Local Government Funding: North-East
Debate between Baroness Chapman of Darlington and Phil WilsonWestminster Hall is an alternative Chamber for MPs to hold debates, named after the adjoining Westminster Hall.
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Jenny Chapman
My hon. Friend has just encapsulated my argument, neatly making the point that I am sure all Labour Members present will be making to the Minister. We feel strongly that we could, with the right support and the right collaboration with the Government and our local authorities, make a real difference to those numbers. Things were going in the right direction—that is what we are trying to get across—but we cannot do it on our own. We know that all Governments fiddle with the formulae to suit their political ends—I am not naive about that. We called for the debate because this Government are doing that in such a blatant manner.
In my home town of Darlington, residents are united in their disgust at what the Government are doing to our town. In a borough of some 100,000 people, almost 9,000 have already signed a petition initiated by my trusty local newspaper, The Northern Echo. The petition reads:
“The Northern Echo is calling on the Government to reconsider its funding formula which has led Darlington Borough Council to implement savage spending cuts that threaten the fabric of the town. These cuts affect not only the most vulnerable but will impact on every corner of the borough.”
It is unusual to find a local paper quite so squarely in support of the local council, and how right The Northern Echo is. I am so proud that that historic campaigning title is based in my constituency and is campaigning for fair funding for the north-east. It used to give the Labour Government a hard time, too, but it is completely clear that the decisions that this Government have made are disproportionately and unjustifiably harming the people of the north.
Phil Wilson (Sedgefield) (Lab)
I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate. I represent part of the rural area of Darlington borough. Will she explain how unsubtle the funding formula for local government has become? Surrey has received £24 million of the £300 million transitional grant, but Darlington Borough Council is facing cuts of £20 million to £22 million.
Jenny Chapman
It is extraordinary, and the debate on the funding settlement that we had in the main Chamber brought it home to anyone who still thought that the Government were acting fairly. Government Back Benchers were saying, “I was going to vote against this, but now we have got our transitional funding I think I will go through the Lobby with the Minister.” It was completely bare-faced. One might have thought that the Government would be more subtle.
Jenny Chapman
It cannot. The northern powerhouse as a concept is being roundly rubbished across the region. The Minister might like to take that back to his colleague. It is becoming a joke, and it is not a joke that I take any pride in. I want there to be a northern powerhouse. I am proud of my region, and I see its potential. I want a Government who are genuinely prepared to support it, and the northern powerhouse is nothing but a slogan. It is nonsense; it does not mean anything; it is hollow. He needs to take that back to his colleague and come back with a real strategy that works with local people, looks at skills and transport infrastructure, and works properly with combined authorities, rather than just handing them some delegated responsibility without any resources to do anything meaningful that will transform anyone’s life. People are losing faith and what little confidence they ever had in the Government’s intentions to do anything of any purpose in our region.
Phil Wilson
My hon. Friend mentioned transport infrastructure, and she will be aware just as much as I am of the effect that the public transport cuts have had in Darlington borough. Some communities that I represent in the borough, such as Brafferton and Sadberge, no longer have public transport, which is affecting places such as Hurworth, Heighington, Middleton St George and Piercebridge. That just goes to prove that to energise a local community, public transport is necessary for those who cannot afford a car to get to work.
Jenny Chapman
I completely agree. I am aware that while we are meeting here, the High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Bill Committee is also meeting. If the Minister takes one thing away from this debate, I would like him to take this point about buses. The number of people in the north-east who rely on bus services far outweighs those who need a train to commute to work. Their services are being decimated. Councils are no longer in a position to financially subsidise bus routes. The bus companies are under no obligation to provide the services that we so desperately need and communities are being cut off. That is already happening—it has already happened to areas of my borough.
Jenny Chapman
It is indefensible, as my hon. Friend says. The Minister really needs to reflect on the decisions he has made. While those councils and the residents in those areas will benefit from the additional money, it is the looked-after children and the older people—the people who rely on council services in our region—who pay the price, and that is wrong.
Phil Wilson
I do not know whether my hon. Friend is aware, but revenue spending per household in Darlington from 2011-12 to 2019-20 will be reduced by £1,642. In Durham the figure is £1,600 and in Gateshead it is nearly £2,000. Does that not prove how brutal and unsubtle the cuts are for the north-east of England, when we compare them with what is happening in the south?
Jenny Chapman
Absolutely it does—I have the same numbers here, which I am happy to give to the Minister.
In a previous debate, the Minister tried to imply that Darlington was getting £2,000 a year extra. If he makes that same claim again, he is completely wrong. I have checked, double-checked and triple-checked with my director of finance, and the Minister is completely wrong. I advise him not to say that again and to ask his officials to get back to the local authorities and find out what the actual numbers are.
Stockton to Darlington Railway
Debate between Baroness Chapman of Darlington and Phil Wilson(9 years, 2 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Phil Wilson
I agree with my hon. Friend. He may have the first ticket office and waiting room, however, but the first one used was at Heighington Crossing.
The train run was successful enough for the Stockton and Darlington railway to open nine days later, on September 25. On that inaugural run from Shildon to Darlington and then Stockton, Locomotion No. 1 pulled the first train—full of coal, bands and people—along the track which today is on the boundary of the new Hitachi factory.
Jenny Chapman (Darlington) (Lab)
Further to the intervention of my hon. Friend the Member for Stockton North (Alex Cunningham), I would like to make it clear that we have the first passenger railway station at North Road in Darlington. Although the name of the line is “Stockton to Darlington”, it should be noted that it was the people of Darlington who raised the money and paid for the line. All but £1,000 was raised in Darlington.
Phil Wilson
Everything my hon. Friend said is absolutely right and I understand that the railway tavern is still used. It is the longest-used railway tavern in the world.
The 600 or so passengers on board—the directors sitting in the luxury of the Experiment while the world’s first railway enthusiasts clung to the sides of the coal trucks—could not believe their eyes as hedges and trees flashed by at unbelievable speeds. Now, the Hitachi Rail Europe factory had its official opening on 3 September this year, bringing 730 jobs, thousands more in the supply chain and train building literally full circle back to where it started. The new trains will enter the rail network by joining the exact route used by George Stephenson’s Locomotion No. 1, and where it was test driven to the outstanding speed of 15 mph.
The new inter-city trains will be a lot faster and more comfortable, but we must salute the energy, drive and ambition of the early rail pioneers. On 16 September 1825, Locomotion No. 1 did not just pull one railway train; it pulled the world into the mass transport era of the railway age. Such is the pride of the people of the north-east in the importance of the Stockton and Darlington railway that 50, 100 and 150 years after 1825, the opportunity to celebrate this gift to the world has been celebrated with processions, fairs, gatherings of locomotions and exhibitions. These anniversaries have been marked with major celebrations, with the casting of special medals and with great spectacle.
In 2025, the Stockton and Darlington railway will be 200 years old, and work has already commenced to ensure that local communities and visitors from around the world can visit and appreciate the surviving monuments, buildings and track bed of the line. This has already attracted action from Durham, Darlington and Stockton councils, engaged local people through a new charitable body, the Friends of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, and received initial funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic England.
The Stockton and Darlington railway was important to the economic success of the north-east and to community pride in 1825, and with the right support and action, this world-class heritage site can be as important again. Work has already begun, with huge community support, to rescue the remains of the 1825 line and give it the international recognition it deserves. Over the next 10 years, culminating in the bicentenary of 2025, there are aspirations to create a long-distance walking route along the original line. This will link up a number of excellent museums and provide heritage-led economic regeneration for the area. In that same year, 2025, the Tees Valley hopes to be awarded the capital of culture accolade. The case will also be made to ensure that the surviving elements of the Stockton and Darlington railway have appropriate statutory protection through designation either as a scheduled monument or as listed buildings. A case is also to be researched and made to seek the inscription of the 1825 line to ensure that it can become a world heritage site through UNESCO.
I hope that the Minister will recognise the great legacy of British engineering and enterprise that is exemplified by the Stockton and Darlington railway, and that she will offer Government support for our aspiration to seek appropriate status and conservation for the line. I also hope that she will join me in offering support to those community and public bodies seeking to protect the railway’s remains and use them to inspire heritage-led economic regeneration for the area, and to inspire the young of the region to seek careers in engineering and manufacturing.
On 17 June, I spoke at a conference held at Locomotion, the National Railway Museum, in Shildon in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Bishop Auckland (Helen Goodman). The conference was organised by Durham County Council, Darlington Borough Council, Stockton Borough Council and the National Railway Museum. It was also lottery funded. The conference looked at how best to preserve the 26-mile route of the Stockton and Darlington railway. It is our ambition to submit a bid for world heritage status for the line because of its significance as part of the country’s industrial heritage.
The last time a bid was submitted to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport was back in 2010. A number of railway and wagon-way sites from the dawn of the railway era were collected into the bid by a committee chaired by Sir Neil Cossons, formerly the director of the Science Museum and then chairman of English Heritage. The sites included: the Causey Arch; the Tanfield railway; the Wylam wagon-way and Stephenson birthplace; the Stephenson locomotive works in Newcastle; the Bowes railway; the Liverpool Road station site; and the Stockton and Darlington railway between Etherley and Darlington.
The application, entitled “The Birth of the Railway Age: genesis of modern transport”, was submitted to DCMS in competition with 37 other bids. Although it was rejected in 2011, I understand that DCMS and the heritage agencies were requested to undertake a study to consider whether it would be possible to address the concerns that had been identified. However, no such study has been undertaken. Can the Minister say whether such a study could be undertaken now, because of the clear importance of maintaining these early examples of the country’s railway infrastructure? I know that UNESCO and DCMS place a lot of weight on community engagement, so will she also join me in thanking the community groups in south Durham and the Teesside area—including the Friends of the Stockton and Darlington Railway and the local authorities—that have engaged in maintaining the Stockton and Darlington railway route as best they can?
What advice can the Minister give, and what more can she do to ensure a successful bid for world heritage status for the Stockton and Darlington railway, either through a single bid or as part of a joint bid with other railway lines and wagon-ways?
As she knows, the heritage industry is an asset to the UK economy. Recent analysis shows that cultural heritage-based tourism accounts for £5 billion in GDP and some 134,000 jobs. When indirect effects are included, the figures rise to at least £14 billion and 393,000 jobs. I want some of that for Durham and the Tees Valley. I want to end by asking the Minister to come and see for herself the potential of the route and infrastructure of the Stockton and Darlington railway in heritage terms. It is only right that we protect the first of the railways as best we can. So please, Minister, visit us at any time.