Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andy Sawford and Robert Goodwill

Thursday 8th May 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Goodwill]

I think that my hon. Friend found out that I was due to be in Corby that day to open a new road, so I will be able to combine the two visits. This is a £40 million to £50 million scheme to which we have no policy objections, but as it will unlock potential development for up to 5,000 houses and improve access to the business and energy parks, I think that it is only fair that those who stand to gain—that is, the developers and the local authority, through the new homes bonus—should pay some of the costs.

[Andy Sawford (Corby) (Lab/Co-op)]

When the Minister is in north Northamptonshire, will he ensure that his visit to Kettering does not eat into the time he has with us to celebrate the opening of the new Kettering to Corby link road? In my dealings with the Minister I have found him to be an even-handed and fair-minded man, so will he acknowledge that because of the lead-in, this project is very much a result of the work of the previous Labour Government and of Phil Hope, the then MP for Corby?

[Mr Goodwill]

I would just add that this Government have tripled investment in roads, whereas I seem to remember that in 1997, when the Blair Government came to power, there was a moratorium on building roads. I look forward to coming to Corby. I think I will be calling in at Newark on the way home.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andy Sawford and Robert Goodwill

Thursday 6th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Andy Sawford (Corby) (Lab/Co-op)]

12. What assessment he has made of the availability of bus services across the country.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Robert Goodwill)]

Decisions about the provision of bus services outside London are a matter for commercial bus operators and local authorities, who are best placed to identify the transport needs in their areas. Ministers and officials are in regular contact with bus sector stakeholders such as local authorities and the Confederation of Passenger Transport about developments in the bus market. My noble Friend Baroness Kramer will also chair the next meeting of the Bus Partnership Forum this week, bringing together all those with an interest in the provision of bus services.

[Mr Goodwill]

Local authorities have certainly had to make some difficult decisions, but the fact remains that 44% of the money that goes to bus companies comes, in one way or another, from the taxpayer. We should look carefully at the working of the bus service operators grant, which is a fuel subsidy, because it seems to be a very blunt tool to support services that are under threat, particularly in rural areas.

[Andy Sawford]

Many bus services in my area have been cut altogether, and some of those that are left are of poor quality. Will the Minister help my constituents by encouraging the Vehicle and Operator Service Agency to investigate why the Centrebus service between Raunds and Thrapston frequently either fails to arrive or breaks down?

[Mr Goodwill]

I will certainly be happy to do that. I also recommend that the operator Stagecoach should go to Scarborough and order a new fleet of buses, made in my constituency, to solve that problem.