Cost of Living
Debate between Caroline Spelman and Jake Berry
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden) (Con)
I support the Gracious Speech and commend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on the important measures that he has outlined, which will help the hard-working families in my west midlands constituency with the cost of living.
It is the rising cost of global energy that has had such a huge knock-on effect on household bills, not least the cost of travel to work. I therefore wish to speak about the proposed investment in high-speed rail, which will run through my constituency. We will get both the pain and the gain, as the first stop outside London will be Birmingham International, just 38 minutes from Euston. High Speed 2 throws a lifeline to the west midlands, which has been held back by a lack of transport investment down the years.
The principle behind high-speed rail is the lack of capacity on the existing railways. There is already a lack of capacity, which is why freight has had to be moved off the west coast main line, on to the Chiltern line or the congested west midlands road network. That lack of capacity means that I frequently have to stand when travelling at peak times to and from my constituency. Indeed, the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Mr Byrne) teased me as I read the contents of my red box standing up when I was a Minister, but I reminded him about his note to the effect that there was “no money left” for us when we took power.
The Opposition claim that the Queen’s Speech does nothing to tackle rail fares, but we are about to make a huge investment in rail infrastructure that will create jobs and growth. Without that extra capacity, the fundamental tool to meet rising demand will not exist. With a renaissance in west midlands manufacturing and the success of companies such as Jaguar Land Rover, demand for rail will only increase, so we must have a transport network to match the needs of the 21st century as we compete in the global race for jobs.
Jake Berry (Rossendale and Darwen) (Con)
Does my right hon. Friend agree that the Government’s commitment to rail travel is shown not only in HS2, but in the investment being made in Birmingham New Street station at the moment?
Mrs Spelman
I absolutely agree. That is an example to west midlands constituents of the Government’s commitment to growth, jobs and infrastructure, which is essential.
When I drive home up the M40, I frequently see transporter loads of newly made cars from Solihull, representing our export-led recovery, but would it not be so much better if there was capacity on our railways to take that freight straight to Southampton for export? Frequently, the motorway link between the M42, the M40 and the M6 is heavily congested, even with the innovative active traffic management system. There are strategic assets along the length of the M42—the Blythe and Birmingham business parks, Birmingham airport and the national exhibition centre—but what we need is connectivity. The evidence from France is that the towns that really benefited from high-speed rail were those that managed to put such connectivity in place, and we have a Government who are committed to rail infrastructure.
HS2 would also optimise the under-utilised runway capacity at Birmingham airport, which would make the travel time competitive with London’s airports. The runway at Birmingham is being extended to accommodate long-haul traffic, which reflects the preferred destinations in the Indian subcontinent of west midlands manufacturers and exporters and, of course, those of the region’s residents, many of whom have their origins there.
I cannot outline the potential gains of HS2 without touching on the real pain suffered by my constituents whose homes will be blighted by the route. Properties have lost approximately 20% of their value. I say “approximately” because it is actually hard to sell a property at all, given the level of uncertainty. There is a hardship fund, and I have helped many constituents to apply to it, but very few have received help. The blight compensation is to be calculated on a set distance from the rails, which can be harsh on those who are just beyond the eligible distance. This is why I introduced a ten-minute rule Bill calling for the use of noise contours, which might more accurately reflect noise nuisance. I hope that the paving Bill proposed in the Queen’s Speech will contain significant improvements to the compensation package.
I urge the Government to look again at a property bond scheme of the type proposed by Birmingham airport when a second runway was on the cards. A property bond would enable people blighted by HS2 to move on with their lives. The evidence from HS1 is that, if the Government were to buy up their property today, most of it would not lose value once construction was completed and the perceived blight had lifted. There might even be an uplift in value from the proximity to an improved transport network. I urge the Government to continue their efforts to improve and mitigate the impact of HS2. Just today, I have heard that a new tunnel will be constructed under Castle Bromwich in my constituency, but as yet I have had no response to my request for a deep-bore tunnel that would protect the Greenway and villages such as Berkswell and Hampton-in-Arden, as well as keeping the surface around the interchange station free of rigid structures.
The House would expect me, as a former Environment Secretary, to give consideration to the environmental impact of HS2, and of course there will be a loss of green space, but it is also possible to do something really beneficial to the environment through biodiversity offsetting. During my time at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, we introduced a tool that allowed us to calculate what had to be done to compensate for the loss of nature where development occurred. With such credits, a big scheme for the restoration of the environment can be achieved either near to or where the loss occurs. For example, the university of Birmingham, in conjunction with the engineers Arup, has come up with a proposal to restore the Tame river valley, which was badly polluted by the industrial heritage of the west midlands. Biodiversity offsetting was one of the key tools in the natural environment White Paper, and the HS2 project provides a good opportunity to put it into practice.
I hope that Ministers will accept some of these suggestions for how to build on and improve the legislation for a high-speed railway, which will need to demonstrate clearly the gains to the community it serves economically, socially and environmentally in order to be sustainable and to expand public transport capacity to help with the cost of living.