
shipping and I am surprised they would not want to make more of that | :22:32. | :22:35. | |
and maybe the Minister would want to put a sentence in saying that | :22:36. | :22:38. | |
shipping is important to the UK Government because that is where the | :22:39. | :22:41. | |
sector is. On buses, the point has been made, | :22:42. | :22:59. | |
deregulation has worked in London, I know the Secretary of State laid the | :23:00. | :23:04. | |
blame on Labour in 1999, quality contracts has not worked, but in | :23:05. | :23:09. | |
London deregulation has worked because of privatisation, | :23:10. | :23:12. | |
franchising has worked because it has been regulated, and that should | :23:13. | :23:15. | |
be afforded elsewhere. My honourable friend from Denton and Redditch did | :23:16. | :23:19. | |
make the point that this should not be restricted just to those local | :23:20. | :23:22. | |
authorities which have elected mayors, it should be for all local | :23:23. | :23:25. | |
authorities right around the country. I am grateful to the guide | :23:26. | :23:44. | |
dogs and for their briefing. -- Guide Dogs For The Blind. Two other | :23:45. | :23:48. | |
asides and transport, if I may, Madam Deputy Speaker, before moving | :23:49. | :23:53. | |
on to housing. Road safety, the Government eliminated targets for | :23:54. | :23:56. | |
the reduction of killed and seriously injured on our roads in | :23:57. | :24:00. | |
2010 because the Secretary of State at that time did not support any | :24:01. | :24:04. | |
targets that the Government might not be able to meet because failure | :24:05. | :24:08. | |
would be an opportunity to be criticised. We have had consensus on | :24:09. | :24:14. | |
the ambition to reduce deaths and seriously injured people on our | :24:15. | :24:18. | |
roads across the House for over 30 years, started by the honourable | :24:19. | :24:24. | |
member for old Lee Westwood. I am delighted to give way. Targets are | :24:25. | :24:30. | |
not the same as results, and I'm sure he would celebrate with me that | :24:31. | :24:33. | |
British roads safer than they have ever been, and one death is too many | :24:34. | :24:40. | |
on our roads. We continue to work to drive down road deaths and the | :24:41. | :24:45. | |
causes of accidents. I am grateful for the Minister's intervention, and | :24:46. | :24:50. | |
I do not for a second underestimate the ambition of the front bench | :24:51. | :24:54. | |
opposite to reduce deaths and seriously injured. My point is that | :24:55. | :24:59. | |
we need to demonstrate that ambition. We have had targets for | :25:00. | :25:02. | |
the reductions in deaths and seriously injured on our roads for | :25:03. | :25:06. | |
over 30 years, started by Mrs Thatcher when the honourable | :25:07. | :25:12. | |
gentleman from Worthing West was the road safety minister, and they have | :25:13. | :25:15. | |
been successful, because what it basically says is that what we have | :25:16. | :25:19. | |
got this year is not acceptable, and this year we are going to do this | :25:20. | :25:24. | |
and that. For 35 years, we have scaled it down. For the past six | :25:25. | :25:28. | |
years, we have plateaued and in one instance increased. That is not an | :25:29. | :25:32. | |
indictment of the Government, it is an indictment of the fact that we | :25:33. | :25:36. | |
have lost sight of remission, and I think the Government should bring it | :25:37. | :25:41. | |
back. I have spoken to the Secretary of State, I know they are | :25:42. | :25:47. | |
sympathetic towards this. What is really contradictory is the European | :25:48. | :25:50. | |
Union has targets which the British Government sign up to! The United | :25:51. | :25:53. | |
Nations has targets which the British Government sign up to. We | :25:54. | :25:58. | |
have among the safest roads in the world, we should be proud of it, we | :25:59. | :26:02. | |
should be broadcasting it, and in actual fact we are in denial because | :26:03. | :26:06. | |
we do not speak about it. The other points I wanted to make an aviation, | :26:07. | :26:10. | |
I am happy to give way. Very grateful for you giving way and for | :26:11. | :26:14. | |
your comments earlier. On the subject of road safety, do you agree | :26:15. | :26:18. | |
with me that if one of the driving principles behind developing | :26:19. | :26:22. | |
driverless technology in the UK is increased safety for drivers, that | :26:23. | :26:25. | |
should apply across the wealth and breadth of the nations of the UK and | :26:26. | :26:32. | |
not just in urban areas? I thank the honourable gentleman, he makes an | :26:33. | :26:35. | |
absolutely correct point. Whereas most people, if you look at the | :26:36. | :26:40. | |
details, they might suspect nobody is in charge of driverless vehicles, | :26:41. | :26:44. | |
that is more dangerous, when in actual fact the technology exists | :26:45. | :26:48. | |
now for automatic stop, electronic stability control, it makes these | :26:49. | :26:53. | |
vehicles much safer, because it is the human element which causes most | :26:54. | :26:57. | |
crashes and deaths. If you take out people on their mobile phones, | :26:58. | :27:02. | |
drinking, taking drugs, not wearing seat belts, speeding, these are the | :27:03. | :27:06. | |
causes crashes. Take out the human element, and you will see road | :27:07. | :27:10. | |
crashes tumble and deaths and serious injuries falling. It should | :27:11. | :27:15. | |
be extended the country. The only other point I would make an | :27:16. | :27:18. | |
transport is an air quality, transport contribute over 20% to | :27:19. | :27:23. | |
emissions, and with the advent of new technology, obviously, there is | :27:24. | :27:29. | |
real scope of reducing this, and I hope that the Government will work | :27:30. | :27:32. | |
with the new map of London, Sadiq Khan, in his commitment to actually | :27:33. | :27:37. | |
address this issue more seriously. -- mayor. On housing, the biggest | :27:38. | :27:43. | |
issue in my constituency in London and the vast majority of the country | :27:44. | :27:47. | |
is building new homes. The Minister act knowledge to that the new bill | :27:48. | :27:55. | |
will not help, certainly building new expensive properties in Tower | :27:56. | :28:01. | |
Hamlets will not solve the crisis. The imposition of market rent around | :28:02. | :28:07. | |
Canary Wharf means those prices will be unaffordable to local people. | :28:08. | :28:14. | |
What we need for the sell-off of housing association homes is local | :28:15. | :28:18. | |
replacements, and we need a percentage of all new developments | :28:19. | :28:21. | |
to be affordable homes. London needs people working in the city. If we | :28:22. | :28:27. | |
just look at the staff at the Palace of Westminster, how we expect people | :28:28. | :28:31. | |
to get in here 24/7 from all parts of London, from all parts of the | :28:32. | :28:35. | |
south-east, whether security officers, police officers, co-ops, | :28:36. | :28:39. | |
cleaners or other duties, if they don't have somewhere affordable to | :28:40. | :28:45. | |
stay in London, we are pricing them out of the market. London's economic | :28:46. | :28:49. | |
infrastructure will be negatively affected if we do not make sure | :28:50. | :28:53. | |
there is affordable housing. Finally, I just want to make | :28:54. | :28:57. | |
reference to the speech yesterday by the honourable gentleman for | :28:58. | :29:01. | |
Worthing West, 71-75, the sold reform. I want to thank the Minister | :29:02. | :29:08. | |
for housing for his interest in these matters. -- leasehold reform. | :29:09. | :29:18. | |
The honourable gentleman has encouraged progress on the issue, | :29:19. | :29:21. | |
whether it is about people exercising the right to buy, | :29:22. | :29:25. | |
retirement homes, private sector sales, the vast majority of new | :29:26. | :29:31. | |
properties, notwithstanding that the sector is raising its own standards. | :29:32. | :29:35. | |
Most of us believe that there is need for regulation and statutory | :29:36. | :29:39. | |
reform of the sector and the leasehold knowledge partnership | :29:40. | :29:41. | |
working very hard to help people who are in a very difficult situation in | :29:42. | :29:45. | |
this regard. The last couple of points I would make, Madam Deputy | :29:46. | :29:51. | |
Speaker, to take out the time afforded by interventions, | :29:52. | :29:55. | |
disappointment that there is nothing in the Queen's Speech on banning | :29:56. | :29:59. | |
wild animals in circuses. I went to a photocall with kids from Bolton, | :30:00. | :30:05. | |
from a primary school, to Number Ten on Tuesday at this week. This is a | :30:06. | :30:09. | |
Government commitment, a personal commitment from the Prime Minister | :30:10. | :30:12. | |
that this will be in the legislative programme by 2020. I am sure it will | :30:13. | :30:17. | |
come, disappointing it is not out now. It is not a major issue in | :30:18. | :30:21. | |
terms of national politics, but it does affect a lot of people around | :30:22. | :30:26. | |
the country. Business rates and the return of business rates to local | :30:27. | :30:29. | |
authorities, great news for my constituency in Tower Hamlets, where | :30:30. | :30:35. | |
we have got the City of London fringe, Canary Wharf is in the heart | :30:36. | :30:39. | |
of my constituency. Holding onto those business rates will make us go | :30:40. | :30:42. | |
from one of the poorest boroughs in the country to one of the richest, | :30:43. | :30:47. | |
the Government will have a mechanism to equalise, which has always been | :30:48. | :30:50. | |
the case, I am not clear how that will work, and I look forward to | :30:51. | :30:53. | |
hearing from the Minister later, if he has time. Citizen service, my | :30:54. | :30:59. | |
honourable friend in business questions this morning, the shadow | :31:00. | :31:02. | |
Leader of the House from the Rhondda, said it is welcome to see | :31:03. | :31:06. | |
citizens service as going and do a statutory putting, but youth | :31:07. | :31:11. | |
services have been cut right across the piece. -- onto a statutory | :31:12. | :31:19. | |
footing. Some scouts, the air training Corps, Sea Cadets, the | :31:20. | :31:25. | |
Prince's Trust, which has recently moved its London and south-east | :31:26. | :31:30. | |
headquarters, doing fantastic work, seeing an adult service on a | :31:31. | :31:36. | |
statutory basis is equally welcome. Organisations would be very much in | :31:37. | :31:41. | |
support of that. Very brief points, Madam Deputy Speaker, and local | :31:42. | :31:44. | |
government and planning, when we passed the 2008 bill, the Secretary | :31:45. | :31:51. | |
of State on the front bench may be speaking later, leading the bill for | :31:52. | :31:58. | |
the Labour governance, we introduced an independent planning commission | :31:59. | :32:01. | |
for projects of national significance, and one of the first | :32:02. | :32:05. | |
things the coalition did was to repeal the bill. Five years later, | :32:06. | :32:08. | |
the Conservatives now realise that there is a need for a fast-track | :32:09. | :32:13. | |
planning procedure for nationally significant infrastructure. It is a | :32:14. | :32:16. | |
real contradiction and a conflict between local councils, where we | :32:17. | :32:22. | |
have the prospect of shale extraction and fracking, and I think | :32:23. | :32:26. | |
the vast majority of people in the country, notwithstanding the clamour | :32:27. | :32:28. | |
from the environmental movement and the Greens that shale should not be | :32:29. | :32:32. | |
preceded with, they would much rather see us using our own natural | :32:33. | :32:37. | |
resources than importing gas from the US or Qatar or Russia in terms | :32:38. | :32:43. | |
of economics and you do. Shale extraction makes much more sense, | :32:44. | :32:47. | |
and the conflict between local communities being panicked into | :32:48. | :32:52. | |
opposing these applications and the need for that national industry to | :32:53. | :32:56. | |
be developed as one that the Government obviously has to address. | :32:57. | :33:01. | |
A last point in terms of the counter extremism, the anti-terrorism issues | :33:02. | :33:04. | |
and security, these are all very welcome. We are living in much more | :33:05. | :33:09. | |
dangerous times, the balance of civil liberties alongside the | :33:10. | :33:13. | |
opportunity for the security and intelligence forces to protect us is | :33:14. | :33:17. | |
a real challenge. When the three girls from Bethnal Green went to | :33:18. | :33:22. | |
Syria, everybody clamoured, why didn't the security forces | :33:23. | :33:26. | |
intervene? But the same people, the exactly same ones were objecting | :33:27. | :33:29. | |
when the Government try to improve security and intelligence gathering | :33:30. | :33:34. | |
and interception. I was in support of identity cards in the last Labour | :33:35. | :33:38. | |
government, it was wrong that we did not proceed with them, wrong that | :33:39. | :33:41. | |
the Government is not proceeding with them. It would be a simple | :33:42. | :33:46. | |
mechanism, when we are all carrying our own idea the shape of credit | :33:47. | :33:50. | |
cards or contactless payment cards or whatever, Heidi cars would be a | :33:51. | :33:53. | |
positive step forward. Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker. -- | :33:54. | :34:01. | |
ideally cards. Phil Wilson. I want to talk about the importance | :34:02. | :34:06. | |
of rail manufacturing, primarily attaching its importance to the | :34:07. | :34:11. | |
local economy in my constituency. The Hitachi rail Europe factory | :34:12. | :34:14. | |
opened last year in Newton a cliff, creating 730 jobs, with many more in | :34:15. | :34:21. | |
the supply chain. The factory is a superb modern facility costing ?82 | :34:22. | :34:26. | |
million, the largest private sector investment in the north-east of | :34:27. | :34:29. | |
England since Nissan. The factory's first task is to build the | :34:30. | :34:33. | |
next-generation intercity trains for the great Western line, which will | :34:34. | :34:38. | |
begin entering service next year, and then the East Coast Main Line | :34:39. | :34:42. | |
from 2018. For those who use the service on a regular basis, that day | :34:43. | :34:49. | |
cannot come too soon. It has also one contract for trains in Scotland | :34:50. | :34:54. | |
and the Trans-Pennine route. Hitachi build the first bullet train in | :34:55. | :34:57. | |
Japan in the 1960s, and I understand they are now on the seventh series | :34:58. | :35:02. | |
of bullet trains, and I want to see that technology brought to Britain | :35:03. | :35:06. | |
and manufactured in Newton Aycliffe. But because of their expertise, | :35:07. | :35:10. | |
Hitachi could manufacture the rolling start for HS2 in Newton | :35:11. | :35:13. | |
Aycliffe if it wins the contract. This would provide a great boost for | :35:14. | :35:17. | |
manufacturing in the north-east and the rest of the UK. So I would like | :35:18. | :35:24. | |
to see the 730 jobs already been created as a minimum. And there are | :35:25. | :35:28. | |
other areas of expansion also. Hitachi Rail Europe is called | :35:29. | :35:35. | |
Hitachi Rail Europe for a reason, and the reason is simple and -- | :35:36. | :35:39. | |
Hitachi sees the UK and the north-east as their launch pad for | :35:40. | :35:41. | |
exporting Rod Studd into the European Union, one of the reasons | :35:42. | :35:45. | |
why are continued membership of the EU was vital. -- exporting rolling | :35:46. | :35:51. | |
stock. Hitachi have great confidence in UK manufacturing capabilities, | :35:52. | :35:55. | |
and I can only endorse their faith in the workforce in Newton Aycliffe | :35:56. | :35:58. | |
and the surrounding area. It that you have moved their global | :35:59. | :36:01. | |
headquarters for rail to London and have opened a European rail research | :36:02. | :36:06. | |
centre in London also. They have done all of this for one primary | :36:07. | :36:10. | |
reason, because the United Kingdom is part of the European Union. But I | :36:11. | :36:14. | |
do worry about future investment in the plant if we leave the EU. What | :36:15. | :36:19. | |
I'm saying is not meant to be part of some project here is, but I | :36:20. | :36:24. | |
believe it would be irresponsible of me as the MP for Sedgefield, when | :36:25. | :36:28. | |
Newton Aycliffe is based, if I do not express my deeply held rallies | :36:29. | :36:32. | |
about the future of Japanese investment if we leave the EU. -- | :36:33. | :36:39. | |
deeply held worries. Those are based in statements made by the chairman | :36:40. | :36:42. | |
of Hitachi in an interview with the Financial Times in 2030 and under | :36:43. | :36:46. | |
the headline Hitachi president warns UK against leaving Europe, so, | :36:47. | :36:53. | |
leaving the EU. -- in 2013. He said that he did not expect the UK to | :36:54. | :36:58. | |
leave the EU, but I would have to reconsider how to manage our rail | :36:59. | :37:03. | |
business. In an article in the financial terms this year, he wrote, | :37:04. | :37:10. | |
Britain is the centre of Hitachi's largest overseas infrastructure | :37:11. | :37:15. | |
projects in rail and new nuclear power. We invested in the country as | :37:16. | :37:18. | |
the best base for access to the entire EU market. For manufacturing | :37:19. | :37:23. | |
and supplies, we depend on skills and parts that come from within the | :37:24. | :37:29. | |
UK and from Europe. Take away its EU membership, and the investment case | :37:30. | :37:33. | |
looks very different. Someone wants to see Putin leave the EU, -- some | :37:34. | :37:44. | |
want to see Britain leave the EU, but they have to come cavalier with | :37:45. | :37:45. | |
facts. I believe the recent and consistent | :37:46. | :38:08. | |
statements prove there would be further repercussions in the UK if | :38:09. | :38:13. | |
we do leave. Because this speech is not part of some called Project | :38:14. | :38:18. | |
fear, if Britain votes to leave the EU, on the 23rd of June, the Hitachi | :38:19. | :38:24. | |
factory in my constituency will not close on June the 24th, but I am | :38:25. | :38:30. | |
deeply concerned about the factory's ability in the long-term to generate | :38:31. | :38:37. | |
more jobs without unfettered access to the EU market base. In a recent | :38:38. | :38:44. | |
survey I undertook of businesses in my constituency, over 50% responded | :38:45. | :38:49. | |
and said leaving the EU would have a negative effect on their investment | :38:50. | :38:54. | |
plans for the future. Is he aware that I made exactly the same point | :38:55. | :38:59. | |
at a meeting of the all-party Parliamentary group for aerospace | :39:00. | :39:03. | |
about a large employer next to my constituency. It is not simply about | :39:04. | :39:11. | |
attacks in his constituency, it is major manufacturers and suppliers | :39:12. | :39:14. | |
right across the UK that are having these very same fears. I am making | :39:15. | :39:20. | |
the point about Hitachi because it is based in my constituency. But for | :39:21. | :39:25. | |
a lot of foreign investors being part of the EU is key to their | :39:26. | :39:30. | |
plans. I am disappointed that members of this house are prepared | :39:31. | :39:33. | |
to play fast and honest with the facts also. I quote in the Daily | :39:34. | :39:44. | |
Mail, I agree with an open border immigration policy because it means | :39:45. | :39:52. | |
they do not have to worry about is getting more people, they think they | :39:53. | :39:56. | |
can get a steady flow of unskilled labour from abroad. This is a slur | :39:57. | :40:02. | |
on the name of good employers like Hitachi who have built their factory | :40:03. | :40:05. | |
in the North East because of the local people, and the skills they | :40:06. | :40:11. | |
have. 95% of the workforce in Newton Aycliffe comes from the North East. | :40:12. | :40:15. | |
They are skilled and well paid. Because of their commitment to the | :40:16. | :40:21. | |
local people as a major employer, they have sponsored the University | :40:22. | :40:27. | |
technical college built overlooking the Hitachi factory. They will have | :40:28. | :40:35. | |
over 60 young people once they opened their doors in September. | :40:36. | :40:41. | |
They will be equipped with the essential skills required for the | :40:42. | :40:47. | |
world of work. All of this is possible because Hitachi and | :40:48. | :40:51. | |
Sunderland University have made this possible and it is possible because | :40:52. | :40:56. | |
of the employer's belief in the local people. But it is also | :40:57. | :40:59. | |
possible because we are part of the European Union. Hitachi have written | :41:00. | :41:06. | |
to the workforce underlining their position on Europe. It is what a | :41:07. | :41:11. | |
responsible employer does. They have made it absolutely clear that the | :41:12. | :41:15. | |
decision on the 23rd of June is a decision for the British people and | :41:16. | :41:20. | |
it would be remiss of them not to stake their permission as a | :41:21. | :41:24. | |
responsible employer. This is some of the text they have sent. Like | :41:25. | :41:29. | |
many other international companies we invested because of the UK's | :41:30. | :41:34. | |
strong fundamentals and read access to talent. We are also here to have | :41:35. | :41:39. | |
access to the entire EU and the European market, in particular we | :41:40. | :41:44. | |
depend on skills and parts that come from the UK and Europe at large. We | :41:45. | :41:50. | |
can understand the EU is not perfect, but the UK's departure | :41:51. | :41:55. | |
would create huge uncertainty for all Hitachi businesses in the UK in | :41:56. | :42:01. | |
terms of economics, skills and talent and would affect the ability | :42:02. | :42:07. | |
and is long-term growth. It would have a negative impact on the UK | :42:08. | :42:11. | |
economy and carry significant risks for the remainder of the EU. We | :42:12. | :42:16. | |
believe a strong, united Europe with the UK in a single, open market, | :42:17. | :42:23. | |
offers the best conditions for Hitachi's business. The matter could | :42:24. | :42:28. | |
not be made any clearer. I, like a lot of people in the North East, | :42:29. | :42:32. | |
campaigned long and hard to ensure the Government went ahead with the | :42:33. | :42:37. | |
deal to bring Hitachi to the North East because of the jobs and | :42:38. | :42:41. | |
investment it would bring. I am not prepared to stand idly by to watch | :42:42. | :42:46. | |
that investment being threatened by leaving the EU. That is why I will | :42:47. | :42:52. | |
be campaigning for the remainder on June the 23rd. Thank you, Madam | :42:53. | :43:03. | |
Deputy Speaker. While I understand the sensitivity of the time it in | :43:04. | :43:08. | |
relation to the EU referendum vote, this could have been avoided if the | :43:09. | :43:12. | |
State opening had been delayed as we on this side suggested. There will | :43:13. | :43:18. | |
be a number of areas in which the Government's programme falls short | :43:19. | :43:21. | |
and one of these is providing support to carers. There was nothing | :43:22. | :43:26. | |
in the Queen's Speech to ensure local authorities have the resources | :43:27. | :43:33. | |
necessary. The 2011 census shows the number of carers increased by 11% | :43:34. | :43:41. | |
and the steepest rise has been in those caring for over 50 hours per | :43:42. | :43:46. | |
week. The number of older carers is also increasing. One in seven people | :43:47. | :43:52. | |
over 80 is now providing unpaid care to family and friends. In the last | :43:53. | :43:56. | |
seven years that number has increased by 40% and is now 417,000 | :43:57. | :44:02. | |
people in their 80s. Failure to address the needs of older carers | :44:03. | :44:06. | |
will mean many of them will find it difficult to cope with their | :44:07. | :44:11. | |
responsibilities. Eight UK has said as public funding falls further and | :44:12. | :44:16. | |
further behind, we worried that very old people are being expected to | :44:17. | :44:20. | |
fill the gap. They cannot do it on their own and we should not take | :44:21. | :44:28. | |
advantage of their determined desire to do right. -- Age UK. The current | :44:29. | :44:33. | |
pressure is bringing carers closer to breaking point. Areas this month | :44:34. | :44:40. | |
there was an annual report that highlights the difficulties for | :44:41. | :44:44. | |
providing quality services for carers against a backdrop of | :44:45. | :44:50. | |
continued local authority costs. It says the spirit of the care act 2014 | :44:51. | :44:56. | |
had not become a reality for all and carers are struggling to get the | :44:57. | :45:02. | |
report and the support they need. Evidence of public services are | :45:03. | :45:07. | |
creaking under pressure, the right services are harder to find and | :45:08. | :45:12. | |
vital support is cut or under threat, leaving many carers and just | :45:13. | :45:17. | |
about the future. I have praised the impact of funding cuts in the care | :45:18. | :45:21. | |
sector on a number of debates because social care is too easy a | :45:22. | :45:27. | |
target for cuts. Ministers are prepared to slash local authority | :45:28. | :45:34. | |
budgets. The Local Government Association has estimated the | :45:35. | :45:36. | |
implementation of the national living wage will cost an additional | :45:37. | :45:43. | |
?330 million for home care and residential care providers this year | :45:44. | :45:47. | |
alone. I can give you an example from Salford. The 2% social care | :45:48. | :45:55. | |
precept will raise ?1.6 million in Salford, but the cost of | :45:56. | :45:58. | |
implementing the national minimum wage is 2.7 million. It is easy to | :45:59. | :46:04. | |
see that that multiplied up and down the country. Despite what ministers | :46:05. | :46:10. | |
say, there is no extra funding for social care this year and only ?105 | :46:11. | :46:16. | |
million next year. Pleas were made by the director of adult social | :46:17. | :46:24. | |
services for the Chancellor to bring forward ?700 million to address | :46:25. | :46:28. | |
these financial pressures. Failure to do this could lead to care | :46:29. | :46:32. | |
providers failing or just walking away from publicly funded care. That | :46:33. | :46:37. | |
could have serious consequences for the vulnerable people who rely on | :46:38. | :46:43. | |
care services. It is unfair to think that unpaid family carers will be | :46:44. | :46:47. | |
able to pick up the pieces if care providers fail due to these cost | :46:48. | :46:52. | |
pressures. Unpaid carers are already under increasing pressure because of | :46:53. | :46:57. | |
the policies. One third say they have experienced a change in the | :46:58. | :47:02. | |
amount of care and support they received. 60% say the amount of care | :47:03. | :47:08. | |
and support they received has been reduced because of cost or | :47:09. | :47:12. | |
availability. In some cases those cuts have been significant. One | :47:13. | :47:18. | |
carer said, the social worker who assessed my wife said all direct | :47:19. | :47:25. | |
payments were being reduced. We work discussing the needs and without | :47:26. | :47:31. | |
warning the budget was cut by 30% immediately. It is not surprising | :47:32. | :47:35. | |
that 54% of carers surveyed felt that the quality of life would get | :47:36. | :47:41. | |
worse. The care act was supposed to ensure that all carers were entitled | :47:42. | :47:45. | |
to a timely assessment of their needs, yet one in three carers who | :47:46. | :47:49. | |
have had an assessment have had to wait six months or longer. Nearly | :47:50. | :47:55. | |
40% of carers caring for someone at the end of life had to wait six | :47:56. | :48:00. | |
months or more for an assessment. There is no time at the end of life | :48:01. | :48:05. | |
to be considering in six months' time what a carer needs. I would | :48:06. | :48:10. | |
urge the Minister on the Treasury bench to pressure Health Minister is | :48:11. | :48:14. | |
to respond to the independent choice review which was published over a | :48:15. | :48:18. | |
year ago and to consider a new review which extends the end of life | :48:19. | :48:31. | |
issues. Even when carers receive an assessment many of them feel it does | :48:32. | :48:36. | |
not address their needs. Almost 70% felt they need to that regular | :48:37. | :48:42. | |
breaks from caring and 74% said they did not feel the support they needed | :48:43. | :48:45. | |
to juggle care with work was considered sufficient. It appears to | :48:46. | :48:50. | |
some carers that assessment is a listing exercise that provides no | :48:51. | :48:56. | |
real help. One said all assessment areas were considered by my | :48:57. | :49:00. | |
assessor, but due to cut there was no support they could offer me. I | :49:01. | :49:05. | |
was listened to, but there was no positive outcome. Along with the | :49:06. | :49:09. | |
emotional stress and physical exhaustion, many carers are finding | :49:10. | :49:14. | |
it has a real impact on their finances. Of those struggling to | :49:15. | :49:19. | |
make ends meet, nearly half of the carers survey are cutting back on | :49:20. | :49:22. | |
essentials like food and heating. Others are borrowing money and a | :49:23. | :49:28. | |
third are using up their savings and that is not sustainable. I'd urge | :49:29. | :49:32. | |
Government ministers to act to ensure that the carers have the | :49:33. | :49:36. | |
financial support they need. They need access to services to help them | :49:37. | :49:42. | |
in their caring role. Meaningful action needs to be taken to promote | :49:43. | :49:47. | |
their health and well-being. The assessments should be accessible and | :49:48. | :49:50. | |
should be more than a tick box exercise. The greatest speech did | :49:51. | :49:58. | |
not provide any assurance that the Government will address the funding | :49:59. | :50:04. | |
problems that I have outlined. The move to full business rate retention | :50:05. | :50:08. | |
by local authorities will not address the chronic underfunding of | :50:09. | :50:12. | |
social care. As with the social care precept, we have something that | :50:13. | :50:19. | |
fails to consider needs and with further create inequalities in | :50:20. | :50:23. | |
funding for social care. The areas where funding is most needed will be | :50:24. | :50:28. | |
the areas that gain the least from the funding retention. It seems | :50:29. | :50:36. | |
likely we will continue to see those higher costs for carers and lower | :50:37. | :50:39. | |
levels of support for them or the person they care for. It was | :50:40. | :50:44. | |
disappointing the gracious speech failed to mention the injustice of | :50:45. | :50:53. | |
1950s born women who face additional financial hardship because of the | :50:54. | :50:57. | |
Government's failure to provide fair conditional arrangements, an issue | :50:58. | :51:02. | |
we have debated a number of times. We will have a pensions bill that | :51:03. | :51:06. | |
does nothing to address that injustice. I want to outline some of | :51:07. | :51:16. | |
the options being put forward. They seem to keep saying, there are no | :51:17. | :51:23. | |
viable options. When we had an opposition day debate on these six | :51:24. | :51:28. | |
options were put forward by the Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary. | :51:29. | :51:30. | |
He suggested changing the timetable to delay the pension age increase | :51:31. | :51:39. | |
until 2020, so it would not read 66 until 2021. He suggested capping it | :51:40. | :51:47. | |
at 12 months. Keeping the qualifying age for pension credit on the | :51:48. | :51:50. | |
previous timetable which would help out some of the women facing the | :51:51. | :51:55. | |
greatest financial hardship. I notice the Treasury bench does not | :51:56. | :51:59. | |
seem to be interested in the 2.6 million women who are suffering | :52:00. | :52:03. | |
hardship through the policies they have caused. It is a pity they have | :52:04. | :52:08. | |
bothered to be here and not listen. The fourth option is to take a | :52:09. | :52:11. | |
reduced state pension at an earlier age. I know the Select Committee has | :52:12. | :52:17. | |
put forward that option, but I do not support it. The other option is | :52:18. | :52:22. | |
to extend the timetable for increasing state pension age by 18 | :52:23. | :52:30. | |
months so it reaches 66 by 20 22. I have suggested the Government look | :52:31. | :52:34. | |
at the idea of a bridge pension such as paid in the Netherlands. Two | :52:35. | :52:37. | |
women... I am very grateful that my | :52:38. | :52:46. | |
honourable friend has raised the issue of the 1950s women, and I | :52:47. | :52:50. | |
congratulate her on becoming the chair of the group last week. But | :52:51. | :52:58. | |
she will also be aware, no doubt, of the colleagues in the Welsh | :52:59. | :53:02. | |
Assembly, Labour colleagues in the Welsh Assembly, that have tabled a | :53:03. | :53:05. | |
motion to the devolved institution calling on the British Government to | :53:06. | :53:08. | |
introduce fair transitional arrangements for these very women. | :53:09. | :53:14. | |
Absolutely, and we keep coming back to this, I fear, again and again | :53:15. | :53:18. | |
until the Government realises that it is not reasonable to expect women | :53:19. | :53:24. | |
who were expecting a pension at 60 to live on nothing. I have | :53:25. | :53:27. | |
constituents trying to live on their savings. Does my honourable friend | :53:28. | :53:32. | |
and share the concern that the Government has made a cynical | :53:33. | :53:37. | |
calculation here that most women will reach pensionable age by the | :53:38. | :53:40. | |
time of the next general election and the Government is hoping the | :53:41. | :53:44. | |
problem will go away, even if the injustice does not? They may have | :53:45. | :53:48. | |
made that calculation, but they are wrong, because there are 2.6 million | :53:49. | :53:53. | |
women affected by this over the ten years of the changes being made, and | :53:54. | :53:57. | |
I think they will find hundreds of thousands of very angry women, their | :53:58. | :54:02. | |
family members, husbands, sisters, children, and the numbers really | :54:03. | :54:07. | |
ought to mean ministers take it more seriously than they appear to be | :54:08. | :54:10. | |
doing today. To finish that detail, people are interested in this - an | :54:11. | :54:16. | |
example of a bridge pension was set at around ?400 a month, a better | :54:17. | :54:22. | |
option than forcing women with 40 years or more of national insurance | :54:23. | :54:26. | |
contributions already in our lives onto the work programme or onto ESA, | :54:27. | :54:32. | |
JS say at 62 and 63, it is disgraceful to treat women born in | :54:33. | :54:37. | |
the 1950s that way. I would repeat what some but he said on social | :54:38. | :54:41. | |
media, the lack of concessionary travel, while we are discussing | :54:42. | :54:46. | |
transport, for some people whose estate pension age has changed. It | :54:47. | :54:51. | |
really is a question, why should there be concessionary travel at the | :54:52. | :54:54. | |
age of 60 in London but not in other parts of the country? So I am | :54:55. | :55:01. | |
delighted, and I'm glad my honourable friend race did, that 120 | :55:02. | :55:04. | |
and rebel members signed up to the new group to support the campaign | :55:05. | :55:10. | |
last week. -- 120 honourable members. It will hold the Government | :55:11. | :55:15. | |
to account on the issue of the 1950s born women affected by changes to | :55:16. | :55:18. | |
the state pension age and campaign on all the seas around state pension | :55:19. | :55:23. | |
age. I look forward to helping the group with that aim, making some | :55:24. | :55:27. | |
real progress to help my constituents. -- all the issues. | :55:28. | :55:34. | |
Hundreds of thousands of 1950s born women are affected by this | :55:35. | :55:38. | |
injustice. I have raised these issues, Madam Deputy Speaker, which | :55:39. | :55:44. | |
affect 2.6 million women in the UK, at first affected by this | :55:45. | :55:47. | |
Government's changes, and 7 million unpaid family carers. There was | :55:48. | :55:51. | |
nothing in the gracious speech to help those nearly 10 million people. | :55:52. | :55:56. | |
I have talked about their issues, it is a pity there are no measures to | :55:57. | :55:59. | |
help them. I hope we will see some extra measures. Thank you, Madam | :56:00. | :56:11. | |
Deputy Speaker. Now, yesterday, we had a day of tradition, pomp, | :56:12. | :56:15. | |
ceremony, lots of fancy costumes. But behind the reality of the | :56:16. | :56:22. | |
Gracious Speech is the fact that we have another year of Conservative | :56:23. | :56:28. | |
government. I would like to start by commending the Government, not | :56:29. | :56:33. | |
something I often do, for their opening paragraph of Her Majesty's | :56:34. | :56:37. | |
Gracious Speech, because I think it is something that all members of | :56:38. | :56:41. | |
this House really ought to be able to sign up to. Her Majesty said | :56:42. | :56:46. | |
yesterday, Mike Government will use the opportunity of a strengthening | :56:47. | :56:50. | |
economy to deliver security for working people, to increase life | :56:51. | :56:54. | |
chances for the most disadvantaged. I welcome that statement of intent, | :56:55. | :56:59. | |
because that is something that brought me into the Labour Party, | :57:00. | :57:06. | |
and I believe in social justice, I believe in fighting against | :57:07. | :57:11. | |
inequality in whatever form it manifests itself, but I say to the | :57:12. | :57:16. | |
Government, you will be scrutinised on the measures that you bring | :57:17. | :57:22. | |
before this House of Commons, because intentions are all fine and | :57:23. | :57:25. | |
well, but it is your actions that you will be judged on. And for a | :57:26. | :57:31. | |
government that speaks about helping the most disadvantaged, I just would | :57:32. | :57:38. | |
like to remind them of their actions over the past six years. The | :57:39. | :57:42. | |
reliance that many of my constituents now have on foodbanks. | :57:43. | :57:49. | |
The increase in tuition fees, trebles and the last Coalition | :57:50. | :57:54. | |
Government. The abolition of the Education Maintenance Allowance that | :57:55. | :57:57. | |
helped some Anita is advantage to young people into further education. | :57:58. | :58:04. | |
The pernicious and evil bedroom tax that has hurt so many families in | :58:05. | :58:12. | |
this country. The reduction in social security support, including | :58:13. | :58:15. | |
for those who are disabled and those who are in work but in low paid | :58:16. | :58:24. | |
work. So, yes, let's try to increase the life chances of the most | :58:25. | :58:29. | |
disadvantaged, but it is an actions, not the words that ministers will be | :58:30. | :58:34. | |
judged. I want to talk very briefly about a number of the measures that | :58:35. | :58:40. | |
were mentioned by Her Majesty in the Gracious Speech. Firstly, the buses | :58:41. | :58:49. | |
bill, something that is long overdue, particularly for my city | :58:50. | :58:53. | |
region of Manchester, and we will be one of the areas with an elective | :58:54. | :58:58. | |
mayor. I ask ministers why it is only going to be available for those | :58:59. | :59:02. | |
areas with an elected mayor, and why it should not also be available to | :59:03. | :59:06. | |
other local authorities that have problems with their bus services and | :59:07. | :59:11. | |
want to introduce an element of control back into planning a | :59:12. | :59:18. | |
strategic transport network. But in terms of Greater Manchester, it is | :59:19. | :59:22. | |
good news, because 80% of public transport use is by bus. The effects | :59:23. | :59:29. | |
of deregulation are quite clear - at its peak, there were 500 million bus | :59:30. | :59:37. | |
journeys in Greater Manchester. Last year, that was 220 million. That | :59:38. | :59:43. | |
shows the decline in bus usage. But in terms of car ownership, there are | :59:44. | :59:49. | |
still 31% of households in Greater Manchester that do not have access | :59:50. | :59:55. | |
to a car. So bus travel, tram travel and local train travel is really | :59:56. | :00:00. | |
important, and as I say, 80% of those public transport journeys in | :00:01. | :00:04. | |
Greater Manchester are made by bus. And of course it was in Greater | :00:05. | :00:07. | |
Manchester where we saw the worst aspects of the bus wars at the | :00:08. | :00:14. | |
height of the deregulation madness, where, rather than having sensible | :00:15. | :00:19. | |
competition, in a tendering process, where network areas can be planned, | :00:20. | :00:28. | |
the standards can be set, the timetable regulated, and you allow | :00:29. | :00:31. | |
the tendering process a fair, competitive process in a tendering | :00:32. | :00:39. | |
regime to take place. But in Greater Manchester we had the opposite, we | :00:40. | :00:44. | |
didn't have a plan system, we had a unplan system, the competition was | :00:45. | :00:49. | |
not in a council committee room in a fair and transparent planned network | :00:50. | :00:54. | |
system, it was on the roads, and it was chaos. And it destroyed the bus | :00:55. | :00:58. | |
industry in Greater Manchester. So I really do hope that the buses bill | :00:59. | :01:04. | |
will be a success and that those areas that want to take on those new | :01:05. | :01:08. | |
powers are able to do so. As we are talking about devolution, I want to | :01:09. | :01:18. | |
talk about the business rates, because that is something that can | :01:19. | :01:24. | |
be a success, but I think the Government needs to tread very | :01:25. | :01:27. | |
carefully. Again, in Greater Manchester, we have come to a real | :01:28. | :01:31. | |
understanding of what is needed in the conurbation, and we have come to | :01:32. | :01:35. | |
an agreement through the combined authority that the business rates | :01:36. | :01:39. | |
will be pooled and shared, and that is really important, because if we | :01:40. | :01:43. | |
are going to make sense of the devolved settlement that Greater | :01:44. | :01:47. | |
Manchester has got, we have to acknowledge that not all parts of | :01:48. | :01:51. | |
Greater Manchester are the drivers of growth. But we have to make sure | :01:52. | :01:56. | |
that people from across Greater Manchester have the skills, have the | :01:57. | :02:00. | |
education, have the transport links to access the jobs that are created. | :02:01. | :02:06. | |
And the wealth that those jobs that are created in the growth areas of | :02:07. | :02:09. | |
the conurbation, the benefits of those jobs are spread out across the | :02:10. | :02:15. | |
whole conurbation, and that is why pooling and sharing is so necessary. | :02:16. | :02:19. | |
Because I acknowledge that probably my own constituency is not one of | :02:20. | :02:26. | |
the major areas of growth in the conurbation. It is the city centre, | :02:27. | :02:32. | |
it is around Manchester Airport and Airport City, it is in Trafford | :02:33. | :02:38. | |
park, the Trafford Centre, Salford quays, at around MediaCityUK. But we | :02:39. | :02:43. | |
have to make sure that the wealth that is generated in those areas is | :02:44. | :02:47. | |
spread across the entire conurbation. And that is why I hope | :02:48. | :02:52. | |
the Government will ensure that there are fair arrangement is in | :02:53. | :02:57. | |
terms of the retention of business rates. Because without it, to put it | :02:58. | :03:02. | |
simply, one of the two boroughs I represent, tame side, is a net gain | :03:03. | :03:08. | |
under the current system of business rates, and that is because it is | :03:09. | :03:12. | |
predominantly a residential borough. Most of the big industries have | :03:13. | :03:16. | |
disappeared and have not been replaced with anything like the | :03:17. | :03:20. | |
number of companies that could generate substantial business rates. | :03:21. | :03:24. | |
That is not to say the borough council are not trying, but to put | :03:25. | :03:29. | |
it in context, if we did not share with the rest of Greater Manchester, | :03:30. | :03:35. | |
I think tame side would require another 17 Ikeas to be built just to | :03:36. | :03:39. | |
break even and the new system. We have to be very careful, and that is | :03:40. | :03:43. | |
why a sensible approach of pooling and sharing recognises those | :03:44. | :03:52. | |
challenges. Now, I also want to draw the House's attention to where the | :03:53. | :03:57. | |
Government talks about tackling some of the deepest social problems in | :03:58. | :04:00. | |
society in order to improve life chances. And the Gracious Speech | :04:01. | :04:08. | |
went on to say, Her Majesty said, my Government will introduce new | :04:09. | :04:12. | |
indicators for measuring life chances. I am a little bit cynical, | :04:13. | :04:17. | |
because I don't think it matters how you look at the causes of you change | :04:18. | :04:24. | |
the measures to give you the answers you want, I think what we need to do | :04:25. | :04:29. | |
is to actually tackle poverty in a holistic way. I will give way. I | :04:30. | :04:34. | |
thank the honourable member, would he agree with me that this idea of | :04:35. | :04:38. | |
improving life chances is just another way of saying we are | :04:39. | :04:42. | |
scrapping poverty targets? That is very much might worry, and I hope | :04:43. | :04:47. | |
the Government can reassure us on that, because if it is not scrapping | :04:48. | :04:51. | |
the targets, it is changing the goalposts, and that is my other | :04:52. | :04:56. | |
worry. What we need to be doing is looking at the causes of | :04:57. | :05:01. | |
deprivation, of poverty, and inequality and tackling that. And | :05:02. | :05:04. | |
that really, Madam Deputy Speaker, is where I want to finish, because I | :05:05. | :05:08. | |
think there is one missed opportunity, something the | :05:09. | :05:11. | |
Government will come to consider in due course, because I think if we | :05:12. | :05:15. | |
are going to be serious about tackling the endemic health | :05:16. | :05:19. | |
inequalities that are prevalent in every single constituency to a | :05:20. | :05:22. | |
lesser greater extent in this country, then we need to have much | :05:23. | :05:27. | |
better, joined up government. We need to break out of the silent | :05:28. | :05:31. | |
mentality, we need to get away from this notion that public health is | :05:32. | :05:37. | |
solely a matter for the Department of Health, and actually, I think | :05:38. | :05:42. | |
what we need to have is a national health and well-being strategy that | :05:43. | :05:45. | |
every single government department and every single devolved | :05:46. | :05:50. | |
institution are fully signed up to. And I just give one example. When a | :05:51. | :05:56. | |
bill is introduced to this House, or indeed to the other place, ministers | :05:57. | :06:02. | |
have to certify to the members of this House that the bill is | :06:03. | :06:05. | |
compliant with two pieces of legislation. One is the Human Rights | :06:06. | :06:10. | |
Act, and the other one is the equalities act 2010. I would go | :06:11. | :06:14. | |
further, I think every piece of legislation that we look at should | :06:15. | :06:18. | |
also be health and well-being compliance, and that weight | :06:19. | :06:22. | |
ministers have to say, have to ask a very simple question - does this | :06:23. | :06:26. | |
piece of legislation that I am proposing improve the health and | :06:27. | :06:32. | |
well-being of the citizens? Does it reduce health inequalities to the | :06:33. | :06:37. | |
citizens of the United Kingdom? And, Madam Deputy Speaker, is the answer | :06:38. | :06:41. | |
is no, white wheat legislating for it. Think that is the best way that | :06:42. | :06:47. | |
we can pull all ministers and government departments towards the | :06:48. | :06:51. | |
aim of tackling health inequalities in our country, because all the | :06:52. | :06:56. | |
things, whether it is housing whether it is planning, skills, | :06:57. | :07:02. | |
education, training, leisure opportunities, open spaces, clean | :07:03. | :07:07. | |
air, the environment more generally, whether it is jobs, whether it is | :07:08. | :07:12. | |
transport, all of these things, dealt with by a myriad of different | :07:13. | :07:17. | |
departments, agencies, all of these things impact on the health and | :07:18. | :07:21. | |
well-being of the citizen, and I would like to see much more joined | :07:22. | :07:27. | |
up thinking. So I hope ministers will take that on board, will break | :07:28. | :07:32. | |
out of the silent mentality, and let's for once and for all tackle | :07:33. | :07:36. | |
the health inequalities that also endemic into many parts of the | :07:37. | :07:43. | |
United Kingdom. It is a pleasure to follow the honourable member, who | :07:44. | :07:48. | |
brings excellent advice to the front bench which I hope they will take | :07:49. | :07:49. | |
heed. The Government has a blind spot when | :07:50. | :08:02. | |
it comes to transport and the Humber. There was nothing in the | :08:03. | :08:06. | |
speech yesterday which gave cause for great optimism. The lack of a | :08:07. | :08:18. | |
direct link between Grimsby and London is holding back the area and | :08:19. | :08:23. | |
giving a competitive advantage to comparative towns and city in the | :08:24. | :08:27. | |
region. Grimsby and Cleethorpes combined has a bigger population | :08:28. | :08:31. | |
than your, yet Europe has a travel time to London of under two hours. | :08:32. | :08:37. | |
For people travelling to Grimsby, 40 miles south of Europe, it would take | :08:38. | :08:40. | |
an hour more and they would have to change trains. In the gracious | :08:41. | :08:50. | |
speech there were references to travelling to the moon, but to be | :08:51. | :08:53. | |
perfectly honest my constituents would be happy to get to Grimsby in | :08:54. | :09:01. | |
less than an hour. We are strategically important region for | :09:02. | :09:04. | |
trade and logistics, we are a gateway to Europe with goods worth | :09:05. | :09:07. | |
millions of pounds being shipped in and out of our ports every day. Any | :09:08. | :09:12. | |
plans for transportation in the region should recognise these | :09:13. | :09:17. | |
factors. Yet the Government's 35 page Northern transport strategy | :09:18. | :09:22. | |
does not mention Grimsby once. It is not just for trade and break | :09:23. | :09:25. | |
purposes that our region needs greater focus. Hull city will be the | :09:26. | :09:35. | |
City of Culture in 2017, but connectivity between the South and | :09:36. | :09:37. | |
north banks of the Humber remains poor. 2017 will bring huge benefits | :09:38. | :09:45. | |
to the entire region, but poor transport links threaten to shut the | :09:46. | :09:52. | |
rest of us out. Many fellow Humberside MPs supported my call | :09:53. | :09:55. | |
earlier this year to suspend tolls for Humber Bridge. Lower toll since | :09:56. | :10:04. | |
2012 lead to an increased usage of the bridge. At least whilst Hull | :10:05. | :10:09. | |
city is the City of Culture, there should be free travel across the | :10:10. | :10:14. | |
bridge and it should be ended as a barrier to work and trade. People | :10:15. | :10:20. | |
from Grimsby are excluded from spending the evening there because | :10:21. | :10:26. | |
the last train leaves at half past six. Our public transport network | :10:27. | :10:33. | |
will not allow people who do not drive to access the cultural events | :10:34. | :10:39. | |
in Hull next year. Putting an evening bus and rail services for | :10:40. | :10:43. | |
2017 would be a popular move and could become permanent. Children | :10:44. | :10:48. | |
from all backgrounds should be able to cross the Humber to see the | :10:49. | :10:51. | |
performances in Hull next year, whether or not the parents can | :10:52. | :10:56. | |
afford the tickets and travel. I would like to see the Government | :10:57. | :10:59. | |
supports state schools in the region. These minor steps would go a | :11:00. | :11:07. | |
long way in ensuring that 2017 leaves a lasting impression on this | :11:08. | :11:11. | |
generation. I hope the Transport Secretary will agree to meet with me | :11:12. | :11:15. | |
and my fellow Humberside MPs to discuss these proposals. I would | :11:16. | :11:19. | |
like to welcome the announcement in the gracious speech for a bill to | :11:20. | :11:22. | |
change the franchising system for bus services. But one concern I have | :11:23. | :11:28. | |
is what the effect on services would be if Britain votes to leave the EU. | :11:29. | :11:39. | |
The number one bus is particularly important for our local economy. It | :11:40. | :11:44. | |
goes to the Euro Park, Grimsby's flagship business Park which is the | :11:45. | :11:50. | |
location of hundreds of jobs and training facilities in the town and | :11:51. | :11:53. | |
is also funded by the European Union. If that bus was to stop | :11:54. | :11:58. | |
running, I would be worried about the impact on businesses located at | :11:59. | :12:02. | |
that site. I welcome the view from the Minister as to what he thinks | :12:03. | :12:09. | |
the potential impact Brexit would have. Lastly, a change to the | :12:10. | :12:20. | |
lighting regulations last year meant that community first responders are | :12:21. | :12:23. | |
no longer permitted to attach certain reflective markings to their | :12:24. | :12:28. | |
vehicles. My constituents who is a first responder contacted me to say | :12:29. | :12:32. | |
he was concerned that this could put his safety at risk. If he is called | :12:33. | :12:38. | |
out to an incident on a country road or at night and approaching vehicles | :12:39. | :12:42. | |
do not see him until very late, he could be at risk. He is worried that | :12:43. | :12:46. | |
the lack of reflective signage on his vehicle would make it harder to | :12:47. | :12:50. | |
spot for other emergency service vehicles attempting to locate the | :12:51. | :12:54. | |
site of the incident. I want to put on record my thanks to the Minister | :12:55. | :13:02. | |
for his response to my letter. Firstly, he raised the prospect of | :13:03. | :13:09. | |
an amendment to the regulation in the deregulation act, 2015. I would | :13:10. | :13:13. | |
appreciate confirmation this is something the Government are looking | :13:14. | :13:17. | |
to pursue and what the extent of the and he was suggesting will be. | :13:18. | :13:21. | |
Secondly, he wrote about concerns that members of the public having | :13:22. | :13:26. | |
Battenberg attached to their vehicles as they went about their | :13:27. | :13:31. | |
daily business revaluing delivery, given that the purpose of the | :13:32. | :13:35. | |
signage is visibility for safety purposes, I am not sure I see why | :13:36. | :13:40. | |
that should be such a bad thing. The minister said there would be a | :13:41. | :13:44. | |
consultation on this and I would appreciate more information on what | :13:45. | :13:47. | |
an opportunity is my constituents will have to be into that. I hope he | :13:48. | :13:52. | |
can address these issues in a letter to me after the debate today. I am | :13:53. | :13:58. | |
sure everyone will agree first responders do an incredibly | :13:59. | :14:01. | |
important job and they should be given all the tools they need to do | :14:02. | :14:04. | |
the job safely and to the best of their abilities. It is a pleasure to | :14:05. | :14:11. | |
speak in this and to follow the contributions that have been made so | :14:12. | :14:17. | |
far. To go back to the Queen 's speech with drones, driverless cars, | :14:18. | :14:21. | |
space boys, space plans, it seems like a bit of sci-fi movie. A | :14:22. | :14:32. | |
forward-looking, fully prepared United Kingdom, Great Britain and | :14:33. | :14:35. | |
Northern Ireland is what we need and want, taking the lead on the global | :14:36. | :14:41. | |
stage. The future transport of tomorrow will come with it. The bill | :14:42. | :14:47. | |
is forward-looking to that regard. Not only have the provisions for | :14:48. | :14:53. | |
driverless vehicles, space boys and space been included, the insurance | :14:54. | :15:02. | |
market has to reflect the changes. A tonne as vehicles and insurers have | :15:03. | :15:10. | |
already been working to keep the right framework simple. A quick | :15:11. | :15:23. | |
comment about the electric cars. I know a few weeks ago in transport | :15:24. | :15:28. | |
questions I asked the Minister what money was being set aside and he | :15:29. | :15:32. | |
said they were being disbursed about the whole of the United Kingdom. But | :15:33. | :15:37. | |
I think there needs to be a sea change of attitude as well in the | :15:38. | :15:42. | |
high Street. If you are going to have electric cars, you need better | :15:43. | :15:46. | |
charging points, you need them in the high streets and in the garage | :15:47. | :15:51. | |
forecourts and you need them in the shopping centres and the stores as | :15:52. | :15:55. | |
well. That is where the people need to be, so when it comes to setting | :15:56. | :16:01. | |
money aside we need to see a policy that goes right out across the whole | :16:02. | :16:05. | |
of the United Kingdom. It is all well and good to look to the future, | :16:06. | :16:11. | |
that there is existing infrastructure that needs to be | :16:12. | :16:15. | |
sorted out now and not left to the future. There has been a commitment | :16:16. | :16:19. | |
to space spores and space planes, but the minister needs to keep his | :16:20. | :16:26. | |
feet on the ground for now. There are airport issues outstanding. The | :16:27. | :16:30. | |
Government still cannot agree on where to build a new runway in the | :16:31. | :16:38. | |
south-east. Heathrow is willing to meet the requirements set and they | :16:39. | :16:41. | |
have proven they are willing to go further. Surely the process to | :16:42. | :16:48. | |
secure the company's Premier future is important for our future as it is | :16:49. | :16:55. | |
for the rest of the United Kingdom. Heathrow for us, for Belfast city | :16:56. | :17:02. | |
and the Belfast International airport and is collectivity guess as | :17:03. | :17:06. | |
to the rest of the world and it will help our economy grow as well. Some | :17:07. | :17:13. | |
of the things we have seen over the last few weeks when it comes to | :17:14. | :17:17. | |
collectivity, I know it is not my constituency, but it is good to | :17:18. | :17:23. | |
recognise it. We have more direct lines that go to China and get the | :17:24. | :17:29. | |
collectivity right and make sure we all benefit across the whole of the | :17:30. | :17:35. | |
United Kingdom. One of those who was speaking yesterday in relation to | :17:36. | :17:40. | |
Heathrow three said they will be praise for the futuristic vision and | :17:41. | :17:43. | |
there were complaints that the Government's programme made no | :17:44. | :17:49. | |
mention of long range expansion to airports in the south East. There | :17:50. | :17:55. | |
was no commitment to make a final decision on a new runway for more | :17:56. | :18:00. | |
conventional aircraft, although there was a discussion about the | :18:01. | :18:07. | |
spaceport. I wish the Government to make the decision once and for all. | :18:08. | :18:13. | |
Every member who has spoken so far has referred to the bus services and | :18:14. | :18:19. | |
they are most welcome and I bet the Government for that as well, but we | :18:20. | :18:23. | |
need to see that commit and turned into action. The bill has the | :18:24. | :18:27. | |
opportunity to make a real difference to people. Talking buses | :18:28. | :18:35. | |
are an exciting prospect for the future and if you look at its | :18:36. | :18:42. | |
implementation, it will make a great difference to vulnerable people. We | :18:43. | :18:48. | |
are facing competition from over 20 other rivals including the United | :18:49. | :18:54. | |
Arab Emirates in regard to spaceports. The bill paves the way, | :18:55. | :19:03. | |
but like the bus services Bill, we need to see that vision become a | :19:04. | :19:06. | |
reality. A quick comment about drones. We need to have better | :19:07. | :19:12. | |
monitoring, better regulation, better control. We need to make sure | :19:13. | :19:18. | |
they are used correctly. Like many things if they are used correctly, | :19:19. | :19:23. | |
they can benefit us all. But when they are used in a dangerous fashion | :19:24. | :19:28. | |
and for the wrong reasons, for example to bring drugs, mobile | :19:29. | :19:33. | |
phones and money into jails over the walls, there is something wrong. If | :19:34. | :19:38. | |
they are used in a dangerous fashion around airports, we have to control | :19:39. | :19:43. | |
that also. Infrastructure does not mean just transport. The Government | :19:44. | :19:52. | |
are in danger of not finishing the last infrastructure, the Internet. | :19:53. | :20:00. | |
Many honourable members here do not have proper access to broadband yet. | :20:01. | :20:05. | |
It is a commitment that is still moving towards 2020 and it still has | :20:06. | :20:09. | |
to be delivered on. Every UK household has a legal right to a | :20:10. | :20:15. | |
fast broadband connection, but it is something that has to be put into a | :20:16. | :20:22. | |
reality. Hundreds of my constituents contact me each and every week about | :20:23. | :20:27. | |
broadband connection and this is an issue that has been brought up in | :20:28. | :20:32. | |
the House, in Westminster Hall. 30% of my constituents cannot get it. | :20:33. | :20:39. | |
The Government committed some money sometime ago and that money has now | :20:40. | :20:44. | |
out. It is time we had a concrete, strategic plan on paper as to how we | :20:45. | :20:50. | |
will reach 100% and in my constituency I want to see that | :20:51. | :20:56. | |
happening. I am pleased to see the commitment to the 1 million houses. | :20:57. | :20:59. | |
I am interested to see how that will work. Again it is important that we | :21:00. | :21:06. | |
have that in place. I will make a plea for social housing and make | :21:07. | :21:10. | |
sure that there is opportunity for those to acquire housing at a rent | :21:11. | :21:14. | |
or at a mortgage value they can afford. I would like to touch on | :21:15. | :21:22. | |
another couple of issues. We have a commitment to the infamous supertax. | :21:23. | :21:25. | |
I fully and totally support it and welcome it. -- the sugar tax. They | :21:26. | :21:36. | |
may be some controversy over the issue, but it is clear what side | :21:37. | :21:41. | |
those who want to make a positive difference are on. Some of my | :21:42. | :21:45. | |
colleagues have a different opinion, but I am pleased to see a Government | :21:46. | :21:53. | |
commitment to that. From obesity, sports clubs, cancer charities, all | :21:54. | :21:57. | |
the stakeholders who want to be on side are on the right side of this | :21:58. | :22:03. | |
measure. It is a good step in the right direction. We have to reduce | :22:04. | :22:11. | |
the risk of diseases associated with obesity of which there are many. | :22:12. | :22:18. | |
There is opposition by those who are affected, but I am pleased to see | :22:19. | :22:23. | |
the Government has done that. No contribution would be complete | :22:24. | :22:27. | |
without the mandatory opinion of the European Union. There is no surprise | :22:28. | :22:32. | |
that I am in the outcome. I wonder why the Queen 's speech was a bit | :22:33. | :22:38. | |
low-key. The abject failure on re-negotiation has put it to the | :22:39. | :22:40. | |
back of the mind of the nation as far as possible. The much lauded | :22:41. | :22:48. | |
sovereignty bill is now going to be scrapped. | :22:49. | :22:57. | |
Time will tell where that will be on the 23rd of June and whatever the | :22:58. | :23:15. | |
result is made. We all know such a move will have little or no impact. | :23:16. | :23:19. | |
The only impact this will have a showing levels of desperation. | :23:20. | :23:27. | |
Playing immigration politics with health. The latest in a long list of | :23:28. | :23:33. | |
insults. The Prime Minister may have a good breadth... We all know | :23:34. | :23:43. | |
resurfacing from such a low depths is dangerous and we're not sure what | :23:44. | :23:48. | |
state of mind he will in. There the issues and I conclude with this. I | :23:49. | :23:56. | |
am pleased to see the issues I've referred to. I am particularly | :23:57. | :24:02. | |
pleased to see the adoption Bill and speed up the system and the delays. | :24:03. | :24:09. | |
Also pleased to see the issue of a reform in prisons. You can build | :24:10. | :24:14. | |
nice, new prisons, but if you don't address the issue of neo- Nazism, | :24:15. | :24:22. | |
radical Islamism, you have to address that issue as well. I look | :24:23. | :24:37. | |
forward to the visit by the President of Colombia. The reason | :24:38. | :24:40. | |
why it is important is because we have a peace process that has worked | :24:41. | :24:46. | |
and it is good to see peace is assembling some sort of normality in | :24:47. | :24:50. | |
Colombia. We welcome that, look forward to that and look forward to | :24:51. | :25:00. | |
securing further process. This party fully committed to the peace | :25:01. | :25:11. | |
process. Our election results is an indication of that. We believe in | :25:12. | :25:23. | |
democratic process. Thank you. Can I turn briefly to the words of the | :25:24. | :25:28. | |
honourable member and E the sentiments made about the visit of | :25:29. | :25:34. | |
the president of Colombia and pay tribute to members from all sides in | :25:35. | :25:38. | |
Northern Ireland who have played a role in the Colombian peace process. | :25:39. | :25:42. | |
I believe members can be proud of the role our colleagues from | :25:43. | :25:47. | |
Northern Ireland played in making the peace process successful. Can I | :25:48. | :25:58. | |
welcome those parts of the gracious address that we are able to support, | :25:59. | :26:03. | |
particularly those purloined successfully from the manifesto. I | :26:04. | :26:07. | |
am pleased the Government will be proceeding with the infrastructure | :26:08. | :26:14. | |
commission. I am pleased to measure -- welcome the measures on the buses | :26:15. | :26:20. | |
bill. I was concerned to hear about the restrictions the Government | :26:21. | :26:24. | |
seems to be placing on these, the ability to regulate bus services | :26:25. | :26:30. | |
will only be extended to areas where the Government has decided there | :26:31. | :26:39. | |
will be an elected mayor. The Government says they don't have a | :26:40. | :26:43. | |
one size fits all policy but they may precede with one on the basis | :26:44. | :26:51. | |
they are going to require out Cheshire Western West and East and | :26:52. | :26:55. | |
Warrington to adopt a male role structure in an area it is not | :26:56. | :27:03. | |
suitable for. The requirement comes with a carrot and a stick and there | :27:04. | :27:09. | |
is no carrot unless we take on an elected may. It is wrong for the | :27:10. | :27:15. | |
area that I represent and I do ask the Minister to bear that in mind. I | :27:16. | :27:23. | |
also welcome the move is to improve infrastructure for electric | :27:24. | :27:27. | |
vehicles. But as I made in the House following the question of the | :27:28. | :27:35. | |
Honourable member for Strangford, infrastructure includes knowledge | :27:36. | :27:38. | |
infrastructure. Electric vehicles are entirely different from those | :27:39. | :27:43. | |
driven by petrol or diesel and I would urge ministers to consider the | :27:44. | :27:48. | |
proposals of the in situ at the motor industry to provide a training | :27:49. | :27:52. | |
and certification programme for engineers said they are aware of the | :27:53. | :28:01. | |
dangers electric vehicles pose to those who work in the industry and | :28:02. | :28:04. | |
are properly trained to deal with these electric engines. I wish to | :28:05. | :28:12. | |
turn in particular to transport infrastructure and the provision is | :28:13. | :28:19. | |
made in the gracious address. In the gracious address, Her Majesty said | :28:20. | :28:22. | |
the Government will continue to support the development of the | :28:23. | :28:26. | |
Northern powerhouse. For me I suspect this is little more than a | :28:27. | :28:30. | |
sham, a slogan to distract from the fact that the suspect -- substance | :28:31. | :28:39. | |
is lacking. It has us all talking about the northern powerhouse rather | :28:40. | :28:42. | |
than examining what the substance is. It has become an accepted | :28:43. | :28:50. | |
reality, a display of mastery in terms of destruction. London gets | :28:51. | :28:54. | |
Crossrail and Crossrail two and now another runway and I confess I do | :28:55. | :29:00. | |
not have a dog in the fight when it comes to wear a new runway would be. | :29:01. | :29:06. | |
I suspect it should be Heathrow if only because that is the option | :29:07. | :29:12. | |
least far away from the country. I would be concerned that | :29:13. | :29:14. | |
infrastructure development is merely seen as an extension of London | :29:15. | :29:22. | |
infrastructure. I have always supported HS2 and will support | :29:23. | :29:29. | |
three, four and five. Investment that brings returns in the shapes of | :29:30. | :29:33. | |
jobs and the spirit to you but I have to say, at the time before I | :29:34. | :29:39. | |
was a member of this place, I wanted HS2 to be built from the north to | :29:40. | :29:44. | |
the south. Instead I fear all we will get is a London to Birmingham | :29:45. | :29:48. | |
line that will do little to encourage growth north. If we do, | :29:49. | :29:54. | |
then we in the north-west of England will become a client region of | :29:55. | :30:00. | |
London, feeding off the scraps of London's economic growth. I was | :30:01. | :30:06. | |
concerned to hear the Secretary of State talk about HSBC transferring | :30:07. | :30:09. | |
their jobs to Birmingham as though that is somehow something to be | :30:10. | :30:16. | |
proud of. It distracts from the whole point which is infrastructure | :30:17. | :30:20. | |
development should generate economic growth of its own not simply shift | :30:21. | :30:27. | |
growth across. The danger now is that the Treasury have announced | :30:28. | :30:33. | |
they will take over the HS2 project and threatened to trim it back so | :30:34. | :30:38. | |
that none of the benefits will be delivered for the north-west. I give | :30:39. | :30:49. | |
way. I am very grateful. In that trimming back process, there is some | :30:50. | :30:54. | |
suggestion the HS2 station at Manchester Airport might have to be | :30:55. | :30:59. | |
dropped. Does he agreed that would be incredibly short-sighted because | :31:00. | :31:02. | |
it is not just about having high-speed rail links to the airport | :31:03. | :31:09. | |
running north to south, but with HS three going east to west, the | :31:10. | :31:14. | |
airport really ought to be a hub and that provides new links, not just | :31:15. | :31:19. | |
from the north-east right the way through to Manchester Airport, but | :31:20. | :31:23. | |
also to places like Chester and beyond in the other direction? The | :31:24. | :31:30. | |
use to talk about an integrated transport policy that might be a few | :31:31. | :31:36. | |
local buses and railway services. What my honourable friend has | :31:37. | :31:42. | |
identified is a transport policy that includes international | :31:43. | :31:47. | |
transport as well. The Secretary of State talked about HS2 having an | :31:48. | :31:53. | |
impact. The danger is because of the uncertainty it is having a negative | :31:54. | :31:58. | |
impact and we are seeing this in the north-west where investment | :31:59. | :32:01. | |
decisions are being delayed until we find out what is being proposed. If | :32:02. | :32:07. | |
the Government is serious about the northern powerhouse, he needs to put | :32:08. | :32:13. | |
a stop to the speculation and commit to an HS2 that benefits the whole of | :32:14. | :32:18. | |
the North. I do not want to see HS2 simply as a new line painted on the | :32:19. | :32:25. | |
London underground map, making the Midlands and extension of London. | :32:26. | :32:31. | |
This means making the reality of a true Northern Rail hub with at least | :32:32. | :32:37. | |
seven HS2 trains stopping an hour to make connections to Cheshire, | :32:38. | :32:50. | |
Warrington and beyond. We need to make sure it is not just people | :32:51. | :32:56. | |
living close to the stations that benefit in the ?40 billion invested. | :32:57. | :32:59. | |
No calls roads and railways should be built to allow all constituents, | :33:00. | :33:09. | |
including the right Honourable member to be able to take advantage | :33:10. | :33:13. | |
of the new services quickly and easily. I understand capacity is a | :33:14. | :33:19. | |
fundamental drive of HS2 but so is reliability and speed. If HS2 above | :33:20. | :33:27. | |
Birmingham is simply designed to link the London, Birmingham, | :33:28. | :33:31. | |
Manchester, it will do more damage than it saves by sucking investment | :33:32. | :33:34. | |
and economic growth out of those areas such as mine and preventing | :33:35. | :33:46. | |
them taking full advantage. I warn ministers the Government really does | :33:47. | :34:06. | |
risk stats Ching -- snatching... Allowing the Treasury to take over | :34:07. | :34:11. | |
the project, we all know has to take place, slashing and burning -- | :34:12. | :34:19. | |
burning one investment, cutting out the hub at Crewe, cutting out the | :34:20. | :34:25. | |
Manchester Airport option mentioned earlier, all of these parts will | :34:26. | :34:29. | |
generate the returns that is demanded by that investment. The | :34:30. | :34:36. | |
Cheshire, West Cheshire and North Wales economic area is one of the | :34:37. | :34:39. | |
fastest-growing in the UK. If the Government wants to pull the plug on | :34:40. | :34:46. | |
that, it's easy, cancelled the HS2 hub at Crewe. If I can return | :34:47. | :34:50. | |
briefly to the area of Road transport and the Minister will no | :34:51. | :34:56. | |
where I am going on this, the end 56 is in need of an upgrade to deal | :34:57. | :35:02. | |
with the possible congestion drivers experience on a daily basis and I | :35:03. | :35:06. | |
know the investment needs to go far beyond this. I have to say to the | :35:07. | :35:11. | |
Minister that I remain disappointment that no action is | :35:12. | :35:17. | |
planned before 2020 and I remind him this is a cross-party campaign, the | :35:18. | :35:22. | |
honourable member is leading the campaign, it has support across the | :35:23. | :35:27. | |
parties because of the importance of the motorway, not just to my area | :35:28. | :35:33. | |
but as a principal artery into North Wales as well. Unless the Government | :35:34. | :35:39. | |
commits to that work now, they will stifle further economic growth and I | :35:40. | :35:44. | |
remind members again that it is not just my area but part of Merseyside, | :35:45. | :35:50. | |
right through into North Wales that depend on the route. If I was being | :35:51. | :35:55. | |
cynical I might predict the Government might make a promise to | :35:56. | :36:00. | |
upgrade the motorway just before the 2020 election, but how such a | :36:01. | :36:03. | |
promise will be taken with the same scepticism as their other promises | :36:04. | :36:11. | |
as the collapse of their pledge to invest in railways. The local | :36:12. | :36:16. | |
authorities are clear about where investment is needed. If there plans | :36:17. | :36:21. | |
doubled the size of their economy are to be delivered and the | :36:22. | :36:24. | |
Government needs to commit to supporting fees. Transport | :36:25. | :36:31. | |
infrastructure doesn't come cheap. In calling for the electrification | :36:32. | :36:36. | |
of the crew to justice Russian -- Chesterton line, upgrade of the | :36:37. | :36:44. | |
M546, I am calling for cash spending which requires prioritisation. | :36:45. | :36:48. | |
Investment must be considered as that, investment to generate | :36:49. | :36:57. | |
economic growth. My area has proved its ability to grow. Its local | :36:58. | :37:01. | |
enterprise partnerships proved its ability to work with local | :37:02. | :37:05. | |
authorities across the political spectrum to deliver that growth and | :37:06. | :37:09. | |
bring in businesses from right across the sectors to work together | :37:10. | :37:14. | |
to achieve that growth. If the Government is willing to waste 70 | :37:15. | :37:18. | |
million on and on needed vanity garden bridge across the Thames, it | :37:19. | :37:23. | |
can recognise HS2 is a national project that must benefit the whole | :37:24. | :37:28. | |
of the nation and allow the nation to grow under its own enterprise and | :37:29. | :37:33. | |
not allow London to be the sole driver of economic growth in the UK. | :37:34. | :37:41. | |
Without the correct infrastructure in place, it seems that crumbs from | :37:42. | :37:45. | |
the London table will be all that we get. | :37:46. | :37:49. | |
Can I start I saying that at a time of major economic challenges, it has | :37:50. | :37:57. | |
become obvious that Her Majesty needs a new script writer who can | :37:58. | :38:01. | |
add more substance to the Gracious Speech? As I read it 21 bills | :38:02. | :38:07. | |
mentioned, I thought this was simply a stalled government awaiting the | :38:08. | :38:12. | |
results of the EU referendum but this morning, listening to the | :38:13. | :38:18. | |
Leader of the House, he indicated that at the conclusion of these 21 | :38:19. | :38:23. | |
bills, this would complete the full accomplishment of the Tory manifesto | :38:24. | :38:30. | |
after only two years, so a threadbare Queen's Speech with no | :38:31. | :38:33. | |
future plans, a period of long-term economic misery awaiting many | :38:34. | :38:39. | |
people. We should be addressing the chronic problem of productivity in | :38:40. | :38:46. | |
this country. The matter is not even mentioned, the word productivity | :38:47. | :38:51. | |
does not even appear in the Queen's Speech. Before a address some issues | :38:52. | :38:58. | |
of transport and infrastructure, I would like to address a matter | :38:59. | :39:02. | |
related to initiatives in the future connected with anti-terrorism, and | :39:03. | :39:07. | |
here I would like to give some praise to the Government. If you | :39:08. | :39:11. | |
wish to go I brought forward a ten minute rule motion on the subject of | :39:12. | :39:16. | |
establishing standards for forensic linguistic analysts who can analyse | :39:17. | :39:23. | |
text messages and help identify some of the most dangerous people in our | :39:24. | :39:28. | |
society. Although that rule Bill has fallen, the Government have agreed | :39:29. | :39:33. | |
to a meeting with me to discuss if they could take this up in the | :39:34. | :39:38. | |
future and I am grateful for that. But the measures in the speech, I | :39:39. | :39:43. | |
welcome some moves relating to transport and I want to comment | :39:44. | :39:48. | |
briefly on a couple of those areas. When considering the buses built, I | :39:49. | :39:53. | |
would ask the Government to remember amongst others the needs of | :39:54. | :39:57. | |
students, especially those in rural areas who attend colleges. The | :39:58. | :40:03. | |
National Union of Students has already pointed out they consider | :40:04. | :40:08. | |
this one of the major warriors to some students engaging and so I hope | :40:09. | :40:12. | |
the Government will consider that perhaps it would be a good idea to | :40:13. | :40:18. | |
engage soon unfairly deep conversations with the NUS to | :40:19. | :40:26. | |
address the issue. I would like to address an issue raised ride the | :40:27. | :40:33. | |
honourable member for Worsley. She mentioned the great Hall of the us | :40:34. | :40:39. | |
be women in Asian to pensions and she has done outstanding work on | :40:40. | :40:47. | |
behalf of them. She also mentioned concessionary travel schemes that | :40:48. | :40:51. | |
are very important for women and men of retirement age for nearing | :40:52. | :40:58. | |
retirement age. If I recall correctly she said the work in | :40:59. | :41:07. | |
England were in London you can engage with people of 60 but in many | :41:08. | :41:13. | |
areas it is 63 for women. Could I recommend they think about the | :41:14. | :41:18. | |
solution taken by the Scottish Government to have a flat rate entry | :41:19. | :41:25. | |
comment for women and men at the age of 64 concessionary travel. The | :41:26. | :41:29. | |
difference that has made to the lives of large numbers of women and | :41:30. | :41:35. | |
men over the age of 60 in Scotland has been remarkable, and when other | :41:36. | :41:42. | |
members have talked about health and well-being is so important, this | :41:43. | :41:46. | |
would command the support of the whole house. I thank him for raising | :41:47. | :41:55. | |
that point and I think that is a good suggestion for the Government, | :41:56. | :42:01. | |
to adopt the London model, which is for men and women to have | :42:02. | :42:04. | |
concessionary travel at 60. I met some Busby women last week and one | :42:05. | :42:10. | |
said she no longer goes out with a group of Nepal who work her friends | :42:11. | :42:15. | |
because she is still working, she cannot afford the fares, but they | :42:16. | :42:23. | |
have concessionary travel. How unfair to divide friends like that. | :42:24. | :42:29. | |
I thank her for that intervention and that adds to the point that this | :42:30. | :42:33. | |
is not just about travel but about the health and well-being and the | :42:34. | :42:38. | |
ability of people to win gauge with friends and in the community and to | :42:39. | :42:44. | |
contribute more to that community. I am grateful for him giving way. It | :42:45. | :42:51. | |
underlines the benefits of concessionary travel in terms of | :42:52. | :42:56. | |
mental health and with the scourge of loneliness and an ageing | :42:57. | :43:00. | |
population, more people are being isolated and the ability to travel | :43:01. | :43:06. | |
is a real boon. Does he agree with me this is something we should | :43:07. | :43:10. | |
encourage to reduce loneliness? A agree entirely, indeed one other | :43:11. | :43:16. | |
thing I would suggest to the Government is that when they look at | :43:17. | :43:20. | |
their disabled companion programme for those on a disability, it might | :43:21. | :43:27. | |
dig that idea to make that a national programme and not only | :43:28. | :43:30. | |
available on a regional basis, to bring it into line with what is | :43:31. | :43:35. | |
happening in Scotland, which is of great benefit to people who | :43:36. | :43:39. | |
otherwise face considerable disadvantages. I am aware of the | :43:40. | :43:45. | |
time, but I want to mention something that concerns me greatly | :43:46. | :43:49. | |
about the Government's infrastructure plans. When you look | :43:50. | :43:54. | |
at some of the ways in which it has been undertaken, I have to say it | :43:55. | :44:00. | |
leaves a lot to be desired, especially in relation to the way in | :44:01. | :44:05. | |
which some infrastructure projects have been funded and managed. I | :44:06. | :44:12. | |
would like to highlight what some might consider to be the financial | :44:13. | :44:16. | |
shenanigans undertaken in relation to the Thames Tideway Tunnel | :44:17. | :44:24. | |
project, just as an example. This controversial multi-billion pound | :44:25. | :44:28. | |
project has eight think model comprising of conventional equity, | :44:29. | :44:34. | |
made up of about 40% pure equity, 60% subordinated debt, plus | :44:35. | :44:41. | |
medium-term bank debt, to be refinanced with dons issued over a | :44:42. | :44:48. | |
six-year period. If market conditions prevent such a bond issue | :44:49. | :44:53. | |
arising, the youth came government provides a 500 million loan facility | :44:54. | :45:00. | |
as contingent support. Madam Deputy Speaker the ability associated with | :45:01. | :45:08. | |
the ?500 million support is unrecorded in UK Government | :45:09. | :45:14. | |
accounts. This parliament has never been informed of the details of this | :45:15. | :45:21. | |
type of contingent support. It is a dodge, it exposes customers, it | :45:22. | :45:25. | |
should be thoroughly examined by this House. We need to have proper | :45:26. | :45:32. | |
methods of financial management of major infrastructure projects. My | :45:33. | :45:37. | |
honourable friend earlier mentioned that Queensferry Crossing, very | :45:38. | :45:43. | |
close to my own constituency, the new bridge being built across the | :45:44. | :45:48. | |
Forth. Using a new model developed their call the Scottish futures | :45:49. | :45:52. | |
trust, which was due to me got rid of the horrendous PFI, this major | :45:53. | :46:01. | |
new bridge is coming in quicker than planned and ?1 billion under budget. | :46:02. | :46:07. | |
How many other major infrastructure projects in the UK can you recall | :46:08. | :46:12. | |
that art coming in quicker than planned and significantly under | :46:13. | :46:17. | |
budget? Perhaps there would be something to look at their in terms | :46:18. | :46:23. | |
of the Scottish Futures Trust model in terms of investment. We face many | :46:24. | :46:31. | |
transportation challenges in this country, we face many infrastructure | :46:32. | :46:40. | |
challenges. Perhaps above all, we face major productivity and economic | :46:41. | :46:44. | |
challenges. These all should have been featuring much more strongly in | :46:45. | :46:48. | |
this Queen 's speech. We need to do this not just for the benefit of | :46:49. | :46:55. | |
ourselves but for the benefit of future generations. Thank you, Madam | :46:56. | :47:04. | |
Deputy Speaker, for calling me to speak. I was eager to speak on the | :47:05. | :47:10. | |
question of transport because I believe there is arguably no more | :47:11. | :47:15. | |
potent a policy which has the capacity to drive increased economic | :47:16. | :47:21. | |
disparity than improved transport, and as a policy area transport | :47:22. | :47:27. | |
arguably requires ever man action more than any other. Infrastructure | :47:28. | :47:33. | |
projects only pay back over the long-term and in the case of real | :47:34. | :47:39. | |
ways, decades. Business finds such project is difficult to finance the | :47:40. | :47:44. | |
way back, including more jobs, increased housing and more diverse | :47:45. | :47:50. | |
business sectors, are critical to our continued prosperity. It is not | :47:51. | :47:54. | |
only politicians who believe this business. Business requires | :47:55. | :48:00. | |
government to show leadership and signal its commitment to helping our | :48:01. | :48:05. | |
business community to deliver what we all agree they are best able to | :48:06. | :48:10. | |
do, increasing prosperity. Unfortunately I fear my constituency | :48:11. | :48:15. | |
and those of so many of my honourable friend will find little | :48:16. | :48:20. | |
comfort in the measures announced in this Queen 's speech. As this House | :48:21. | :48:26. | |
knows, this Government is fond of grant announcements act by grand | :48:27. | :48:33. | |
rhetoric, and no area of government policy is blessed with grand | :48:34. | :48:36. | |
rhetoric than transport. We hear much about sea changes in | :48:37. | :48:40. | |
Renaissance is from the other side of the House. A case in point, the | :48:41. | :48:45. | |
northern powerhouse, or its close relative HS2 Ray. These projects | :48:46. | :48:52. | |
both promise, we have been told, he renewed industrial revolution -- HS2 | :48:53. | :49:00. | |
Ray. As an MP who proudly represent the city of Bradford, I was keen to | :49:01. | :49:03. | |
hear more about how this Government intends to improve regional | :49:04. | :49:10. | |
transport, whether railways, buses, roads or error, to rekindle an | :49:11. | :49:14. | |
economic renaissance in my city. I hoped I could offer gratitude to | :49:15. | :49:19. | |
this Government for investing in Bradford, helping make judgments to | :49:20. | :49:24. | |
realise their potential, but in reality little has emerged from this | :49:25. | :49:29. | |
Government's Queen's Speech, other than confirmation that this term of | :49:30. | :49:36. | |
office will be marked by broken promises and a litany of excuses. | :49:37. | :49:40. | |
Despite six years of the so-called northern powerhouse, the only | :49:41. | :49:44. | |
reality is felt by Bradford have been bruising government cuts and a | :49:45. | :49:49. | |
continuing concentration of wealth, economic activity and investment in | :49:50. | :49:55. | |
London and the south-east. Until I and other MPs founded the Government | :49:56. | :50:02. | |
into a U-turn, we faced a broken promise on transport elective | :50:03. | :50:07. | |
occasion. This has now been reinstated, although with a less | :50:08. | :50:12. | |
ambitious delivery date. Bradford is the fifth largest local authority in | :50:13. | :50:16. | |
great Wetton with a growing population of over 20,000 people. It | :50:17. | :50:23. | |
has benefited by having the youngest population of any city in the UK, | :50:24. | :50:30. | |
with 23.5% of the population being under 16 years of age. In ten years' | :50:31. | :50:40. | |
time the population is expected to increase to 969 thousand, Bradford's | :50:41. | :50:50. | |
economy is valued at ?9.2 billion. The 11th largest in the UK. The city | :50:51. | :50:56. | |
is home to a number of major companies including Morrisons, | :50:57. | :51:01. | |
Princes, Santander, Provident financial, and Hallmark cards. In | :51:02. | :51:07. | |
total 17 thousand witnesses called the district of Bradford their home, | :51:08. | :51:12. | |
providing employment to over 195,000 people. Despite these figures, | :51:13. | :51:18. | |
Bradford continues to be shackled by poor connectivity, which is | :51:19. | :51:24. | |
especially glaring when we take time to consider the cities regional | :51:25. | :51:29. | |
relics. Unlike comparators, it has few direct services to other major | :51:30. | :51:34. | |
regional cities. For example, Bradford has no direct rail services | :51:35. | :51:42. | |
to Liverpool, Sheffield, Newcastle, whole or Manchester Airport. And | :51:43. | :51:47. | |
where it does have a major direct service to regional cities like | :51:48. | :51:51. | |
Manchester, the average speed of the journey is 33 mph. A further | :51:52. | :51:57. | |
indictment is a poor regional rail link with Leeds. Currently 45,000 | :51:58. | :52:03. | |
workers commute between Leeds and Bradford everyday, the largest flow | :52:04. | :52:10. | |
between any two major cities in the UK, but despite the two city centres | :52:11. | :52:14. | |
being only eight miles apart, three quarters of these journeys are made | :52:15. | :52:20. | |
by car, an unbelievable figure. As many will recall, since I was | :52:21. | :52:27. | |
elected to this House I have reserved my precious few | :52:28. | :52:30. | |
opportunities to question the Prime Minister directly on the subject of | :52:31. | :52:33. | |
regional rail improvement. I first asked about the Government's broken | :52:34. | :52:40. | |
promise around TransPennine elective occasion and my second question | :52:41. | :52:44. | |
centred on the elective occasion of the Calder Valley line, given the | :52:45. | :52:49. | |
key role it promises to play in HS2 Ray and Bradford's and activity. | :52:50. | :53:05. | |
The northern powerhouse and he at present promise no increase in | :53:06. | :53:13. | |
regional connectivity for Bradford. For a city of Bradford's size, the | :53:14. | :53:22. | |
11th largest city in the UK, to be notable by its absence from one of | :53:23. | :53:26. | |
the Government 's flagship infrastructure projects is a stark | :53:27. | :53:31. | |
and disturbing oversight. There was an opportunity in this Queen 's | :53:32. | :53:35. | |
speech to put right this error and to bring forward measures to better | :53:36. | :53:41. | |
connect what is a vital cog in this country is engine room of growth. It | :53:42. | :53:46. | |
is a shame this Government has not chosen to take this opportunity. | :53:47. | :53:56. | |
What an extraordinary waste of time. I counted 42 announcements in the | :53:57. | :54:02. | |
Queens speech and only four of those have not been announced before | :54:03. | :54:08. | |
yesterday. This is a Queens speech which risks being a waste of the | :54:09. | :54:15. | |
Queen's time, the people's time and parliament's time. I cannot recall | :54:16. | :54:20. | |
seeing a queen's speech debate in which the speakers from the | :54:21. | :54:27. | |
Government benches have run out and for the rest of this debate, the | :54:28. | :54:33. | |
benches have been entirely empty. Headline measures, headline measures | :54:34. | :54:37. | |
in this legislation for this year, a little more than a middle managers | :54:38. | :54:45. | |
task list. Stop radical preachers from taking jobs in elderly care | :54:46. | :54:55. | |
homes. Longer school days, more NHS charging for non-EU citizens for the | :54:56. | :55:00. | |
NHS, money for schools bought through a fizzy drinks levy. This is | :55:01. | :55:10. | |
the so what Queen's speech. Minimal, managerial, marking time, minor | :55:11. | :55:14. | |
policy changes, hugely overblown and hugely over briefed to the Minister. | :55:15. | :55:22. | |
What however was not a waste of time was the speech from my honourable | :55:23. | :55:25. | |
friend the Shadow Transport Secretary and indeed many of the | :55:26. | :55:31. | |
speeches from all sides of this House this afternoon. My honourable | :55:32. | :55:38. | |
friend here warned in particular when the Secretary of State for | :55:39. | :55:41. | |
Transport who is not in his place on the bench again, she warned about | :55:42. | :55:47. | |
the gap between what this Government does and what this Government says. | :55:48. | :55:52. | |
She did however welcome the buses Bill and that seemed to get very | :55:53. | :55:56. | |
wide support in the House this afternoon. From the honourable | :55:57. | :56:04. | |
member from Bath, from the honourable friend from Sheffield | :56:05. | :56:08. | |
South East, who also referred to this as the Queen's sci-fi speech. | :56:09. | :56:14. | |
The honourable member made a point of how valuable the buses bill is | :56:15. | :56:21. | |
and it was said earlier on, she made it clear, we welcomed this buses | :56:22. | :56:28. | |
bill but she quite rightly questioned why only for the areas | :56:29. | :56:32. | |
with elected Mahers and so we want to see other mads get the same | :56:33. | :56:39. | |
powers in the same wheres way as they weighed this bill goes through | :56:40. | :56:43. | |
the House. She took the Government to task about the lack of a taxi | :56:44. | :56:49. | |
licensing bill. They want to see the system tightened up so drivers | :56:50. | :56:55. | |
rejected for a licence cannot sidestep that bar by getting a | :56:56. | :57:03. | |
licence in another area. But above all, she took the Secretary of State | :57:04. | :57:09. | |
for task over the continuing delay in government over any decision | :57:10. | :57:12. | |
about the expansion of airports in this country and in particular the | :57:13. | :57:16. | |
decision over that one way in Heathrow. Strongly backed by my | :57:17. | :57:23. | |
honourable friend with the authority she brings as the chair of the | :57:24. | :57:27. | |
transport committee, but also by the member for Bath, the member for | :57:28. | :57:34. | |
Inverness, by the member for Strangford and by my honourable | :57:35. | :57:41. | |
friend for Poplar and Limehouse. He put this in a very good ways, he | :57:42. | :57:50. | |
said the big absence in the Queen's speech was any announcement on | :57:51. | :57:54. | |
airports and on Heathrow. He described it as long over due and | :57:55. | :57:57. | |
reminded the Government about all the groundwork done by the previous | :57:58. | :58:03. | |
Labour government, a white Paper on aviation in 2003, the decision in | :58:04. | :58:08. | |
2008 to see the expansion of Heathrow and then nothing since. He | :58:09. | :58:13. | |
went on to talk about housing, he went on to talk about the damage | :58:14. | :58:20. | |
that the housing and planning act that has just reach the statute | :58:21. | :58:26. | |
book... Let me finish the point about his speech and then I will | :58:27. | :58:31. | |
give way. He went on to leasehold reform and he is one of the real | :58:32. | :58:36. | |
champions in this House about leasehold reform and I was glad to | :58:37. | :58:42. | |
hear that he is now taking an interest. For too long for both | :58:43. | :58:47. | |
governments, leasehold reform has been put in the too difficult to do | :58:48. | :58:54. | |
box so I say to the Minister, to the extent he is willing to act on this, | :58:55. | :58:58. | |
we are willing to support him where we can. I wanted to make the point | :58:59. | :59:07. | |
that given time pressures, what I didn't and wasn't able to point out | :59:08. | :59:12. | |
was our believe the Government's housing record is not very good and | :59:13. | :59:17. | |
notwithstanding the accusations that they have a house built record | :59:18. | :59:22. | |
better than ours, what they are taking credit for is what we paid | :59:23. | :59:29. | |
for and put in the planning before they came to office. He is quite | :59:30. | :59:36. | |
right. You sometimes hear this is a government that has built more | :59:37. | :59:41. | |
social homes than you did, 90% of those built were commissioned by the | :59:42. | :59:45. | |
last Labour government and largely funded by the last Labour government | :59:46. | :59:50. | |
and I have to say, I should know, I was the minister who did it. Let me | :59:51. | :59:58. | |
return to the member for Great Grimsby. She made a strong plea for | :59:59. | :00:05. | |
lower tolls on the Humber Bridge. A barrier, she said, not just to work | :00:06. | :00:12. | |
or trade but also to leisure. Can I say to the Secretary of State, my | :00:13. | :00:16. | |
honourable friend asked whether he would be prepared to meet her and | :00:17. | :00:23. | |
the other MPs from the area to discuss how the barriers that | :00:24. | :00:27. | |
transport creates, especially for young and older people to their | :00:28. | :00:31. | |
leisure as well as to their work and trade, could be overcome. I hope... | :00:32. | :00:38. | |
He is nodding, which is a good sign. I look forward to hearing when that | :00:39. | :00:43. | |
meeting will be going ahead. To my honourable friend for Denton and | :00:44. | :00:49. | |
Redditch, one thing he always brings to debate is passion and principal. | :00:50. | :00:55. | |
I love the way he speaks and he quite rightly said, intentions are | :00:56. | :01:00. | |
all fine but it is all actions we will judge and people will judge | :01:01. | :01:05. | |
this Government. It is fine to talk of social justice, of increased life | :01:06. | :01:10. | |
chances, reducing inequality but we look to the actions for proof that | :01:11. | :01:16. | |
the Government does what it says and means what it says at the same time | :01:17. | :01:21. | |
and frankly, when you look at the scrapping of the education | :01:22. | :01:25. | |
maintenance allowance, the introduction of bedroom tax, the | :01:26. | :01:32. | |
cutting benefits to disabled people, people working hard on low incomes, | :01:33. | :01:36. | |
all the signs point in the opposite direction. He describes finally this | :01:37. | :01:44. | |
Queen's speech as a missed opportunity and I made an | :01:45. | :01:47. | |
interesting argument and I don't know if that is one he will take up, | :01:48. | :01:53. | |
about whether or not as one of the consistent systematic checks this | :01:54. | :01:58. | |
House applies to any new legislation, we couldn't look at | :01:59. | :02:02. | |
whether we assessed its impact on national health and well-being as | :02:03. | :02:06. | |
well. To my honourable friend sitting next to him, the member for | :02:07. | :02:13. | |
Eccles South, there is no more forceful and better champion of | :02:14. | :02:18. | |
older people than she has been consistently over the years. She | :02:19. | :02:23. | |
gave us the extraordinary statistic that one in three carers now have to | :02:24. | :02:30. | |
wait six months in order to get an assessment of their needs, never | :02:31. | :02:34. | |
mind get those needs are met. She said quite rightly it is the cuts, | :02:35. | :02:40. | |
the 4.6 billion cuts to adult social care that are a big part of that | :02:41. | :02:45. | |
story. Rightly she said, nothing in this speech to reassure people | :02:46. | :02:50. | |
conserved about this that the essential funding is in place and no | :02:51. | :02:54. | |
pensions bill either to deal with the problem is that the 2.6 million | :02:55. | :02:59. | |
older women she talks about that have been hit so hard by the recent | :03:00. | :03:05. | |
pension changes. The honourable member who has left the chamber, | :03:06. | :03:12. | |
argued that perhaps adopting the Scottish and London model for | :03:13. | :03:17. | |
concessionary travel might help. My honourable friend for Bradford South | :03:18. | :03:21. | |
quite rightly reminded the House business demands better | :03:22. | :03:27. | |
infrastructure and when you look at a city as big as Bradford, as rich | :03:28. | :03:32. | |
in business history and business innovation as it is now, it is being | :03:33. | :03:37. | |
badly let down by the quality of the investment and transport | :03:38. | :03:44. | |
infrastructure to support it. Grand rhetoric, she described, is what we | :03:45. | :03:49. | |
get from government when real investment, change, improvement | :03:50. | :03:53. | |
falls so far short of that and she says people in her city, businesses | :03:54. | :03:58. | |
and residents alike, will find little comfort in the Queen's | :03:59. | :04:03. | |
speech. I like the argument made reminding the House and the front | :04:04. | :04:09. | |
bench that intellectual infrastructure is part of what we | :04:10. | :04:16. | |
require. It isn't just hard building and capital projects. He urged a | :04:17. | :04:21. | |
training and certification programme for engineers involved in the | :04:22. | :04:26. | |
development of electric vehicles, for instance, and the electric | :04:27. | :04:29. | |
infrastructure to support those road vehicles. He made an important point | :04:30. | :04:35. | |
and one that I and many colleagues in Yorkshire and Humber share. A | :04:36. | :04:40. | |
real fear that HS2 will simple mean faster rail journeys between London | :04:41. | :04:47. | |
and Birmingham, that he said the north-west will be left out and I | :04:48. | :04:51. | |
feel Yorkshire will be left out and I have to say the Secretary of State | :04:52. | :04:56. | |
did nothing to reassure the House about the plans or promises of HS2 | :04:57. | :05:05. | |
being delivered in full. Now, when the Secretary of State opened this | :05:06. | :05:09. | |
debate, he talked about UK infrastructure and with a flourish | :05:10. | :05:15. | |
he picked two dates. 1997 and 2010. In 2010, Labour's last year in | :05:16. | :05:23. | |
government, public sector investment or if you like the infrastructure | :05:24. | :05:28. | |
investment from government was 3.4% of GDP. One year later, after the | :05:29. | :05:38. | |
Chancellor did his cuts, it was down to 2.8%. 2.8% in that first year of | :05:39. | :05:48. | |
the last parliament. By the end of the parliament, it was 1.9% GDP. By | :05:49. | :05:57. | |
the end of this Parliament it will be 1.5%. That is the reality. | :05:58. | :06:03. | |
Between the great rhetoric my honourable friend talks about and | :06:04. | :06:07. | |
the actions and the investment and the long-term commitments we see | :06:08. | :06:14. | |
from this Government. So, housing investment, part of the picture. | :06:15. | :06:21. | |
Slashed by 60% in that first year of their last government in 2010. Roads | :06:22. | :06:28. | |
investment slashed in the same year by ?4 billion. The renewables | :06:29. | :06:36. | |
obligation, creating the funding to invest in green energy, removed | :06:37. | :06:42. | |
entirely. This is the reality of what happens when they do rather | :06:43. | :06:49. | |
than talk. The honourable member from Sedgefield, he spoke about why | :06:50. | :06:53. | |
this sort of investment is so important, why it is more than just | :06:54. | :06:59. | |
simply figures, he talked about Hitachi. Huge number of jobs, big | :07:00. | :07:05. | |
boost to the growth of that region because of the investment in our | :07:06. | :07:12. | |
rail system and in the rolling stock required in order to upgrade it. It | :07:13. | :07:17. | |
is that sort of impact in all parts of the country that makes this | :07:18. | :07:22. | |
infrastructure investment more than simply a matter of political and | :07:23. | :07:26. | |
policy debate but one with real impact when we get it right in areas | :07:27. | :07:28. | |
right across the country. But instead of this investment in | :07:29. | :07:38. | |
our future, the Chancellor and Conservative ministers have cut back | :07:39. | :07:42. | |
investment to secure our place in the world, stronger growth and the | :07:43. | :07:49. | |
future welfare of our citizens. The Secretary of State also tried to | :07:50. | :07:55. | |
tell us that yesterday's Queen's Speech was about building a | :07:56. | :08:00. | |
stronger, more resilient, more modern economy, but I have to say | :08:01. | :08:06. | |
after six years of failure, it's clear the Government is doing no | :08:07. | :08:13. | |
such thing, that the Chancellor didn't fix our economic foundations | :08:14. | :08:17. | |
after the global crash. Any right-wing hard-line Finance | :08:18. | :08:21. | |
Minister can cut public spending but his dodging the really tough | :08:22. | :08:25. | |
decisions that he himself promised to take in 2010. Rather than helping | :08:26. | :08:32. | |
British with this is sell to the world, our UK trade gap was a record | :08:33. | :08:41. | |
96 billion in the red last year, the biggest ever deficit since records | :08:42. | :08:49. | |
began in 1948. Rather than reforming the finance sector and rebuilding | :08:50. | :08:52. | |
our production base, jobs in manufacturing in this country are | :08:53. | :08:58. | |
still almost 10% below the level of the pre-global crisis and crash, and | :08:59. | :09:02. | |
rather than rebalancing the economy away from or debt and household | :09:03. | :09:08. | |
consumption, household debt is now forecast to top pre-crash levels and | :09:09. | :09:15. | |
reach 160% of income by the end of this Parliament. So a failure, six | :09:16. | :09:23. | |
years of failure on the economy, an effect that by many of the measures | :09:24. | :09:29. | |
in the Queen's Speech. Six years of failure also on housing on all | :09:30. | :09:36. | |
fronts. So after 2 million more homes were built, 1 million more | :09:37. | :09:41. | |
households became homeowners under Labour, were seen failure on all | :09:42. | :09:46. | |
fronts since 2010. And when this Queen's Speech needed a direction on | :09:47. | :09:52. | |
housing and planning, we got more of the same. Six years of failure, | :09:53. | :10:00. | |
200,000 fewer homeowners in this country, a third of a million fewer | :10:01. | :10:08. | |
under 35, Young people able to own their home now than when the Prime | :10:09. | :10:13. | |
Minister took over. The number of homeless families risen by a third, | :10:14. | :10:18. | |
rough sleeping doubled, up by a herd in the last year alone, and the | :10:19. | :10:24. | |
point my honourable friend for Poplar made earlier, last year that | :10:25. | :10:30. | |
fewest affordable homes built for over two decades. And a housing | :10:31. | :10:37. | |
benefit will that has risen by ?2 billion in real terms over the | :10:38. | :10:43. | |
course of the last Parliament. My honourable friend the chair of the | :10:44. | :10:48. | |
select committee, took the minister to task over his target of 1 million | :10:49. | :10:56. | |
new homes, made the strong argument that social housing, new social | :10:57. | :11:01. | |
housing, affordable housing to rent, must be part of the picture, a point | :11:02. | :11:06. | |
echoed ID honourable member for Strangford. The honourable member | :11:07. | :11:16. | |
for Kilmarnock made a similar point. The sovereign yesterday, in the | :11:17. | :11:20. | |
other place, said, my government will support aspiration and promote | :11:21. | :11:24. | |
home ownership through its commitment to build a million new | :11:25. | :11:33. | |
homes. Build new homes. I say to the minister, who plays fast and loose | :11:34. | :11:37. | |
with figures sometimes, you cannot house people in planning | :11:38. | :11:43. | |
permissions. You can't live in a start. It's new homes built that | :11:44. | :11:50. | |
count and I have to say that to build a million new homes in this | :11:51. | :11:54. | |
Parliament, he has to do a great deal better than we've seen in the | :11:55. | :11:59. | |
last six years. There were fewer new homes tilt to the last Parliament | :12:00. | :12:05. | |
than under any government in peacetime since the 1920s. Even the | :12:06. | :12:13. | |
latest year, 2015, the full year, the number of new homes completed is | :12:14. | :12:17. | |
still so far below where they need to be, a total of just 143 thousand. | :12:18. | :12:26. | |
Still 24% below the peak under Labour during our 13 years. Because | :12:27. | :12:33. | |
growth has been so sluggish under this Government, astonishingly, | :12:34. | :12:40. | |
growing at only 2% on average since 2020, if they don't improve that run | :12:41. | :12:46. | |
rate they won't hit their target until 2033 -- since 2010. So, some | :12:47. | :12:55. | |
of the best policies are bigger than party politics and I will move on to | :12:56. | :13:03. | |
a few. They can command a broad consensus, Bank of England | :13:04. | :13:07. | |
independence, the National planning at, localisation of council planning | :13:08. | :13:14. | |
finance, and in that neighbourhood planning Bill there is a welcome | :13:15. | :13:19. | |
commitment to put the national infrastructure commitment on a | :13:20. | :13:25. | |
statutory footing, as recommended by Labour's review in the last | :13:26. | :13:28. | |
Parliament, so we are pleased the Government has taken that up. We | :13:29. | :13:33. | |
look forward to seeing what come. Purchase powers the Government will | :13:34. | :13:39. | |
bring in this bill. Labour's Lyons review in the last Parliament | :13:40. | :13:44. | |
recommended updating legislation for CPUs to streamline and simplify the | :13:45. | :13:51. | |
powers and to secure CPUs closer to existing use value, so I hope we | :13:52. | :13:57. | |
will see these suggestions in the legislation, among the tests we will | :13:58. | :14:02. | |
use for this bill, but we will oppose the privatisation of the | :14:03. | :14:06. | |
public Land Registry because this will undermine the trust of | :14:07. | :14:11. | |
homeowners, mortgage lenders and solicitors, and risk the essential | :14:12. | :14:15. | |
neutrality, equality and transparency that the registry | :14:16. | :14:20. | |
offered. It's a gift to tax evaders and tax of orders. Mr Deputy | :14:21. | :14:27. | |
Speaker, just to remind the House, the Land Registry returned profits | :14:28. | :14:35. | |
to the taxpayer of ?100 million in 2012, it has delivered a surplus for | :14:36. | :14:44. | |
the taxpayer to the Treasury in 19 out of the last 20 years. It is a | :14:45. | :14:49. | |
public asset making money for the public purse and we should keep it | :14:50. | :14:53. | |
that way. The deeper truth about this Queen's Speech is a | :14:54. | :14:57. | |
Conservative Party riven over Europe and to divide it to prepare a | :14:58. | :15:04. | |
serious legislative programme that even tries to get to tips with the | :15:05. | :15:10. | |
country's problems. This is a Queen's Speech for a quiet life in | :15:11. | :15:14. | |
number ten Downing Street. It confirms a Prime Minister now past | :15:15. | :15:20. | |
his sell by date and as the former Work and Pensions Secretary said | :15:21. | :15:23. | |
when he walked out of the Government, policies are distinctly | :15:24. | :15:28. | |
political rather than in the National economic interest. This is | :15:29. | :15:35. | |
a government that worries more about the political message than policy | :15:36. | :15:39. | |
substance, is more concerned to fix headlines than the housing crisis, | :15:40. | :15:44. | |
the elderly carer crisis, the crisis in wages, the crisis of low | :15:45. | :15:52. | |
investment, productivity, skills and exports, never mind one nation, this | :15:53. | :15:57. | |
is a government and a Queen's Speech that is failing the nation. | :15:58. | :16:05. | |
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. It is my great pleasure to deliver the | :16:06. | :16:13. | |
closing remarks today. It is nice to see the shadow Housing Minister in | :16:14. | :16:19. | |
his place and taking an interest given his absence touring much of | :16:20. | :16:23. | |
last session, I wondered where he had got to. There has been no back | :16:24. | :16:29. | |
seat to the Government's agenda on local growth. Ministers continue to | :16:30. | :16:36. | |
play a part in debates that follow its Queen's Speech because local | :16:37. | :16:39. | |
growth is central to everything this Government does. The honourable | :16:40. | :16:45. | |
gentleman may be used to listening to Labour speeches full of high | :16:46. | :16:49. | |
words and no action but we are focused on delivering for our | :16:50. | :16:53. | |
country. That is what this crucial speech is about. Another thing that | :16:54. | :16:58. | |
never changes is the Shadow Housing Minister himself, going back to old | :16:59. | :17:05. | |
lines he has used before, forgetting to mention that he was the minister | :17:06. | :17:10. | |
who oversaw the lowest level of housing this country has seen since | :17:11. | :17:15. | |
1923, so like a fleeting pop star of yesteryear seek cannot help but | :17:16. | :17:22. | |
think that same tune over and over. He is welcome to keep his record, | :17:23. | :17:27. | |
the one of boom and bust, we will stick to and build upon our record | :17:28. | :17:36. | |
of rescue and reform. He did seem to forget in his opening remarks when | :17:37. | :17:39. | |
he talked about the economic situation in this country, it was | :17:40. | :17:44. | |
like he had forgotten, but this country has not, the sheer mess that | :17:45. | :17:51. | |
his arty left this country in, outlined either letter from the | :17:52. | :17:55. | |
member for a Birmingham, explaining there was no money left, whereas | :17:56. | :18:00. | |
under a Conservative lead government, employment is up, | :18:01. | :18:05. | |
inflation is down, and now wages are up, a country on the move and the | :18:06. | :18:10. | |
Labour Party would do well to stop doing down our country and | :18:11. | :18:16. | |
acknowledge we are moving forward. I'm sure they will come back to tell | :18:17. | :18:21. | |
us what the spending reductions they outlined in their manifesto will be. | :18:22. | :18:26. | |
A more original contribution came from members across this House. The | :18:27. | :18:31. | |
member for Hazel Grove outlined his desire to see Labour planning and | :18:32. | :18:37. | |
his work to support it not just in his own area but generally, and I | :18:38. | :18:47. | |
have spoken to CPRE as well as the Association of National councils, | :18:48. | :18:52. | |
which would welcome neighbourhood planning. The member for Inverness | :18:53. | :18:59. | |
was pleased with some innovation that is in the projects in the | :19:00. | :19:04. | |
Queen's Speech, outlined by the Secretary of State for Transport | :19:05. | :19:09. | |
earlier today, but wanted to see a UK wide when the fat from these | :19:10. | :19:14. | |
measures, they glad he is now agreeing we are better to there. The | :19:15. | :19:18. | |
member for St Austell and Newquay made the case for improvements to | :19:19. | :19:28. | |
roads in his terrier, and I will come to the member for Sheffield's | :19:29. | :19:33. | |
comments on a million homes. The member for Bath, who I've worked | :19:34. | :19:38. | |
closely within making sure we see affordable homes old, so people can | :19:39. | :19:46. | |
have a home of their own, something Labour tried to block we have now | :19:47. | :19:51. | |
delivered, and the fact this can deliver jobs. I look forward to | :19:52. | :19:57. | |
working with the honourable member for Poplar and I appreciate the | :19:58. | :20:00. | |
remarks average improving things for leaseholders. The member for Thirsk | :20:01. | :20:08. | |
outlined his views around Labour plans and we should remember | :20:09. | :20:10. | |
neighbourhood plans deliver more homes. The members spoke on a wide | :20:11. | :20:19. | |
range of matters from transport to health and business rates. The | :20:20. | :20:23. | |
member for Redditch talked about business rates, the member for Great | :20:24. | :20:28. | |
Grimsby outlined issues around the Humber Bridge and I can't give her | :20:29. | :20:33. | |
reassurance that we will make sure tolls on the Humber Bridge will not | :20:34. | :20:39. | |
get to the peak we saw under Labour after week that in 2012. The | :20:40. | :20:43. | |
honourable member for Chester talked about the northern powerhouse, | :20:44. | :20:50. | |
investment for it, and I would say the northern powerhouse is seeing | :20:51. | :20:53. | |
vast investment, showing evolution such that Labour council members are | :20:54. | :20:58. | |
working with the northern powerhouse. Would getting used on | :20:59. | :21:06. | |
this site to discourteous wind-up speeches from ministers opposite. | :21:07. | :21:10. | |
The minister didn't have the courtesy to listen when I was | :21:11. | :21:15. | |
eating, he has just summarised what three members on this site said in | :21:16. | :21:21. | |
about six words. I spoke on the half of 7 million carers and 2.6 million | :21:22. | :21:26. | |
women affected by this date pension age changes made by this Government | :21:27. | :21:30. | |
and I think it deserves a little more than that very words made. This | :21:31. | :21:36. | |
is a so - what Queen's Speech from a so- what government, who cannot be | :21:37. | :21:43. | |
bothered to support it. I am surprised by her slightly | :21:44. | :21:47. | |
intervention on the fact I have not yet and is talking about what | :21:48. | :21:52. | |
members were speaking about, and she should have seen I did refer to what | :21:53. | :21:59. | |
she said, and I will make sure the Secretary of State for Department | :22:00. | :22:01. | |
for Work and Pensions sees her speech and can report to that, and | :22:02. | :22:06. | |
no doubt he will respond to her directly but she can do better than | :22:07. | :22:14. | |
that response. Overall, we have seen speeches from members across the | :22:15. | :22:18. | |
House outlining their views and their concerns about investment that | :22:19. | :22:22. | |
the vote in June can make, and the importance of our membership of the | :22:23. | :22:28. | |
EU, and one think we can agree on is that our membership of the EU lays | :22:29. | :22:33. | |
an important part for investment, especially overseas investment, and | :22:34. | :22:39. | |
I'm sure the member of will agree with me that for housing we note | :22:40. | :22:43. | |
this the ability for investment that is needed for seeing housing | :22:44. | :22:47. | |
continued to grow is important and destruction to that could be | :22:48. | :22:53. | |
damaging, and as housing is damaged so would economy, so it was an | :22:54. | :22:55. | |
important point. As is fitting, today's debate has | :22:56. | :23:08. | |
ranged far and wide. Members will excuse me if I bring us back home to | :23:09. | :23:14. | |
build my department will be leading on. Having completed work on the | :23:15. | :23:19. | |
housing and planning act, the officials who like to stay busy are | :23:20. | :23:24. | |
delighted to be taking on two new bills. The first of these is the | :23:25. | :23:28. | |
neighbourhood planning and infrastructure bill. In the last | :23:29. | :23:36. | |
year, permissions were granted for over 255,000 new homes. Housing | :23:37. | :23:45. | |
stock has recovered from record lows and the number of first-time buyers | :23:46. | :23:53. | |
is up by 57% since 2009. 262,001st-time buyers last year | :23:54. | :24:00. | |
alone. We want to build a million more homes in the course of this | :24:01. | :24:04. | |
Parliament and have a million more first-time buyers. Homelessness is | :24:05. | :24:12. | |
still below the peak it saw under the last Labour government. We want | :24:13. | :24:17. | |
to deliver 400,000 affordable homes giving us the biggest government led | :24:18. | :24:22. | |
building programme this Government has seen since the 1970s and housing | :24:23. | :24:30. | |
was up from 88,000 he left us with, that's a 25% rise just last year | :24:31. | :24:39. | |
alone. I would point out homelessness has doubled under this | :24:40. | :24:43. | |
Government. Is he suggesting homeless people are going to go from | :24:44. | :24:49. | |
a position of being homeless to accessing the so-called affordable | :24:50. | :24:53. | |
homes? What we need to do is make sure we're working right across the | :24:54. | :24:59. | |
piece, making sure our social services, the extra investment we | :25:00. | :25:04. | |
are putting into homeless works right across the board. We will have | :25:05. | :25:08. | |
done our job to the best of our ability when we give everyone the | :25:09. | :25:15. | |
chance to own their homes. She might want to think about the fact that | :25:16. | :25:21. | |
86% of our population want to own their own homes. We want to make | :25:22. | :25:25. | |
sure that as well as seeing that million more homes, we want an | :25:26. | :25:31. | |
enduring, sustainable improvement to the delivery of new housing. The | :25:32. | :25:36. | |
chronic undersupply of new homes is a failure that was decades in the | :25:37. | :25:41. | |
making. Halfway through this decade we can see our changes are making | :25:42. | :25:46. | |
fruit. In this Parliament and the last, we devoted the effort to first | :25:47. | :25:53. | |
rescue and reform housing delivery. To build on each housing reform, | :25:54. | :25:59. | |
learning from experience and forming local relationships are required for | :26:00. | :26:03. | |
delivering. As we saw previously, the quick and dirty approach to | :26:04. | :26:08. | |
building more houses has not been a solution, rather it led to the | :26:09. | :26:12. | |
disaster that has set Britain back by years. The purpose of this bill | :26:13. | :26:18. | |
is to empower local communities to plan and deliver the development | :26:19. | :26:22. | |
they need where they know they need it. It simplifies the neighbourhood | :26:23. | :26:28. | |
planning process, ensuring the voice of the community will be heard as | :26:29. | :26:31. | |
soon as possible and give them confidence about that. The creation | :26:32. | :26:35. | |
of a fully fledged neighbourhood planning system stands as one of the | :26:36. | :26:41. | |
great reforms of this Government. It is now underway in thousands of | :26:42. | :26:48. | |
communities. He knows I have an interest because he was the minister | :26:49. | :26:53. | |
that responded to an adjournment debate in relation to problems in | :26:54. | :26:59. | |
the Haughton Green area of white constituency. What assurances can he | :27:00. | :27:03. | |
give to the people there that the things they want to see happen in | :27:04. | :27:08. | |
their community, can be delivered through his bill, for example, will | :27:09. | :27:13. | |
there be a neighbourhood right of appeal, something which the | :27:14. | :27:15. | |
Government has previously blocked when the Labour Party put amendments | :27:16. | :27:25. | |
down for such a measure? It didn't vote on that, he might want to check | :27:26. | :27:30. | |
back and see how that played out. The point of what we want to achieve | :27:31. | :27:34. | |
through this deal is to make sure there is not a need for third party | :27:35. | :27:40. | |
right of appeal. Prevention is better than cure. Talking to | :27:41. | :27:45. | |
organisations like the CPRE and people who have done neighbourhood | :27:46. | :27:49. | |
plans, that seems to be the more popular way to get things done. I | :27:50. | :27:56. | |
have to say I was one of the Shadow ministers on the localism bill and | :27:57. | :28:00. | |
we did support community right of appeal because I was there. There is | :28:01. | :28:07. | |
a big issue brewing in my constituency, he talks about | :28:08. | :28:10. | |
neighbourhood is having a say, the Secretary of State appears to have | :28:11. | :28:13. | |
dropped support for an application locally. My community are sick of a | :28:14. | :28:22. | |
lack of support there is from the Secretary of State for important | :28:23. | :28:27. | |
green belt issues. I am sure she will appreciate I cannot comment on | :28:28. | :28:31. | |
a particular planning application but we have gone further to ensure | :28:32. | :28:36. | |
green belt property is protected. With regard to the neighbourhood | :28:37. | :28:41. | |
planning part, she might want to look at what her party did. She | :28:42. | :28:45. | |
might want to update her own knowledge. Almost 200 and the plans | :28:46. | :28:52. | |
have passed referendums. We saw a team go through in just one week and | :28:53. | :28:57. | |
more go through week by week. Local people are participants in that | :28:58. | :29:04. | |
planning process. That is helping to transform attitudes to development, | :29:05. | :29:08. | |
to see a more positive approach and whether planning is something done | :29:09. | :29:14. | |
with people, we create trust and we are seeing more homes being given | :29:15. | :29:18. | |
permission. You want to go further and I am determined to give the | :29:19. | :29:23. | |
certainty and the ease to plans people want. It will also ensure | :29:24. | :29:28. | |
planning permissions are imposed are only done when necessary. As | :29:29. | :29:34. | |
Minister for Housing and planning I have had examples of planning | :29:35. | :29:37. | |
permissions with hundreds of conditions attached, the worst of | :29:38. | :29:43. | |
which are those that stop any work happening at all. So-called | :29:44. | :29:47. | |
pre-commencement conditions. The worst was one with over 800. I am | :29:48. | :29:52. | |
aware of cases where half of the conditions attracts require further | :29:53. | :30:02. | |
agreement. -- attachments. These can take months and years to resolve. | :30:03. | :30:07. | |
Ministers will have had resonance or seen examples of sites were | :30:08. | :30:11. | |
permission has been granted and yet not been built out. It is the most | :30:12. | :30:16. | |
frustrating thing for a community to see and we need to put an end to | :30:17. | :30:22. | |
that. The grief it causes is not restricted to the companies who | :30:23. | :30:26. | |
cannot get on with building, it is for communities themselves, those | :30:27. | :30:31. | |
who go through the process of the planning permission. They decide for | :30:32. | :30:36. | |
themselves whether they want new building to happen. That | :30:37. | :30:40. | |
localisation is behind so much of the successful rebuilding we have | :30:41. | :30:44. | |
seen. When sites with permission are then drowned with pre-commencement | :30:45. | :30:49. | |
conditions, disillusionment with the entire system sets in and it is | :30:50. | :30:54. | |
toxic. We need to make sure the powers to decide where building will | :30:55. | :30:58. | |
happen stays in the hands of local communities and that is why we need | :30:59. | :31:03. | |
to refine the process. This is not about taking away any protections or | :31:04. | :31:09. | |
checks, but it is about stopping needless bureaucracy. Our intention | :31:10. | :31:13. | |
is many issues will be resolvable at the same time building is under way, | :31:14. | :31:18. | |
to make sure any legitimate concerns are addressed without holding up | :31:19. | :31:23. | |
production. A third key element of the bill is the completion of our | :31:24. | :31:30. | |
reforms for compulsory purchase. It involves purchase of current not | :31:31. | :31:35. | |
future use of value. The Government is not proposing to change existing | :31:36. | :31:39. | |
fundamental principle, that compensation should be paid at | :31:40. | :31:44. | |
market value in the absence of the scheme underlying compulsory | :31:45. | :31:51. | |
purchase. These are intended to make the process clearer, fairer and | :31:52. | :31:55. | |
faster for all parties involved. We're not changing anything like | :31:56. | :32:00. | |
that. If we want a much wider ranging developers to play their | :32:01. | :32:04. | |
part in building the homes that we need, we must remove risk from the | :32:05. | :32:09. | |
process of planning. Needless uncertainty does nothing to protect | :32:10. | :32:13. | |
the countryside or guarantee good design. But it does is restrict | :32:14. | :32:18. | |
home-building for the biggest players. With this bill communities | :32:19. | :32:23. | |
will have the tools they need to diversify development, enabling the | :32:24. | :32:27. | |
achievement of both quantity and quality in house building. The bill | :32:28. | :32:30. | |
will establish the independent National infrastructure commission | :32:31. | :32:36. | |
on a statutory basis. The commission is the next step in this plan to | :32:37. | :32:41. | |
improve UK infrastructure. This will help deliver our pledge to invest | :32:42. | :32:45. | |
over 100 billion in our infrastructure networks. The second | :32:46. | :32:51. | |
piece of legislation, the local growth and jobs bill, makes an | :32:52. | :32:56. | |
equally important contribution. Not least by giving communities by | :32:57. | :32:59. | |
direct stake in their financial growth. It delivers on our | :33:00. | :33:03. | |
commitment to allow retention of business rates by councils and will | :33:04. | :33:08. | |
allow councils to reduced the business tax rate. It enables | :33:09. | :33:12. | |
combined authority mays to levy a supplement on business rate builds | :33:13. | :33:17. | |
to fund projects. This will need the support of the business community | :33:18. | :33:23. | |
but the potential for locally led infrastructure investment is clear. | :33:24. | :33:29. | |
All of this takes place within the broader context of localism. Of | :33:30. | :33:34. | |
growth and evolution deals right around our country, of the | :33:35. | :33:38. | |
decentralisation of billions of pounds of infrastructure funds, | :33:39. | :33:41. | |
local communities have never had a big opportunity to direct their | :33:42. | :33:47. | |
development. Who can blame certain members. With the political on dead | :33:48. | :33:56. | |
occupying their frontbenchers, a new life in City Hall has never looked | :33:57. | :34:00. | |
more exciting. What I would say to members opposite and members like | :34:01. | :34:08. | |
the shadow secretary is go for it. This has never been a better time to | :34:09. | :34:12. | |
be in local government with more power to do things in your community | :34:13. | :34:18. | |
than ever before. It falls to me to have these final words into Dave's | :34:19. | :34:26. | |
debate but in the years to come... Back to the point I raised about a | :34:27. | :34:31. | |
million new homes. Could we have it on the record, is the million new | :34:32. | :34:39. | |
homes a government commitment? I made it clear, yes, we have an | :34:40. | :34:42. | |
ambition to deliver a million homes in this Parliament and rather than | :34:43. | :34:49. | |
the final words falling to me or anyone else in this House, the final | :34:50. | :34:55. | |
word on transport, infrastructure, housing, other matters vital to | :34:56. | :34:58. | |
local growth won't be heard in this chamber at all. Key decisions thanks | :34:59. | :35:06. | |
to this Government will be made with communities given the power to set | :35:07. | :35:13. | |
their own course. I am proud to be part of a one nation Conservative | :35:14. | :35:18. | |
government that is setting them free to do that. That is why this is such | :35:19. | :35:23. | |
an important speech. Delivering for our country and so I commend it to | :35:24. | :35:31. | |
the House. The question is... That the debate now be adjourned. The | :35:32. | :35:43. | |
ayes have it. The debate to resume Monday next. Let's look at the next | :35:44. | :35:53. | |
bit. Motion of lay members of the committee on standards. I beg to | :35:54. | :35:59. | |
move that the following be appointed as lay members of the committee on | :36:00. | :36:05. | |
standards in accordance with standing member 1409A. The motion | :36:06. | :36:18. | |
proposes the appointment of four additional lay members to the | :36:19. | :36:23. | |
committee on standards. We are started in 2013 with three lay | :36:24. | :36:27. | |
members on the committee which ten elected members. I would like to | :36:28. | :36:32. | |
thank the three appointed at that | :36:33. | :36:33. |