Andrew George
Main Page: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)Department Debates - View all Andrew George's debates with the Department for Transport
(12 years ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mr McLoughlin
I congratulate the hon. Gentleman; I think there were about six questions there. However, I will give him only one answer, which is that the Under-Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for Lewes (Norman Baker), spoke directly to the managing director of that rail line. We are concerned about the deterioration of services, and I hope that measures will be put in place quickly to put them back to an acceptable level.
Andrew George (St Ives) (LD)
Notwithstanding my right hon. Friend’s reply to the hon. Member for Tamworth (Christopher Pincher) about the Brown inquiry, is he prepared to go a little further in outlining the consequences for other franchises and their timetabling, particularly the First Great Western franchise, which many hon. Members are very concerned about?
Mr McLoughlin
Yes; the hon. Gentleman’s points are well taken. However, I do not want to prejudge the Brown inquiry, nor the final Laidlaw inquiry. It is better that I wait for those reports to see whether they have any read-across. I assure him that, as I have said throughout the statement, we are very keen to see good, reliable railway services across the country.