Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Stuart Andrew

Tuesday 25th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Philip Hammond]

I am sorry to be boring, but all these issues will be addressed at the time of the autumn statement, when we will have the latest fiscal projections from the OBR.

[Stuart Andrew (Pudsey) (Con)]

T3. I know that there will be a statement on this in a moment, but it has been reported that Heathrow is the chosen option for expansion. It is important that every part of the UK benefits from this and so do our regional airports. Will the Chancellor agree to meet me to discuss how we can improve connectivity to Leeds Bradford airport and how we might get funding for a rail link to it?

[Mr Hammond]

As my hon. Friend and the House will know, an announcement has been made that the airports committee this morning decided to move ahead with the north-west runway at Heathrow, and my right hon. Friend the Transport Secretary will be making a statement to the House very shortly. My hon. Friend is absolutely right to say that regional connectivity is vital. Regional slots at Heathrow have been squeezed out by the pressure on the runways there, and we will ensure, as a part of this package, that regional slots are protected in the future.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Stuart Andrew

Tuesday 24th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Stuart Andrew (Pudsey) (Con)]

11. What assessment he has made of the prospects of defeating ISIL in Iraq.

[The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr Philip Hammond)]

Since operations by the global coalition began last year, ISIL has lost more than 30% of the territory it once controlled in Iraq. Most recently, Kurdish forces retook Sinjar, and Iraqi security forces have taken Baiji and are preparing to take Ramadi. Slowly but surely, ISIL is being pushed back, and I am confident that it will be driven out of Iraq in time.

[Stuart Andrew]

As chair of the all-party group on Islamo- phobia, I do wish we would formally refer to these people as Daesh. As they are steadily pushed back in Iraq, does my right hon. Friend agree that cutting their supply lines with Syria will hasten its defeat and, importantly, bring about the restoration of Iraq’s territorial integrity.

[Mr Hammond]

I completely agree with my hon. Friend. Of course, the retaking of Sinjar is a very important step in that, as it sits astride the most important supply route from Raqqa into Iraq. Ultimately, we need not just to cut the supply lines, but to go to the heart and the head of the beast in Raqqa.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Stuart Andrew

Monday 20th February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I think the Secretary of State did, and I did too. However, the hon. Member for Pudsey (Stuart Andrew) says that he never withdrew it in the first place. A gremlin got into the system.

[Stuart Andrew (Pudsey) (Con)]

11. What contribution the armed forces will make to security at the London 2012 Olympics; and if he will make a statement.

[Mr Philip Hammond]

I am sure we look forward to my hon. Friend’s supplementary question.

In answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Wimbledon (Stephen Hammond), I can say that the safety and security of the games is the responsibility of the Home Office and will be police led. The national Olympic security co-ordinator is the principal co-ordinating police officer for the delivery of national safety and security operations. Military personnel will remain under military command and control arrangements. Defence is working closely with the police and other civil authorities to ensure that that co-ordination between them is effective and that the games are safe and secure.

[Stuart Andrew]

I fear that the House will be sorely disappointed.

Will my right hon. Friend confirm that if reservists are deployed for Olympic security, the services will work with employers to minimise disruption as much as possible to those businesses?

High Speed Rail

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Stuart Andrew

Monday 20th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

I understand the hon. Gentleman’s suspicion. It is in the blood, I suspect. I also understand his point, and it would help to allay these concerns if, in some way, we could include in the first hybrid Bill specific commitments to Manchester and Leeds. We cannot include detailed route alignments and land acquisition because that would make the Bill vast and it would probably be in Committee for about five years. I take on board his points, and also any suggestions he might have about how we might do that practically, which is something that I have also discussed with my predecessor. Everyone who wishes this project well understands the need to give strong reassurance to those communities around Manchester, Leeds, South Yorkshire and the east midlands that stand to benefit from the second phase.

[Stuart Andrew (Pudsey) (Con)]

May I, too, offer my best wishes and support to you, Mr Deputy Speaker?

Having travelled down this morning on a very packed train from Leeds, may I say how much I welcome this statement? I am looking forward to seeing HS 2 come to Leeds. Given that trains going in and out of the station in Leeds are expected to see a 40% increase in the number of passengers, what extra capacity does the Secretary of State think that HS 2 will bring to the long-suffering passengers in Leeds and the north of England?

[Mr Hammond]

The route will more than triple the potential capacity available to passengers. I suspect that the very packed train that my hon. Friend experienced this morning might have been due to some specific problems on the east coast main line caused by overhead cable difficulties. I welcome his support. This will be a major deliverer of economic regeneration to Leeds and, in the next economic cycle, I hope that Leeds can resume the dash for growth and regeneration that it has so clearly pursued over the past few years.

Rail Investment

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Stuart Andrew

Thursday 25th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

That is precisely what we will be looking at working with the Welsh Assembly Government to achieve—a strong business case. The hon. Gentleman might reflect on what he did in the years that he sat on the Government Front Bench when not a single metre of railway line was electrified in Wales.

[Stuart Andrew (Pudsey) (Con)]

I welcome this announcement and I thank my right hon. Friend for delivering an honest assessment of what is achievable. Will he confirm that improvements to Yorkshire and trans-Pennine routes will include upgrades to carriages and increased numbers to improve the journeys of the hard-pressed commuters who have suffered badly thanks to the neglect of the Labour party?

[Mr Hammond]

We expect that additional carriages will be delivered to the northern and trans-Pennine franchises, but my hon. Friend will understand that these are commercial matters and that we have to enter negotiations with the franchisees as single-tender actions. We have to negotiate with them on the reimbursements they envisage for operating those additional carriages, so it is not possible to give him a precise number today because that would remove our negotiating power in the franchise discussions.

Transport (Investment)

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Stuart Andrew

Tuesday 26th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

We have confirmed the massive funding for the Nexus metro upgrade. The issue is not about cuts, but about investing where the best value for money can be delivered, and the Tees Valley bus scheme will be accelerated to provide additional and early support to the towns in the Tees valley. The PFI scheme to which the hon. Gentleman refers is simply no longer affordable. These PFI schemes, as he will know, are very expensive and would involve the Department committing for 30 years to a significant revenue stream, which it is just not sensible and prudent in the current environment.

[Stuart Andrew (Pudsey) (Con)]

I thank my right hon. Friend for the statement and, particularly, for his investment in the southern access to Leeds station, which will help to regenerate the southern part of the city. When he assesses the trolley bus system, will he look at the fact that, when it comes to an integrated transport system, Leeds has been led down the garden path for the past 20 years? I ask him to give significant consideration to that, because once people get into Leeds we need to get them around the city.

Secondly, I support some of the comments that the hon. Member for Leeds West (Rachel Reeves) made—perhaps not in the same way as I would have—with regard to the Kirkstall Forge and Apperley Bridge project, which would not only release significant amounts of private investment, but help to relieve significant congestion in some of the busiest parts of the city.

[Mr Hammond]

Both schemes to which my hon. Friend refers are in the development pool, and I urge him to urge his local authority to engage very seriously with that process, to sharpen the pencil, to think innovatively and to come back with a funding bid that puts those schemes in the vanguard and ensures that they are funded when we appraise the bids