Transport for London Bill [Lords]: Revival

Debate between Catherine West and Claire Perry

Monday 16th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Claire Perry]

No, I will not.

We are trying to find flexible ways to allow the public sector to use its assets more effectively. Only a party whose face is firmly turned to the past—preferably the nationalised past of the 1970s—would find that an unpalatable mechanism.

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

Will the Minister give way?

--- Later in debate ---

[Catherine West]

Will the Minister give way?

[Claire Perry]

No, I will not.

Those constituents are delighted that fares have not been charged for children who are travelling, and they are delighted by the improvements that have been made to stations, including the provision of step-free access throughout the network.

--- Later in debate ---

[Claire Perry]

Oh, do tempt me so I can make some more jokes about vans.

[Catherine West]

rose—

[Claire Perry]

I will take an intervention from the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Catherine West) instead.

[Catherine West]

I thank the Minister for giving way. Does she accept that transport providers are often not the best organisations to launch into a business programme, particularly where we have examples such as that of Earls Court, which has been well and truly exposed tonight, where TfL did not get the best value for money or the best value for Londoners? There has been virtually no affordable housing in that scheme and that is the key concern for Londoners. That therefore proves that transport providers are not necessarily the best property developers.

[Claire Perry]

I am a bit confused by the hon. Lady’s intervention. I think what she is suggesting is we should not give TfL powers—that somehow we should retain these powers or not give it powers at all to try and maximise the commercial value. I will agree with the hon. Lady on this: most state-owned institutions are not good at maximising the value from these particular developments. The same is true across the railway network, but we have to look at different mechanisms to enable organisations to unlock the value from that public-private partnership which is so crucial.

TfL runs a world-class transport system. It is led by an expert transport commissioner.