Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Bryant Excerpts

Wednesday 8th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

We are grateful to the Secretary of State.

[Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab)]

6. When he expects the electrification of the valleys lines to (a) start and (b) be completed.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Guto Bebb)]

The Government have confirmed their commitment to contribute £125 million to the Cardiff city deal, which will provide an investment fund for the region and support for the electrification of the valleys lines. The project has the potential to broaden employment opportunities for those living in some of Wales’s most deprived communities and to act as a significant incentive for business investment. The scope, planning and delivery of electrification are matters for the Welsh Government.

[Chris Bryant]

That is a pitiful answer. It does not answer the question at all. The former Secretary of State for Transport, the right hon. Member for Derbyshire Dales (Sir Patrick McLoughlin), who is talking to the present Secretary of State for Transport, told the House in October 2012 that the project would be finished by May 2015, but it has not even started. When will the Minister ensure that my constituents get the proper service that they require, with clean trains, disabled access, proper toilets and services that do not break down?

[Guto Bebb]

I think that the whole House enjoys the hon. Gentleman’s rhetoric, but it would appear that he—[Interruption.]