First Great Western Rail Franchise

Debate between Alison Seabeck and Theresa Villiers

Tuesday 20th December 2011 Westminster Hall

[Alison Seabeck (Plymouth, Moor View) (Lab)]

I want to thank my hon. Friend the Member for Truro and Falmouth (Sarah Newton)—in Christmas spirit, I will describe her as my hon. Friend for today—for introducing the discussion. This is very much a cross-party debate, and I am pleased that she has managed to secure it. I am even more delighted that she has presented the case in an incredibly well-informed and balanced way. I hope that the Minister accepts that she made a really thoughtful contribution to what I am sure will be an excellent debate.

It is essential that those involved in preparing the franchise listen to the views of MPs from across the south-west on the priorities for our region and the importance of connectivity. They also need to listen to our individual concerns about the reliability and frequency of services to the towns and cities that we represent.

In the past six weeks, I convened a meeting of all south-west MPs to discuss connectivity across our region, particularly in respect of the rail franchise. I am therefore delighted at the timeliness of this debate. The meeting was incredibly well attended, as is today’s debate. Significant numbers of people came, which is an indication of the importance that we place on getting this right. I should also put on the record my thanks—and the thanks of other MPs—to Chris Irwin from TravelWatch SouthWest, Andrew Seedhouse from Plymouth university, Ray Bentley and Neill Mitchell for helping to ensure the debate and meeting was well-informed. They supplied briefings to all colleagues and attended in person.

My hon. Friend the Member for Truro and Falmouth has drawn attention to the common themes, and I make no apology for repeating some of them. It is essential that those involved in drawing up the franchise understand clearly that we want the new franchise to address some common concerns. As I have said, we also want full consideration to be given to issues that are specific to our constituencies.

To be honest, predating this Parliament, we as a group allowed things to slip under the radar a bit when the last franchise was being prepared and we got caught out. When the previous franchise was announced, we found that it was set significantly below the previous standard. The standard of service then was not all that good, but when the previous franchise was first proposed, it would have made things a whole lot worse—for example, we would have lost the sleeper service.

One of the key messages that we want to send out is that we need to ensure that the starting point for the franchise is at least the base line of the current service and that it should not be any lower. I will come on to this again, but, ideally, we need to keep one or two things that we currently have. It is also essential to ensure that other Departments feed into the process.

Any reduction in service would clearly impact on business and economic growth in the region, particularly in Plymouth, where we have just lost our airport. That leaves Plymouth, the 15th largest city in England, as one of only two large cities that is more than 10 miles from a motorway that does not have an airport—the other is Peterborough. I am sure colleagues will understand that, if Plymouth is to continue to be an economic driver for the region, it is vital to have reliable, affordable and fast services to other large cities—in particular, London and Birmingham—as well as to Heathrow, and I will come to that issue later.

Will the Minister explain how she intends to ensure that the wider economic benefits of the franchise are considered across Departments? I gently suggest to her that the issues specific to the franchise, on which decisions have been made in the past about additional revenue from fares, have not fully reflected the wider benefits—those not found in the fares box. Too many Government decisions on transport and the franchise have been silo based. I urge her to talk cross-Department to her colleagues in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Treasury, as well as to seek the views of local enterprise partnerships across the region, because they, too, will have a significant input into the process.

Will the Minister say—this point has already been made, but it is incredibly important to business people in my area—whether there will be a five or six-year franchise, which is the rumour, or whether there will be something practical and sensible, such as a 15-year franchise?

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Mrs Theresa Villiers)]

It might be sensible to answer that now. We published a notice in the official journal of the European Union expressing our intention to go for a 15-year franchise.

[Alison Seabeck]

That is very good news. I am delighted about the Minister’s confirmation, because that has been a cause of concern.

During the MPs’ meeting, it became clear from the evidence that was presented that our region’s population is growing fast. That point was made earlier, but Ministers and officials in Whitehall need to understand it. In my experience of two different Governments, I do not think that people really understand the south-west. They think that it is a green, leafy place where people go on holiday, but it is growing fast and has a huge potential that is being missed. If we do not get the right franchise, everything we have to offer will be wasted. That is an important point, and I particularly want officials to understand what the south-west has to offer.

All those issues need to be factored in, and we need to ensure that the mismatch in rail fares, which patently hits the south-west, is also addressed. I am afraid that that is the outcome of another botched privatisation, but there is a genuine issue that is well documented by TravelWatch SouthWest in its very good document. We have seen the Chancellor rectify or consider improving and correcting a mistake that was made with South West Water. I do not know whether anything can be done about rail fares, but they are clearly an important issue.

I will make a couple of key points about Plymouth and services into our city, and I am sure that the hon. Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport (Oliver Colvile)—my hon. Friend for the day, too—will re-enforce them if he is lucky enough to be called to speak. First, as I have pointed out, there are serious connectivity issues relating to our city—a city of more than 250,000 people. Secondly, we need to enable people to do business with our city. That means being able to arrive early enough for morning meetings. Plymouth is one of the top 10 locations for fast growing business, but we need people to be able to reach us by 10 am, not by noon, so we would really like to see a train leaving Paddington at approximately 5.55 am.

We would like to see more three-hour journeys and greater reliability. The signalling improvements that are happening in Reading will help with that. We are also keen to have links to Heathrow, because, without an air link, good rail connections are absolutely vital for both business and tourism. We would therefore be interested in supporting the Heathrow hub link. Given the long journeys on the franchise—five to six hours for colleagues in Cornwall—it is essential that bidders consider both comfort and wi-fi provision. That would certainly help; a lot of business can be done on a train. I have not even touched on the importance of improving connectivity via community rail links, which are growing exponentially in the south-west, or the benefits of improving car parking, bus connections, walking and cycling linkages, which, although not directly issues for the franchise, deserve wider consideration.

Overcrowding, which has already been mentioned, is a huge issue throughout the system. It is a problem for the Paddington to Penzance main line, which is what we should actually call it, rather than lose it in the greater south-western service. As my hon. Friend the Member for Truro and Falmouth mentioned, First Great Western operates 147 trains—some 40 more trains than was set out by the original franchise. That should therefore be the base level for the franchise. Once rolling stock is freed up by changes in other parts of the country, my plea is that it should be diverted to the south-west and not channelled up to the midlands and the north, as has happened in the past.

Our region’s rail links have been neglected historically. They are often seen as far too difficult, but we have heard already in the Chamber today, and we will hear again, a consensual call for additional resources to come to our region for good economic reasons—there is a real cost-benefit to investment. I hope the Minister is listening and will ensure that all the issues raised today are discussed at the highest level in Government.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Mrs Theresa Villiers)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alan, as ever. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Truro and Falmouth (Sarah Newton) on securing the debate at such a timely point. Yesterday, the Government fired the starting gun on the process for selecting the new franchisee with the publication of a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union. We propose to issue a consultation in the next few days, which we expect will close at the end of March. The debate is thus well timed, and I welcome all the speeches that have been made. As my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport (Oliver Colvile) put it, all hon. Members spoke with one voice about the importance of the process that we are undertaking. We will consider all the representations made today and during the consultation.

[Alison Seabeck]

On that very point, will the Minister promise today that she will take a meeting of all the south-west MPs, once that consultation is under way and we have had the opportunity to look at the franchise? We will certainly have views on it.

[Mrs Villiers]

I am happy to give the hon. Lady that undertaking. It will be a good contribution to the decision-making process.

Almost every hon. Member who has spoken has emphasised the economic importance of the Great Western rail network. They included my hon. Friends the Members for South Swindon (Mr Buckland), for North Swindon (Justin Tomlinson), for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport and for South East Cornwall (Sheryll Murray), and the hon. Member for Plymouth, Moor View (Alison Seabeck). Clearly, it has a crucial role. Rail connectivity supports jobs and growth, and is, in particular, vital for the tourism sector, which is such an important part of the economy in the area served by the Great Western franchise. In response to the point made by the hon. Member for Plymouth, Moor View, it would be positive for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Treasury, local enterprise partnerships and local authorities to be engaged in the important decision in question.

Passenger demand has grown across much of the Great Western network in recent years, as many hon. Members have acknowledged.