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Mrs Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab/Co-op)
A year ago today, the UK was in the midst of a very cold spell of weather. North-easterly winds had swept snow in from the Arctic and it fell throughout the country, adding to substantial falls during the last week of November. The temperature barely rose above freezing and was below minus 10° C all day in parts of Scotland.
There were two periods of intense cold weather last winter, from 30 November to 3 December, and from 16 to 22 December. The temperature in December 2010 was 5° C below the average for the month, and there were nine significant snow “events” bringing the most widespread snow in the UK for 30 years. Winter 2010-11 was the third cold winter in succession. We are still waiting to find out whether this winter will be another severe one or whether there will be a return to the milder conditions we had become used to.
The severe weather last December affected aviation severely. Heathrow airport was closed shortly before Christmas and other airports were also disrupted, as were our trains, particularly in Kent and Sussex. Eurostar services were disrupted, with long queues in the cold outside St Pancras station as people tried to get to Paris or Brussels just before Christmas. There were also problems on major and local roads, as well as complaints about pavements and minor roads being left under snow and ice for weeks at a time. The Transport Committee’s inquiry looked at all of these issues and we published our report in May. I am pleased to have the opportunity to debate the Government’s reply to our report just as winter 2011-12 begins.
First, I pay tribute to David Quarmby, who led a small review team during 2010 that looked at winter resilience in the transport sector. He also audited how transport coped with the first spell of adverse weather a year ago. His analysis has been extremely important: it was comprehensive, and his recommendations were accepted by the Government. Can the Minister confirm that all of the Quarmby recommendations have now been implemented in full? If we have further transport disruption this winter, will he commission an independent review, so that we can continue to learn lessons and improve transport’s resilience to bad weather?
Bad weather causes disruption to businesses and individuals and affects normal activities. Mr Quarmby tried to estimate how much the transport disruption due to bad weather last winter cost the UK, and concluded that increased spending on winter resilience by highways authorities could be cost-effective. Since then, the Office for National Statistics has estimated that the adverse weather last December knocked 0.5% off UK GDP during the third quarter of 2010-11, which reduced growth from 0.6% to 0.1% and cost about £1.6 billion, and the Secretary of State for Transport told us that transport disruption cost the nation £280 million per day.
Those are very big figures and they show why there are sound economic reasons for addressing the situation, as well as the inconvenience that transport breakdown in bad weather causes to daily life for most people. A day at home because of heavy snow might be seen by some as fun, but the implications for businesses can be substantial, and many people can be left isolated by bad weather when they cannot get out, cannot get basic provisions and cannot receive their usual visits from friends and relations. In addition to those implications, there are further social consequences: schools can be shut, and vulnerable people can be trapped in their homes, with higher heating bills as a result. Preparing our transport systems for winter is therefore absolutely essential.
One of the issues that our report examined was the importance of long-range weather forecasting. Although it is true to say that short-term forecasts are generally accurate, long-term forecasting is poor—indeed, it is discredited, particularly since the Met Office made its “barbecue summer” predictions a few years ago. The previous Secretary of State for Transport, the right hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), suggested that for an investment of £10 million, the Met Office could achieve a big step forward in forecasting capability. We took up that suggestion and recommended that that investment be made. The Government’s reply to our report makes no specific comment on that issue, so I ask the Minister to set out the Government’s position on that today. Do they agree that there should be further investment in the Met Office or other appropriate organisations? If so, what do they think that investment should be and when will it be made? The Department for Transport told us that it is working across Government to review evidence on winter weather patterns and to test whether current levels of investment in winter resilience are optimised. Again, we would be interested to know the outcome of that work.
Aviation bore the brunt of the transport disruption last winter. Gatwick airport closed for 46 hours from 1 to 3 December, and Heathrow airport closed from 18 to 20 December after 7 cm of snow fell in one hour. At the height of the disruption, 10,000 passengers spent the night in the Heathrow terminals. Not only were the airports closed for a time and flights postponed or cancelled, but there was also the very important question of how passengers’ needs were dealt with when that situation arose.
I accept that heavy snow will close any airport in the world for a short period. I also accept that Heathrow is in a particularly difficult position because it operates at virtually full capacity; other airports can recover from disruption more quickly because they are neither as busy nor as full. However, there were problems with how the disruption was handled, which involved the airlines as well as the airports. There was ambiguity about whether or not the airport was closed. Passengers did not know whether to come to the airport or stay at home, and far too many ended up staying for long periods in terminals, worried that they might miss a flight if they left.
BAA was criticised for not implementing its snow plan, for inadequate communications with passengers and airlines and for not having adequate snow and ice-clearing equipment. To BAA’s credit, it appointed David Begg to review its winter resilience plans and their operation. He produced a strong report and did not pull any punches. He recommended that Heathrow should adopt
“an improved resilience target that the airport never closes as a result of circumstances beyond its control.”
He also recommended improvements to planning and communications. BAA accepted his report’s recommendations, which was a very positive move.
We must recognise that, as our hub airport, Heathrow plays a crucial role in maintaining the UK’s competitiveness. Is the Minister satisfied that the changes made at Heathrow will make the airport better prepared for winter weather this year? That question relates to its dealing with the initial impact of bad weather, the process and the speed of recovery from disruption, and how passengers’ needs are met during that time.
The Committee recommended that the Secretary of State for Transport should designate a senior official to have oversight of the snow plans of major airports. We proposed that idea because we thought that Parliament and the public needed reassurance that the plans put together by the airports were adequate, but the Government rejected that recommendation in its response. I would like the Minister to tell us why today.
One of the ironies was that the very severe airport disruption was not reflected in airport performance measures—indeed, they suggested that business had continued as normal. The Committee recommended that airport regulation should include a measure to assess air travel disruption. I am pleased that a draft airport regulation Bill, the Civil Aviation Bill, has now been published; the Transport Committee will start to scrutinise it next week and will look at the proposed new regulatory regime. We are told that winter resilience will be reflected in the Bill, and I would like to hear more from the Minister, hopefully today, about how that will be achieved. The Committee will pursue the issue in more detail in its pre-legislative scrutiny.
Airports and airlines must do more to look after passengers. It is striking that there seems to be no organisation that represents air passengers’ welfare. There was an organisation that dealt with air passengers’ needs, but the Government have abandoned their own proposal to move that responsibility to Passenger Focus and it is unclear exactly who is responsible for considering passengers’ needs. The responsibility does not lie solely with airports, although they do have very serious responsibilities; airlines, too, should help passengers during periods of disruption. Our Committee recommended that airports should do more to look after passengers at times of disruption, but should be able to reclaim the cost of doing that from the airlines. I am pleased that the Civil Aviation Authority is taking that proposal forward and I look forward to seeing how the idea develops. I am also pleased that, in the draft Bill, the CAA’s primary duty will be to passengers, but we need to see how that would operate in practice.
A problem with airport recovery after disruption is in managing flight landings and departures. The previous Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge, appeared before our Committee and was asked a lot of questions about this. He suggested that airports might be enabled to impose emergency timetables, with oversight by the Civil Aviation Authority. The Select Committee thought that that was a good idea, but the Government no longer seem as keen as they were to go ahead with it. I would be interested to hear the Minister’s views and the Government’s current thinking on that proposal.
Gatwick airport brought to our attention another issue: the importance of maintaining surface access to airports to keep them running. Although its runway was clear, staff and passengers struggled to reach Gatwick airport by rail or road. A more co-ordinated approach to managing the response to adverse weather is needed to ensure that such problems are avoided. The Committee felt that, if necessary, the Government should step in to resolve conflicting priorities, but that that should not be necessary and the matter should be dealt with locally. Whether it is passengers or staff who are affected, not being able to get to airports by road can be a serious impediment.
There were also problems with rail services last winter, particularly south of the Thames where the third-rail system was again unable to cope with the snow and ice. Network Rail was caught out by the early start to the winter, with its snow-clearing trains still in depots being converted from their autumn leaf-clearing role. That mistake was not repeated this year and Network Rail has invested £40 million in new snow equipment. A conference of network operators in the south-east was held in November to discuss what further action was taken, and there were a number of detailed discussions about actions taken by various operators. Is the Minister monitoring the outcome of that conference and staying abreast of the practical, preventive steps being taken by Network Rail and the train operating companies to deal with the problems?
The Chancellor announced in his autumn statement that there would be further investment in winter resilience equipment, but we do not have any detail about exactly what that means. Can the Minister explain what the resilience equipment is, how much will be spent and when, and what will happen to make a real difference? It has been accepted, I think, that the long-term answer to the specific problems in the south-east is the replacement of the third-rail system with a safer, more robust form of electrification. It will be expensive, which is perhaps why it has not yet been done, but surely it could be phased in, even if over a longer period. I understand that options are being studied, and I would like to hear more from the Minister about what is happening with the programme for the electrification of the third-rail system.
Passengers across all modes of transport were let down by inadequate information. At times of severe disruption transport delays and breakdowns are inevitable, but information systems must be ready to inform passengers and potential passengers about the situation. Although some breakdowns might occur without notice, others are known about and indeed can be predicted. Online timetables were not updated quickly enough to take cancellations into account, and many people ended up buying tickets for non-existent trains. Real-time information for passengers on trains and in stations was very poor. When we raised the issue with industry representatives in the Select Committee we were told that there were numerous information systems across the railway, that some of them were very old, and that pulling them together was one of the legacies of privatisation. We did not accept that argument: many years have passed since privatisation, so it cannot be used as an excuse not to have updated systems and not to deal with problems.
We agree with Passenger Focus that a culture of looking after passengers when things go wrong is not yet second nature across the rail industry. That needs to change. The Office of Rail Regulation has published proposals to clarify responsibilities for the provision of information, but in a very recent publication it is unclear whether ORR is talking about a consultation—if so, I would like to know how long it will take—or about making specific proposals. I am interested to hear what knowledge the Minister has of that and what he can do to progress it. The rail industry’s national taskforce has also been working on improving real-time information provision ahead of this winter, so is the Minister confident that we are in a better situation than we were last year?
There was major disruption on some motorways, but traffic on the UK’s main roads was generally kept moving during the bad weather. Credit should go to the Highways Agency and the local highways authorities, which rose to the challenge and worked hard to keep roads open, in co-ordination with the agency.
During the year before last, there was a great deal of concern about problems in providing sufficient salt to put on the roads to prevent ice from forming. As a result of David Quarmby’s review, many changes were made. The arrangements had considerable success and resulted in great improvement. We felt that the Government’s strategic salt arrangements worked well, generally speaking, although some local authorities did complain about transparency, distribution and the cost of the salt. However, improvement was made. Had last year’s bad weather continued for longer than it did, further issues might have been raised about the adequacy of salt provision. What are the Minister’s views on the salt situation for the current year and next year? Does he think that there is enough salt to deal with a long bad winter? Are we in a better position than last year? I repeat that last year was dealt with much better than the year before. Salt provision and co-ordination arrangements among the Government, regional organisations, local authorities and salt suppliers worked far better.
Public support is widespread for more action to clear pavements and minor roads during periods of disruption, particularly to maintain access to facilities such as schools and health centres. Often when we discuss disruption to transport networks in bad weather, there is a perhaps inevitable focus on major roads and major transport networks. They are clearly of economic importance and they matter for the country as a whole, but it is also a problem if somebody living in a local road cannot get out, is worried about falling or cannot get access to goods, services, basic amenities or friends. Sometimes, by concentrating on the big questions and challenges, we do not give sufficient attention to the local issues that matter so much to individuals. In particular, it is vital to maintain access to facilities such as schools and health centres.
Voluntary effort has a role to play. Some local authorities have been involved in organising it, some have taken steps such as providing grit bins at the ends of roads and some are considering what else they can do locally this year. Our Committee asked that the Government make available online more practical information about what people can do voluntarily, such as helping clear pavements outside their own premises, after the publication last year of the snow code, which provided reassurances about potential legal liabilities. Local problems such as side roads and access to local homes need addressing. Do the Government have any comments on that? I know that local authorities are considering it. Given their financial problems, they are restricted in what they can do, but it is important and should not be neglected.
Our report reflected our concern about how many drivers appear unprepared for winter weather. According to an AA survey, nearly half are unprepared. Has the Department done anything to encourage drivers to be better prepared this year? Last year, drivers were warned that they should make only essential journeys in bad weather. It is often difficult to define what essential journeys are. Many people think that their journey is essential if they want to go out, but there is no further clarity about what that means. We thought that the police and the Department should develop a set of travel warnings to provide clearer guidance to the public about what sorts of journey they should not undertake during particular types of bad weather. The Highways Agency agreed to consider that recommendation. It would be helpful to know whether any progress has been made.
At our inquiry, we heard from the Freight Transport Association, which asked for specific snow and ice warnings for HGVs, similar to current warnings about high winds. I understand that that recommendation has been accepted. Will the Minister confirm that? If that has been done, it will be helpful. Parts of the major road network, such as certain hills or junctions in exposed areas, are particularly prone to disruption in severe winter weather. We suggested that the Highways Agency should deploy its traffic officers in such areas during bad weather to help clear blockages and deal with problems as quickly as possible. Some of the public reaction during the bad weather came from people trapped in vehicles behind blockages on the road. They were concerned that the blockages had not been removed and felt that more warnings should have been given or more urgent action taken. The Government agreed with our concern, but it would be helpful to know whether specific action is being taken to address the problem.
Our report covered a great deal of ground. I have referred to most of the areas involved, but there were many concerns involving all modes of transport. It was also essential to consider the needs of the non-travelling public. Our report asked for better information at all levels and more co-ordination to secure effective action, as well as more investment targeted at the most appropriate places. With more accurate information about weather and road conditions, train services and flights, people can make better informed judgments about whether to travel, and transport providers can plan better.
I hope that our work has helped the Government respond to the policy challenges highlighted by last December’s bad weather, and I hope that it has shown our main transport providers that they should be doing more to put passenger welfare first. Our report considered how effective co-ordination of information and action—including preventive action, action to deal with problems and recovery—can mitigate the impact of bad weather in an ongoing process. I hope that our report contributes to enabling transportation links to operate in the interests of the public despite bad weather.
Simon Wright (Norwich South) (LD)
I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I congratulate the Select Committee on Transport on its report, which made numerous recommendations that many of us can support. I will speak briefly about the recommendations relating to better weather forecasting and the provision of improved warnings and travel information to drivers.
Achieving better medium and long-term forecasting would allow transport operators to plan better for problems ahead. We start in a good position. The Met Office is widely recognised as one of the best weather predictors in the world, providing accurate and reliable forecasts over various time scales. The Met Office relies increasingly on supercomputing to carry out its work. Developing capacity and capability is vital if it is to undertake more detailed forecasting in future.
The science is available now to predict weather better, but computing power is required to realise that science. In the past, meteorology applied to weather forecasting had the most cutting-edge computing power available. Today, that is no longer the case, but last winter showed us that it is still needed. Better computing power means that the science can be applied in ever higher degrees of resolution.
The investment required to ensure that the Met Office has adequate computing power is probably about £15 million a year. That is a little more than the hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Mrs Ellman) suggested, but it is in the same ballpark. That investment would bring tangible benefits to the UK through improved short-range weather forecasts, long-term predictions and climate change projections.
The economic case for better forecasting is clear in relation to advance planning for extreme weather events affecting transport infrastructure, but other opportunities would arise from better flooding, snowstorm and high wind forecasting. The insurance industry, which has a strong presence in my constituency, also stands to benefit, given that two thirds of the world’s insured losses are related to natural events. Getting information out early means that businesses and communities can plan their activities and, in extreme events, possibly save lives, too. For long-term planning, the improvements in climate modelling from improved computing power would help significantly to inform investment in and delivery of major transport infrastructure projects. The Met Office’s public weather service at present is already worth more than £500 million to the economy. Increasing computing power would increase that even more. The sooner we invest in improving the supercomputing capacity of the Met Office, the sooner the UK will see the social and economic benefits.
I also want to say a few words about how best to communicate the impact of weather on driving conditions. At present, the Met Office-issued warnings are to be interpreted by drivers based on The Highway Code, with advice provided through the media by the Highways Agency and police. Last winter, drivers were advised at the height of the extreme weather conditions not to use the roads unless they had to. However, the interpretation by drivers of this advice is not clear. Do people who hear this message ask themselves, “Do I need to use my car to make this journey?”—the answer to which is often yes—or do they ask themselves, “Will there be serious implications to not making this journey at all?”, in which case the answer might be no?
It needs to be noted by Ministers that the Highways Agency research on driving behaviour in the winter before last shows that there had been little change in behaviour, despite the severity of the weather and the warnings issued. I strongly support the Committee’s recommendation for research into travel messages and how they influence behaviour, or fail to. The nature of language used, consistency of message and clarity for the recipients are all vital. If we are to tell people not to travel unless necessary, they need to be clear about what circumstances are and are not necessary. Perhaps advice needs to be more direct—“Do not travel unless there is a medical need to do so.” Perhaps different levels of alert could be devised, but let us support proper research into the issue so that we can know what makes a difference and what does not, rather than simply tweak existing practices that have not always delivered results.
Websites can also play an important role to help drivers plan their journeys. The Highways Agency’s Traffic England website, for example, provides real-time information on any problems on the motorway and A-road network. We need to make sure that drivers are aware of such tools, but we also need to recognise that at times of high demand some websites simply cannot cope. There were reports on some days of extreme weather last winter that traffic information websites were going down. For those drivers who are already out on the roads, it is vital that every effort is made to ensure that there is access to real, in-time information about the conditions on particular routes, and that drivers are able to adjust their routes as necessary, including before joining, and therefore adding to, existing problems on roads.
The AA’s survey of drivers has already been mentioned. It highlighted that drivers most wanted to be actively directed away from motorways if there were problems, and that they supported the use of the police to carry out that function. Roadside assistance could also be delivered through improved information and signage. I support efforts by the Highways Agency to develop the use of variable message signs and the expanded use of similar technologies across the road network where appropriate.
The ever-increasing availability and use of in-car technologies, such as sat-nav and smart phones, mean that new opportunities are available for providing real-time data specific to the interest of the individual driver following a specific route. Again, I think that the Highways Agency has an important role to play, working with providers of data-based services, to ensure that the data that it provides are as complete and as usable as they can be. There is even a role for the agency to help develop data applications of its own where needed.
We need to get weather forecasting as good as it can be, and we need people who are both planning journeys and driving on our roads to have access to the most up to date and accurate information about the weather and the condition of particular routes, and a system of warnings that are proven to be effective in changing driver behaviour when the conditions require it.
Julie Hilling (Bolton West) (Lab)
We have been so lucky so far this winter, but that seems to me to be part of the problem in this country with winter resilience. We have winter after winter with very little snow and ice, but then have winters like the previous three. At a time of dreadful cuts to budgets across the piece, it can be easy to make winter preparedness a lower priority, especially for weather events that do not happen every year. A few years ago, one of my local authorities sold one of its snow ploughs, because if felt that our winters had warmed. I think that, last year, it might have regretted that decision.
I want to focus on the people end of the problem with winter weather. Colleagues already have talked and, I am sure, will talk about airports, major roads and rail. I have quite a large constituency, the ground of which varies from being quite high to quite low. The highest parts are the west Pennine moors and, like any high ground, there can be snow there when there is none lower down in the constituency. In fact, I have sat in a constituent’s house in Horwich in absolute panic, because the snow had started to lie heavily, wondering how on earth I was going to get home, but by the time I got home at the other end of the constituency I ran into only a little drizzle. As they say in Lancashire, it is an overcoat colder up at one end. That illustrates graphically the need for accurate, localised information.
I am sure that all colleagues present would share my frustration at seeing a sign at the start of the M1 that says that the M6 is closed at junction 16, because a driver does not know whether it will still be closed when they get there in three hours’ time. I recognise the limitation of roadside signs—it is not possible to put a huge amount of information on them—but we need that localised information, and we need it on local radio, websites, sat-navs and other electronic devices. It is hugely important that that information is regularly updated, because, too often, information is left on those sites long after the obstruction or the problem has been cleared, which leads to an absolute lack of trust in the information when the driver gets there and the road is no longer closed.
This is not just a bad-weather issue, because we need that information all year round, whether it relates to accidents, roadworks or other incidents on our highways. As I have said, the information needs to be localised. In my experience of my locality, certain main thoroughfares are cleared as quickly as possible. I have no complaints whatsoever about the speed with which that is done, bearing in mind the weather conditions over the past couple of years. However, one would expect other roads that one considers to be main thoroughfares to be cleared, but they are not because they are not in the local authority’s plan. I am concerned about some of those routes. They can be quite major roads and side roads on which, in parts of my constituency, cars can be trapped for many days.
The then Transport Secretary, the current Defence Secretary, told the Transport Committee that the issue of snow clearance is one for local authorities, but I do not think it is enough to leave it to local authorities. More should be done to set expectations and to support them with funding allocations, taking those areas that are prone to severe weather conditions into particular account.
There is also an issue with particular parts of local authority areas. Johnson Fold, a council estate in my constituency, has some of the highest housing in the borough, on the edge of the moors. Two winters ago, when the rest of the borough had defrosted, Johnson Fold was still snow and ice-bound. I came across elderly people who had been trapped in their homes for three weeks. The vast majority of residents, particularly on this estate, are of limited means, so they cannot purchase additional help to clear roads and paths. There are fewer cars on the roads, because they do not have as many cars as those in the more affluent areas, so the traffic flow does not get rid of snow and ice, either.
I appreciate the then Secretary of State’s suggestion of voluntary snow wardens. What has happened to them, and how much progress has been made? Standards should be set whereby resources that are no longer needed on major networks are used in the more remote areas, so that they are not disproportionately affected, and I think that that advice and those standards should be led by the Government.
That leads me to another concern of mine about pavements, which we seem to leave entirely to local authority discretion. I accept that pavements might not be their first priority, but we need to get our thoroughfares going, because they are part of our transport system; people need to walk to and from trains and buses, and they walk to work and other places. Again, it seems that some standards should be set. I know that different things happen in different local authorities, and when the bins could not be collected in two local authorities in my area, staff were transferred to clearing the pavements, but more standards should be set.
I say that because these problems lead to costs in other areas. They lead to increased costs in the health service because accidents occur and people have slips and falls. They also lead to costs in the economy at large when people cannot get to and from work or to shops to trade with people who are trying to run their businesses. Should those additional costs, which lie outside transport in the smallest sense, be factored into the economic costs of severe whether?
The hon. Member for Norwich South (Simon Wright) talked about people being given information, but do the cuts to what the Government call their marketing budget—I would call it their information service—mean that less information is being provided to people through traditional means, such as television adverts and literature? Does that mean that people are less prepared? Do they have shovels and blankets in their cars? Should the Government review their expenditure on advertising safety measures? I do not think we are giving people some of the public information advice they need, particularly on safety.
Finally, how will the cuts and potential cuts to the BBC and local radio services affect the travel services on which we all rely? Those services give very localised information about hold-ups and blockages, but will that information be affected by cuts at the BBC?
John Woodcock (Barrow and Furness) (Lab/Co-op)
It is a pleasure to serve under you as Chair, Ms Dorries. This is an important and timely debate, and I congratulate the members of the Transport Committee on their valuable and constructive report and on securing this slot. I also congratulate the Committee Chair, my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Mrs Ellman), on her excellent opening speech. She will be delighted to know that I will reinforce many of the points she made.
A year ago this week, Britain was hit hard by extreme winter weather and experienced the earliest snowfall for 17 years. Temperatures fell as low as minus 21°C—temperatures not normally associated with the UK. The snow and cold were extremely prolonged, extending right through to Christmas and the new year, and we are well aware of the impact they had on Britain’s transport networks: thousands of flights were cancelled at major airports; passengers were trapped overnight on stranded trains; motorways were closed for hours on end after accidents; and people were trapped in their houses as councils ran low on salt to treat roads.
It was an exceptional winter, and it would be unrealistic to claim that Britain could have got through it without some disruption to our transport networks. No one blames the Government for the thickness of the snow, but it is right to ask how prepared and resilient they enabled the country to be. The 2009 winter under the Labour Government was also harsh and caused transport disruption, leading to the establishment of the Quarmby review. The following year, it became clear that the new Government had not gone far enough in putting David Quarmby’s recommendations in place, despite having received the interim report in July.
On salt supplies, in particular, although the distribution method may have improved, as the Committee’s report noted, the Government gave the impression of being asleep on the job. In its April report on the winter disruption, the Committee identified criticism from the Local Government Association, which said that recommendations on reducing salt spreading rates came far too late in the planning process. The AA and the Royal Automobile Club had concerns about the resilience of the UK’s salt supply arrangements, while the Institute of Highway Engineers said that the strategic salt supply was inadequate.
The Committee noted that Ministers claimed credit for having a stockpile of salt left at the end of the winter, but the truth is that we got lucky. The UK went into the winter with less salt than recommended by David Quarmby’s report. From parliamentary questions I have tabled, we know that 60% of Britain’s stock of salt was used up by the end of December. Had milder weather not prevailed in the new year, we would have faced much more widespread road closures. Last winter, Britain’s salt stocks and distribution systems came close to being inadequate to meet the challenge we faced. We are fortunate that we have not faced early snow this year, but we need to know that stocks and systems are in place to respond if and when severe weather strikes.
I would be grateful if the Minister answered a number of questions on road issues. Is he confident that, as of today, the UK has a large enough stockpile to cope with a prolonged period of extreme weather? What measures are in place to ensure that stocks can be replenished, from domestic or international resources, over the winter? As an aside, let me say that I was grateful that the Leader of the Opposition sent me down the salt mine at Winsford last year. It was an excellent experience, and I recommend that the Minister takes the opportunity to visit it.
What measures has the Minister taken to ensure that the salt distribution network is robust, even in severe weather? Are his officials in a position to provide more timely information and advice to local authorities on the availability of strategic salt stocks and on recommended salt spreading rates? During last year’s severe weather, the Highways Agency phone line for providing information on road conditions and reporting hazards missed its targets for response times in three separate weeks. What measures have been put in place to ensure the phone line has the capacity to function properly this year?
Just as we cannot afford Britain’s road network to seize up, so we must avoid a repeat of the disruption, delays, distress and economic damage caused by the failure of airports and parts of the rail network to function as well as they should have during the severe weather. The Select Committee report acknowledges that decisions on investment in both sectors are often rightly in the hands of private sector bodies, but that cannot mean that the Government wash their hands of responsibility.
Our major airports are an essential part of our strategic transport system and our economic competitiveness. The Begg report clearly gave the impression that provisions at Heathrow for dealing with severe weather and recovering from a period of enforced closure were woefully inadequate. Heathrow’s status as a global hub airport faces intense competition, and an inability to cope well with severe weather will not help it in any way. Let me therefore reinforce the importance of the question asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Riverside by asking whether sufficient runway clearing equipment is now in place at Heathrow and other airports. What involvement have Transport Ministers had in signing off revised snow plans for those airports?
The major problems on the railways last year revolved around the third-rail electrified network in the south-east. I was pleased to note from a written answer I received that some de-icing vehicles were made available for that network earlier this year. In October I was informed that 16 anti-icing multi-purpose vehicles and six snow and ice treatment trains would be available from today, 1 December. Are those indeed in place? Can the Minister also confirm whether locomotives are available on the third-rail network to rescue stalled trains? In the longer term, as my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Riverside alluded to, the Quarmby review recommended that Ministers should look seriously at whether the time had come to replace the top contact system of third-rail electrification. No one should underestimate the scale of the cost of such a proposal, but it has warranted no mention in the national infrastructure plan, which was published on Tuesday. Has there been any work on the recommendation, and what conclusions have been reached?
Last year, as has been mentioned extensively, one of rail travellers’ key complaints was the failure of information systems. Often, station information screens were blank, because contingency timetables had not been uploaded to the national computer system. What measures are in place to prevent a reoccurrence of that problem? Some train operators provided a good standard of information, through both traditional and social media methods, throughout the disruption. Others seemed at times to give up. What discussions has the Minister had with the Association of Train Operating Companies and individual companies to ensure that best practice will be spread across the industry and that poor performers can be penalised?
On several occasions last year, passengers were trapped on powerless, stalled trains, without emergency blankets or emergency supplies of food or drink. On 27 October this year at column 285W I asked a written question on whether provision had been made for such supplies to be carried on trains during severe weather. I was concerned to receive a response that stated simply that the matter was the concern of the operating companies. We need Ministers to take a more hands-on approach than that. If necessary, they should consider instructing companies to make such provision. Will the Minister make a commitment to consider the issue and carry out a full analysis of which operating companies have made arrangements to carry blankets, water and food?
Following three severe winters, questions are rightly being asked about whether we have the right balance of investment for winter resilience. Governments of all shades, in recent decades, have perceived a decline in instances of severe winter weather, and have made investment decisions accordingly. It is possible, whether as a result of climate change or not, that we may need to revise our approach. After last winter, the then Secretary of State made a commitment to studying whether there was evidence that the cost-benefit analysis of investment in winter resilience had shifted. I would be grateful if the Minister would update us on any such work that is taking place.
When the Minister answers the question of my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Riverside about the announcement of funding in the autumn statement, will he make it clear whether the investment that is being made will ensure that all the additional capacity that is being bought will be available this winter?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Norman Baker)
A huge range of questions were asked in the debate, and I will do my best to get through them. I thank the Select Committee on Transport for initiating the study and for producing a helpful and balanced report—indeed, its Chair, the hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Mrs Ellman), made a helpful and balanced contribution today. The Committee is doing its job and the Government have found its comments useful in focusing our attention on the important issues.
As the hon. Lady and the Opposition spokesman, the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness (John Woodcock), said, last winter was extraordinarily cold. The hon. Gentleman referred to the fact that the temperature reached its lowest for 17 years; it was indeed exceptional. I am grateful that he did not seek to blame the Government for the weather—he almost did, but not quite. [Interruption.] If he wants to, that is fine. We were collectively—not just the Government, but local authorities and transport providers—better prepared in 2010 than in 2009, which also saw serious weather. I think that we are better prepared in 2011 than we were in 2010.
The availability of salt stocks has been mentioned. The hon. Member for Barrow and Furness said his leader sent him down a salt mine; my leader has not sent me down one yet, but perhaps that will come if I do not perform well this afternoon. I am happy to say that salt stocks are healthy: in October there were 2,755,000 tonnes of salt stocks, which compares favourably with—indeed, it is considerably more than—what we had last year. There were no problems with salt stocks either this year or last year. Had we had a Siberian winter, no doubt we might have had a problem, but even with an exceptional winter the salt stocks were perfectly adequate. We now have more stocks than last year, and having undertaken a survey of all local authorities, and all councils bar two have responded, we are confident about the figures we quote. In addition, we have published guidance on salt spread rates, which is available on the UK Roads Liaison Group website and through the Highways Agency. We are well prepared this year.
The hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside asked whether all the Quarmby recommendations had been implemented in full. She will know that some of them were not for the Department for Transport, so I cannot definitively say whether all the local authorities have implemented all the measures identified for them. However, all the recommendations that relate to the Department for Transport have either been completely implemented, or have made significant progress toward implementation. If the hon. Lady wants to pursue a particular point, I shall be happy subsequently to provide her with information in recommendation-by-recommendation form; that is perfectly possible.
The hon. Lady asked whether we would have an independent review this winter. I hope that that will not be necessary. We are better prepared—I shall explain why I think so in a moment—and so are transport providers. If something were to go awry we would want to examine what happened—as would the Committee, I am sure—but I hope that will not happen.
The hon. Lady and my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich South (Simon Wright) highlighted the importance of preparations by the Met Office and the capacity to identify future weather patterns—at least beyond a few days. I believe that last winter the Met Office forecasts broadly reflected what occurred, which was useful, but it remains the case that severity can vary over relatively small distances, so an element of operational judgment on how reliable the information is will always be required by transport providers and, indeed—to pick up the point made by the hon. Member for Bolton West (Julie Hilling)—by those who make their own judgments about whether to venture out. Weather in this country can change markedly within five or 10 miles, so it is difficult to get even local radio forecasts very accurate. Incidentally, I am not responsible for BBC local radio cuts, and nor are the Government: it is a matter for the BBC what it does. I simply hope that the BBC can protect local radio, which is a valuable service and information source for the country.
The hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside and my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich South both rightly asked about a potential £10 million investment in supercomputing capability for weather forecasting. We are considering that suggestion sympathetically. There is a need to understand the benefits of more detailed forecasting and its role alongside other measures designed to increase the resilience of transport infrastructure to disruption from extreme winter weather. We are working with economic and scientific colleagues across Government to review the evidence about winter weather patterns and to test whether current levels of investment in winter resilience are being optimised. The Met Office raised the idea of supercomputing capability. Perhaps the hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside, as Committee Chair, knows that the previous Transport Secretary commissioned a review by the chief economist and chief scientist at the Department for Transport to establish whether there was a case for greater investment in measures to improve winter resilience. That review is also formally assessing the business case, and, if it is viable, the potential funding options for such an investment. The present Secretary of State has the report on her desk and will publish it shortly.
The response of aviation was rightly raised. It is undoubtedly true that there were significant problems at Heathrow last year, to which hon. Members rightly drew attention. The Committee referred to the criticism that major airports were under-investing in winter resilience equipment, and thought that that was borne out. The hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside also mentioned the David Begg report in her opening remarks and the useful work that he has done. As she knows, we broadly agree with the thrust of the Committee’s observation on the level of airports’ investment in winter resilience. However, Heathrow and Gatwick have taken on board the need to do rather better than last year. They have put in place revised arrangements and made new investment to reduce the risk of disruption as a result of future severe winter events.
I can confirm that both airports have made significant investment in additional snow and ice clearance capacity and that Heathrow has committed more than £30 million to date, including on tripling its snow and ice clearance vehicle fleet and quadrupling staff numbers available for snow clearance. Gatwick has invested £8 million in further snow and ice clearance equipment, including the acquisition of snow clearance vehicles from Switzerland and the subsequent acquisition of 30 additional vehicles. Both airports have revised their operational command and control procedures to improve their response to severe weather.
At Heathrow airport, operators and others who use the airport have agreed capacity contingency plans that are enforceable through the airport’s local rules. Those plans will be initiated during periods of temporarily reduced capacity to deliver an effective schedule for passengers. Heathrow has tripled the number of vehicles available for snow clearance compared with December 2010—there are now 185 vehicles at the airport. It has increased the number of staff available for snow clearance from 117 to 468 per shift and it has a new reservist role, so that 950 non-operational staff can be deployed. It has agreed with industry on a new process for managing the necessary flight cancellations during disruption, which was mentioned, so that passengers have more timely and accurate information about whether their flight is operating. I entirely agree that it is important to do that given what happened last year at the airport. In answer to the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness, yes, I am confident that Heathrow and Gatwick are much better prepared this year than they were last year. There was, indeed, an ambiguity about whether Heathrow was closed. That was not helpful and I am hopeful—confident, even—that that will not occur this year.
The issue of emergency timetables was also mentioned in relation to Heathrow. As the hon. Lady rightly said, the former Secretary of State for Transport raised that possibility, and it is worth considering the matter. In principle, the Committee said that it can see the benefits to passengers of imposing an emergency timetable at busy airports. The Civil Aviation Authority will continue its work on improving airports’ resilience, including by monitoring the progress made by airports to improve their performance through the implementation of agreed capacity reduction plans in relation to an emergency timetable where appropriate. The operators and others at Heathrow airport unanimously agreed to capacity contingency plans being enforceable through the airport local rules. They will be introducing such plans if necessary as a result of the requirements that the winter imposes on them.
The Chair of the Select Committee referred to future plans for the CAA. Let me just find the relevant note on that. The hon. Lady was concerned about the draft Civil Aviation Bill and the plans for passenger representation. As I have already mentioned, the Civil Aviation Authority will continue to monitor the progress made by airports to improve their performance. There will be enforcement through the CAA through licensed conditions to facilitate greater airport resilience and a better passenger experience during any disruption. The CAA is taking an active interest in that matter, as I think the hon. Lady recognises.
There has also been an attempt to ensure better surface access to airports during disruption, which the hon. Lady mentioned. I can assure her that the Department for Transport will be monitoring future events, including access to airports, to ensure that there is co-ordination between modes of transport. That was recommendation 14 of the Committee’s report. We are engaging and have engaged with transport operators already to ensure that contingency plans are in place to deal with any events this year. However, although we and the operators can make the best plans possible, we are dependent on the weather. We cannot prepare for every single eventuality; we can simply do our best under the circumstances and ensure that we respond as best we can.
The information provided to passengers was raised by a couple of hon. Members. It is certainly true that the information on airlines and trains provided to passengers was not at its best. Some train companies are better than others, but we are concerned that accurate information needs to be provided on a timely basis, including on whether or not to travel. That needs to be clear. The hon. Member for Barrow and Furness asked what discussions I have had on either winter preparedness or passenger information during disruption. I have had extensive discussions with the train companies and with Network Rail. I have met them regularly on a monthly basis. During those meetings, we have considered passenger information during disruption and winter preparedness to try to ensure that, first, the trains are able to run—I will come on to the infrastructure points in a moment—and, secondly, that when something does occur, passengers are properly informed about what is happening and what action they should take.
That includes, as I mentioned in a debate yesterday or the day before, ensuring that when a train is stranded, appropriate steps are taken to ensure that passengers can get to a station as soon as possible, rather than potentially being stranded for a long time on a train. However, it is not appropriate to micro-manage train companies and for Department for Transport officials to count how many blankets are on trains. We have a responsibility to indicate to train companies that they should be prepared, but it is for them to take that forward on their own basis and to ensure they are properly prepared. Ultimately, the buck stops with them. We do not own the train companies, but we have a right to say to them that they should be prepared, and we have done that. However, it is up to them to ensure that they take that forward in their own way and they will be held accountable for any shortcomings that occur as a consequence.
Two or three hon. Members raised the matter of pavements. I entirely agree about the lack of attention that some local authorities have sometimes given to pavements. It is wrong simply to assume that people in vehicles are the only ones who matter. Many people have to get from A to B on foot and they deserve proper consideration, too. On a purely practical basis, there is no point keeping a bus route clear if the whole pavement around the bus stop is a sheet of ice, which I saw in my town of Lewes last winter. There needs to be some joined-up thinking. There also needs to be some thinking from local authorities to identify important passenger routes, such as doctors’ surgeries, to ensure that essential journeys carried out by foot can take place. I hope that the hon. Member for Bolton West will appreciate that, again, it is not for us to tell local authorities which roads and pavements should be clear, but as I have made plain to the Local Government Association and others, it is incumbent on them to think about the needs of those who are on foot, as well as those who are in vehicles.
I hope that we have made it easier for individuals who want to help to take action themselves by removing the suggestion that they will be subject to legal action if they clear their path or help in any other way. It was unhelpful that that suggestion got around and we have knocked it on the head. We have made it clear that we welcome people taking sensible steps to keep pavements clear both for themselves and for other people. We are also grateful to the farming community for the steps it has taken to ensure that it can help with vehicles that, for example, are stranded in country lanes and that would otherwise be there for some time. The idea that people should help each other is not new, but it does not do any harm to reiterate it today.
I have dealt with emergency timetables, the CAA and the surface access. On the Highways Agency and crisis response, I am happy to say that the agency has developed and implemented a revised crisis management policy to co-ordinate its services better during a severe winter incident. That policy ensures that an appropriate level of Highways Agency command is in place to take over all strategic management. Its aim is improved co-ordination, thereby mitigating the impact of severe weather in the first instance and, if necessary, helping to speed up the recovery of the network. As the hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside said, the Highways Agency did a pretty good job last year, but obviously there is still room for improvement and we are keen to see that.
John Woodcock
Does that include extra capacity on the emergency telephone line, if needed? If the Minister is not sure of the answer, will he write to me?
Norman Baker
I will mull that over and provide an answer before the end of the debate.
The hon. Gentleman asked about snow wardens. The Local Government Group has set up a website for local authorities to share best practice, including what to do about snow wardens and encouraging that process. I understand that many authorities already have snow warden schemes in place.
The hon. Member for Bolton West suggested that we might do more to lean on local authorities. We try to resist the temptation to suggest that Whitehall knows best—that we can always run what happens in Kettering better than people in Kettering can. We do not want to do that. I draw the hon. Lady’s attention to the fact that a local authority has a general duty under section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to ensure, as far as is reasonably practical, that safe passage along a highway is not threatened by snow or ice. If she or anyone else thinks that local authorities are failing in that duty, they can of course pursue them appropriately, but that is the general duty that I hope gives some reassurance and cover.
I was asked about variable message signs on highways to improve the information that can be displayed. I take the point that sometimes messages are first seen from a long way away and may not be current when they are reached. I also take the point—I referred to it earlier—that localised weather conditions can be such that the message actually gives inaccurate information. However, the Highways Agency is widening the use of variable message signs to improve the messages that can be displayed during severe weather. They will now be able to be used to provide severe weather-related incident information and warnings of forecasts of severe weather, as well as messages saying that weather will be particularly bad in any particular area. The agency is trying to provide that information in a more localised and more up-to-date fashion, bearing in mind the constraints that I mentioned.
As was mentioned, the Highways Agency is developing a comprehensive publicity campaign for this winter, which is aimed at encouraging road users to take more responsibility for their actions during severe weather through focused messages. Road users are being encouraged to plan their journeys ahead of severe weather, to check weather forecasts before setting out, and to prepare their car and carry an emergency kit with them. Variable messages will be used to make that point to drivers. The campaign is called “Make time for winter”. I am happy to tell the hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside that that partnership marketing campaign takes on board the comments made by her Committee and responds directly to them. The campaign was launched on 24 October, in unison with the Cabinet Office’s “Get Ready for Winter” and Scotland’s “Ready Scotland” campaigns. I hope that they will be useful in making drivers consider their actions carefully throughout the winter period.
It is difficult to be specific about whether drivers should go out. Ultimately, people have to make their own judgments based on common sense. It is common for the Government to tell individuals not to fly to a particular country because of the political situation unless they have to. We have to rely on individuals to make those judgments for themselves. All we can do is put a flag up and say, “Hang on a minute, look at the facts in this particular case.” That is what we will try to do.
The information about Highways Agency telephone lines has now come to me. I am told that the agency has a wide range of channels for members of the public to contact it and is not aware of any particular problems with the telephone line systems. However, as the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness raised the matter, I will look into it and write to him with any further information.
The Highways Agency carried out a complete review of its performance last winter, taking into account the recommendations of both the Transport Committee and the Quarmby audit. It has worked with a number of key stakeholders to develop measures to improve preparedness for severe weather this winter. I have referred to some of those measures, but it is also carrying out a series of winter snow desk exercises and stakeholder briefing sessions to test its preparedness for the coming winter, and issuing guidance to service providers to confirm elements of the winter service that need to be exercised in advance of winter. It has taken other steps, including better liaison with the Met Office.
I mentioned that I regularly raise passenger information during disruption with train companies. It may be useful for hon. Members to know that the Office of Rail Regulation has been consulting on making good passenger information a licence condition for train operating companies. I understand that it is likely to announce its conclusions shortly, after consultation, and I will be interested to hear what it says—it is, of course, independent of Government.
It may be useful to comment on the train companies’ preparation in terms of both trains and the network, so that we can be more confident than perhaps some people have been in the resilience of the rail network for the coming winter. I think that it is fair to say that both the train companies and Network Rail have taken significant steps to improve their preparedness compared with last year—and, indeed, last year was better than the year before. Network Rail now has key route strategies for each route, which set out arrangements for keeping route lines and critical junctions open and which facilities can be expected to be provided.
On the routes that are electrified with third-rail current—a point raised by the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness—which are by and large south of London, Network Rail has introduced conductor rail heating in critical locations, which will keep it clear of snow and ice. The pilot projects so far have been successful and we are considering further roll-out. Network Rail has also introduced a new and improved snow and ice clearance train, including a snow plough and equipment to keep the conductor rail free of ice and snow. The hon. Gentleman also asked whether the commitment to meet certain deadlines by 1 December had been met. I am assured that the answer is yes, it has been met.
Extra point heaters have been installed in some locations to ensure that points remain operational—as hon. Members will know, points are particularly vulnerable to freezing, which can then cause a major problem in either direction for quite some distance—and maintenance has been carried out on existing point heaters to ensure that they remain reliable. The train companies have already undertaken maintenance work on their train fleets to improve reliability during winter operation, including action to minimise problems with frozen sliding doors and frozen couplings. Some fleets on the third-rail network have been equipped to spray de-icing fluid to keep the conductor rail clear of ice and snow. They have also ensured that supplies of salt and de-icing products are available at stations and depots, to keep platforms and other areas clear of snow and ice for the benefit of passenger safety.
The train companies are also being encouraged by us to liaise with local highway authorities to ensure that roads leading to stations and depots are kept clear of snow and ice—the hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside talked about co-ordination across modes—and staffing arrangements have been reviewed to ensure that staff are available to operate the service. A number of train companies have made arrangements to accommodate staff who are unable to get home.
Several train companies have produced contingency timetables that will be introduced in the event of severe winter weather. They have been validated by Network Rail to ensure that they are capable of being operated robustly. Improvements in timetabling software mean that they can be uploaded to industry journey-planning systems overnight. Steps have been taken—sometimes high-tech, sometimes low—to improve trains and keep them resilient, including, according to my crude understanding, stuffing a sock into the horn to ensure that it does not fail, because if the horn fails, the train cannot go out. Every possibility, therefore, is being covered by the train companies to ensure that trains run.
My experience last year was that the train companies tried hard to ensure that trains ran—for example, Virgin ran trains to get people home, although they had to run slowly. One of the points I make to officials and others in the rail industry is that it would not be right to penalise companies through their performance measures if they were doing the right thing and getting passengers home rather than meeting some abstract performance measure. Southern also performed well by running diesel stock down the Brighton main line, which enabled passengers to get home under diesel traction when the third rail was not available; other companies took similarly helpful measures. The information from one or two companies was clearly inadequate, which caused a great deal of unhappiness among passengers, but I am confident that those companies will be much better prepared to deal with passenger disruption this year.
I hope that I have covered most of the points made today. If I have missed any out, I will pick up on them and write to Members accordingly.
Mrs Ellman
With the leave of the House, I will conclude the debate. We have had an interesting and helpful discussion. Individual hon. Members have raised key points, and I thank the Minister for his comprehensive reply, which indicates that the subject is being treated seriously and action is being taken. It is an ongoing issue to which we may well return, but I have been encouraged to hear how the Government are dealing with it.