Oral Answers to Questions

Cat Smith Excerpts

Thursday 11th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Chris Heaton-Harris]

Mr Speaker, I think we can both agree that my hon. Friend is a wonder to behold, as he demonstrates to us all that a sensible, coherent campaigning strategy—bringing together people and businesses, and demonstrating the potential economic growth that could result from schemes and infra-jstructure —leads to this Government delivering that infrastructure. One only has to look at the roads around his great city and the direct trains to London for which he has campaigned. Midlands Connect is developing a proposal, as he outlines, and if history is anything to go by, his resourcefulness will help to speed it through the process.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

What recent assessment he has made of the effect of his policies on rail investment in the north of England on the Government’s levelling-up agenda.

[Grahame Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

What recent assessment he has made of the effect of his policies on rail investment in the north of England on the Government’s levelling-up agenda.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Andrew Stephenson)]

The Government are committed to levelling up rail infrastructure across the north. In that spirit, I am delighted to confirm that we have awarded £137 million to Network Rail to complete detailed design and deliver the Hope Valley capacity scheme. The scheme will transform journeys between the northern powerhouse cities of Manchester and Sheffield by removing bottlenecks on the Hope Valley line. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for High Peak (Robert Largan), who has campaigned relentlessly for the scheme since he was elected and has helped to get it over the line.

[Cat Smith]

May I take this opportunity to remind the Minister that my constituents in Fleetwood would like to be connected to the rail network?

I heard the Minister’s answer to my question, but I do not understand—perhaps he could help me out here—how he squares that with a 40% cut to Transport for the North’s budget.

[Andrew Stephenson]

I know about the proposals to reconnect Fleetwood; I know them very well, because they have been championed so well by my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys (Paul Maynard).

Transport for the North, which, of course, was established under the Conservatives—has seen its funding for Northern Powerhouse Rail and the Rail North partnership increase year on year. Last year, TfN had funding available to it of £59 million for Northern Powerhouse Rail and of £680,000 for the Rail North partnership. For the next year, both those figures have increased—to £67 million and £700,000. We are getting on with delivering schemes. Whether it be the trans-Pennine route upgrade, the Hope Valley line or phase 2a of HS2 coming to the north of England, we are getting on with delivering.

International Travel

Cat Smith Excerpts

Monday 7th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Grant Shapps]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. It is true that changeovers do indeed often take place on a Saturday. It might help if I explain the tensions that have to be measured off. The medical community would of course say, “Don’t leave any time at all: do it immediately”—which is virtually what happened with Spain, the very first country to be removed from a corridor—and the other view is to allow it to continue. It is a question of finding the best balance between the two that would satisfy the chief medical officer and his concerns as well as trying to get people home. I promise to undertake to continue to look at this, but I hope my hon. Friend understands and the House will appreciate the natural and proper tensions that are in place.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

My constituents want to make informed decisions about their travel arrangements, so will the Secretary of State consider publishing the evidence and criteria by which countries are deemed to be on or off the quarantine list?

[Grant Shapps]

Yes, I can help the hon. Lady, because I have already, several times, published the basis for the decision-making process. The easiest way to find it is on my Twitter feed, @grantshapps, which explains the measures put in place. The data is then available for somebody to look at. We have been quite clear about where people need to go to see exactly which measures are taken into account.

Oral Answers to Questions

Cat Smith Excerpts

Monday 18th May 2020 Commons Chamber

[John Glen]

We are looking very carefully at the figures and we publish them on a weekly basis. I am having conversations with banks on a regular basis, and we are having a roundtable this week to monitor progress. We will look to make further interventions should that be necessary, but absolutely it is important that the loans get out quickly, as they have been designed to do.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the number of small companies that pay business rates collectively through landlords that have been able to access cash grants through local authorities during the covid-19 outbreak.

[The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (John Glen)]

The Government have recently allocated up to an additional £617 million to local authorities to enable them to give grants to businesses excluded from existing schemes. That will enable many thousands of businesses in the situation described by the hon. Member to receive cash grants.

[Mr Speaker]

We go over to the wonderful county of Lancashire and Cat Smith.

[Cat Smith [V]]

Will the Minister ask local authorities to report on the extent to which landlords are passing on the grants to tenants, because it is not just in Lancaster and Fleetwood that we are seeing widespread evidence that that is not occurring?

[John Glen]

The hon. Lady makes a reasonable point. We are monitoring the effectiveness of all these schemes, and the way that local authorities are using their discretion in giving out those grants, but this is a matter that we will continue to examine carefully.

Oral Answers to Questions

Cat Smith Excerpts

Thursday 12th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Kelly Tolhurst]

My hon. Friend will know that we are providing £5 billion in new funding to overhaul buses and cycling nationwide to benefit all passengers of all ages. The national bus strategy will set out further details.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

T9. Yesterday’s Budget provided no further clarity on the £350 million for cycling that the Prime Minister mentioned on 11 February. As a consequence, from the start of next month, local authorities outside London have nothing earmarked for their local cycling and walking infrastructure plans. Will the Minister explain why cyclists were forgotten in yesterday’s Budget?

[Chris Heaton-Harris]

The hon. Lady will recall that when it was announced that we would go ahead with HS2, a £5 billion fund for buses and cycling was also announced. Cycling will get a very good chunk of that money and that will be outlined in the forthcoming spending review, but I absolutely understand the point that she has made. We are working to ensure that the gap that there could be in funding is resolved.

Airport Expansion

Cat Smith Excerpts

Monday 2nd March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Kelly Tolhurst]

My hon. Friend is correct, yes.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

The Minister has talked about the Government’s ambitions, shall we say, to reach net zero, but they are way off meeting their targets, and we do not need communities that live near airports such as Heathrow to tell us about the environmental impact that it can have on their lives. Will she join me in paying tribute to my right hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell), who has campaigned on this issue on behalf of his constituents for a long time? Will she make an assessment of what implications the Court judgment on Heathrow might have for major road building projects?

[Kelly Tolhurst]

As I have outlined, we will look carefully at the complex judgment and bring forward next steps. I would like to highlight the fact that we will shortly introduce a Bill on the modernisation of the country’s airspace, with the objective of not only reducing noise around airports but combating CO₂ emissions.

Oral Answers to Questions

Cat Smith Excerpts

Thursday 30th January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Grant Shapps]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right: the railways are too fragmented. They are not, as the hon. Member for Middlesbrough (Andy McDonald) suggested, being renationalised, but we do want to simplify the operation of our railways. Network Rail is just one of the dozens and dozens of companies involved, and it leads to an impossible fragmentation that means solving problems is just too difficult. So, yes, that is absolutely what we will commit to with Network Rail.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

As a long-time campaigner for the line to Fleetwood to be reopened, I welcome the fact that the Secretary of State was in Poulton-le-Fylde this week, announcing £100,000 for a feasibility study into the line. However, I was concerned that he said in his speech that one of the reasons why we are at the front of the queue is that we have all the stations on the line already. Of course, we do not; we do not have a station in Fleetwood. Can the Secretary of State confirm that the line will be reopened all the way to Fleetwood?

[Paul Maynard]

As the hon. Member will know, the feasibility study will look at all options for Fleetwood to Poulton. I recognise the point she makes about Fleetwood, but I am sure she will join me in praising the work of the Poulton & Wyre Railway Society, which has been campaigning for this since long before either she or I were anywhere near the political scene.

Flybe

Cat Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 14th January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Paul Maynard]

I am not aware of any representations received.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

Following the Monarch and Thomas Cook debacles, what lessons has the Minister learned and which of them will he apply to the situation with Flybe?

[Paul Maynard]

I would caution that the cases are not as similar as some might think. I am not going to offer a running commentary, but the Department works hard in collaboration with the CAA to monitor all airlines that operate from this country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Cat Smith Excerpts

Thursday 18th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Can the hon. Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood (Cat Smith) match that brevity?

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

The previous rail Minister agreed to meet me to discuss the reopening of the railway line to Fleetwood. Will the new Minister honour that and get Fleetwood back on track?

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Joseph Johnson)]

I am very happy to honour that commitment.

Oral Answers to Questions

Cat Smith Excerpts

Thursday 30th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

I am glad that the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys (Paul Maynard), who is responsible for HS2, was able to visit that junction last week with my hon. Friend the Member for North Warwickshire (Craig Tracey). I am also pleased that Warwickshire County Council has been such a beneficiary of the available funding. While it will be for the council to decide what schemes to support, I hope that it will focus on where it can make the biggest difference to safety.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

This Government are presiding over a sustained fall in the number of bus journeys taken. Just this week, Kent County Council outlined plans to axe more than 70 bus routes in a bid to save £4 million. Does the Secretary of State accept that bus passenger numbers will continue to fall until his Government halt the cuts to local authorities?

[Chris Grayling]

We want bus passenger numbers to rise, and the measures in the Bus Services Act 2017, which passed through the House a few months ago, will provide an environment in which bus ridership can recover and improve and will lead to more and better services around the country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Cat Smith Excerpts

Thursday 19th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hayes]

As I said, this is not just about London; it is about places across the country. There is a case for new statutory guidance, and while I do not want to second guess the working party and its recommendations, I think we will issue some new statutory guidance early next year.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

Following the high-profile cases of child sexual abuse in Rotherham and Oxford, taxi licensing was strengthened in those council areas. However, despite repeated calls for legislation reform, including from the Law Commission, the Government have refused to close the loopholes that allowed drivers to be licensed elsewhere and effectively game the system. Will the Minister commit to introducing national standards to ensure safety across the industry?

[Mr Hayes]

I welcome the hon. Lady’s question. She is right that the system is being gamed. Where a local authority tightens the system—Leeds City Council described this to me yesterday—neighbouring authorities sometimes adopt a more permissive regime. That cannot be right, which is why I want to introduce new guidance and greater consistency in how licences are issued. At the end of the day, this has to be about public safety, security and wellbeing. The whole House would want that, and we really do have to take action.