Oral Answers to Questions

Christian Matheson Excerpts

Thursday 10th March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

I can tell the hon. Lady with absolute certainty that there are no plans to continue a disastrous policy of nationalising the railways, which is one that she and her party leader put forward. She just talked about all the investment that is going on, and, indeed, she has seen quite a bit of it in her own constituency, not least in Nottingham station. She welcomed that investment—of course she welcomed that investment, and I welcome investment in our railways too. However, it is worth asking how we carry on that level of investment—investment at a level she would only ever have dreamed of when Labour were in government.

[Christian Matheson (City of Chester) (Lab)]

11. What assessment he has made of progress on the rail electrification programme.

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Patrick McLoughlin)]

In the north-west, the first ever electric trains are now running between Liverpool and Manchester, and between Liverpool and Wigan, and the Farnworth tunnel is now open, further proof of this Government’s commitment to electrification—part of the biggest rail investment since Victorian times.

Last month, Network Rail marked a significant milestone in the introduction of the brand-new IEP trains by completing all 1,377 foundations needed for the overhead line electrification between Tilehurst and Didcot.

[Christian Matheson]

I thank the Secretary of State for that answer, but I have to note that, in the Transport for the North document, all the focus is on the large cities. To ensure that the fast-growing regions of Cheshire and, indeed, north Wales are not to be squeezed out by the large cities, will the Secretary of State look again at the possibility of better east-west electrification programmes that include parts of those areas, which he has not mentioned?

[Mr McLoughlin]

I thought I had mentioned quite a few areas. The truth is that the investment taking place in the northern hub, including the redevelopment of Manchester Victoria station, does a lot to increase connectivity right across the north-west. That links a number of the places the hon. Gentleman mentions directly into our northern cities.

Cost of Public Transport

Christian Matheson Excerpts

Tuesday 19th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Lilian Greenwood]

My hon. Friend is quite right that it is indeed a concern that people who need to travel at peak times find it almost impossible to find an affordable ticket.

Bus fares have continued to rise, too—up by 26% on average, which is more than three times faster than wages. Some areas have seen much higher rises still. In the north-east, bus fares have consistently risen by 3% above inflation, and it is the non-metropolitan areas that have seen some of the steepest bus fare increases, including in the constituencies of many Conservative Members, with fares increasing by 27% on average.

[Christian Matheson (City of Chester) (Lab)]

The problem with buses is not just bus fares; it is the fact that in rural areas, such as in Saughall or Guilden Sutton in my constituency, the privatised bus companies are simply withdrawing services because their profit margins are not big enough.

[Lilian Greenwood]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. In many cases, it is hard-pressed local authorities that are trying to fill the gap, but of course with cuts it is increasingly difficult to do so.

The Secretary of State may remember when Ministers said at the start of the last Parliament that their cuts to bus funding would not impact on fares or service levels. Perhaps it was before the Secretary of State’s time. Almost six years on, however, the impact of the reductions to bus subsidy and local authority budgets is clear: more than 2,400 supported bus services have been altered, downgraded or withdrawn altogether. Supported, socially necessary bus services accounted for 24% of overall mileage in 2010. Last year, that had shrunk to 17%. The overall mileage of socially necessary services is down by 10% in the last year alone, and the number of transport authorities funding a young person’s concessionary travel scheme has fallen by 24%.

Bus services are used by every section of society, and we need a growing bus industry that can provide new routes to areas that are not currently served and provide people with as many options as possible for travel. We know that buses are particularly important to disabled people, older passengers, those on low incomes, young people and jobseekers. I am proud of the support that Labour introduced, including the concessionary bus pass, which provides a lifeline for pensioners and has kept many networks viable. Six years ago, the Prime Minister said that he would keep Labour’s free bus pass. Indeed, a year ago the Transport Secretary told this House that

“we have kept, and will keep, concessionary bus fares for older people.”—[Official Report, 22 January 2015; Vol. 591, c. 357.]

But what is the point of a free bus pass when there are no bus services left?

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Jim Cunningham]

rose—

[Christian Matheson]

rose—

[Mr McLoughlin]

Three Members are trying to get me to give way, Mr Deputy Speaker, but I am mindful of the short time for this debate, and I am very sorry about that. I will take an intervention from the hon. Member for Streatham (Mr Umunna), but then I will make progress.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr McLoughlin]

I want to make some progress.

Fuel prices are down by nearly 16% since 2010. The cost of driving licences has been reduced, the cost of the theory test is being cut and we have taken action to bring down the cost of car insurance as well.

There is another thing that the Opposition do not like talking about—the cost to our country of lost investment when they were in office, and the cost to jobs, businesses and growth. Britain slipped from 7th to 33rd in the World Economic Forum’s infrastructure league table when they were in government. They cancelled more than 100 major road improvement projects and did not invest when they had the chance. They electrified just 10 miles of railways, less than one mile a year. I was going to say that it was a snail’s pace electrification, but I have checked, and that would be unfair to snails. They go faster than the previous Labour Government went on electrification. No Conservative Member will take lectures from the Opposition about electrification. They did not invest, and they made the task of rectifying their mistakes much more of a challenge. The real benefit cannot be felt until all this vital but disruptive work is completed. No wonder Labour has been so reluctant to debate transport in this House. The shadow Secretary of State’s immediate predecessor did not even have a debate on transport. In fact there have been only three debates on transport since 2010. That is obviously because the Opposition are so embarrassed by their own record, and so impressed by our record.

The shadow Secretary of State has served on the Opposition Front Bench on transport since 2011. She is the fourth shadow Secretary of State I have faced across the Dispatch Box, and in that time there have been about as many changes in opposition transport policy as there have been shadow Secretaries of State.

[Christian Matheson]

rose—

[Mr Jim Cunningham]

rose—

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr McLoughlin]

I know the hon. Gentleman will want to support me wholeheartedly on creating more capacity. One way we are going to do that is by building HS2, which in the past he has not been quite so supportive of. It is very important that we look at these things, however, and of course I will look at the points he makes.

[Christian Matheson]

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

[Mr McLoughlin]

I really do need to make progress.

The shadow Secretary of State used to be in favour of rail franchising, but now she seems to be against it, although it is interesting to note that her party’s candidate for Mayor of London is apparently so keen on it that he wants Transport for London to bid for contracts in the private sector. In 2014, the shadow Secretary of State got one of our great private companies, Stagecoach, to sponsor her Christmas cards. I did not get one in 2015. Maybe this time it was sponsored by the RMT instead, because these days Labour has only one policy on transport: turn all the signals bright red—a policy that is going nowhere from a party that is getting nowhere.

Now of course the Labour party wants to impose yet another cost on hard-working people: the cost of strikes. We heard not a single word from the hon. Lady in her speech about the planned strikes next week on the underground—a party that will not even stand up for Londoners when the unions carry out a selfish and irresponsible strike. Well, this Government clearly stand on the side of Londoners and those who work in London. Will the hon. Lady condemn the planned strike on the underground? I will give way to her if she will. Will she condemn it? Silence. She is probably under orders from the shadow Chancellor to join the picket line, or does she agree with the Labour peer Lord Mendelsohn? My hon. Friends may not have heard this: Labour peer Lord Mendelsohn said strikes would be “economically efficient” because some travellers would discover better ways into work. That is Labour’s new policy: a strike that aims to stop Londoners getting new and better services.

Transport is central to Britain’s economy, and because we are dealing with the decline and deficit the Labour party left behind, we can afford to invest for growth. That means more jobs, more homes, and more businesses using our transport system, and more people too. Last year it carried more people than ever in its history: there were 1.65 billion journeys on the railway network, 316 billion vehicle miles on our roads, and over 1.3 billion journeys on the tube. This year, it will break that record again. That is why we are widening roads, building railways, opening up opportunities: a massive programme is under way now that means building Crossrail, completing Thameslink, electrifying the northern hub, starting HS2, record investment in local roads, setting up an independent National Infrastructure Commission under Lord Adonis, and getting on with the £15 billion road investment strategy, including the A358 and A27 that Labour pledged in its manifesto to cancel. There is £38.5 billion of investment in our railways, and 30% more on enhancements than Labour spent previously.

Oral Answers to Questions

Christian Matheson Excerpts

Thursday 10th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Jones]

That section of the M6 is very busy: it carries about 132,000 vehicles a day. There are measures that can be taken to help with noise, such as a low noise surface being laid on the road or installing noise barriers. I would be delighted to meet my hon. Friend.

[Christian Matheson (City of Chester) (Lab)]

I thank you for your indulgence, Mr Speaker. I am rather out of breath, sir, and I am very grateful to have caught your eye.

The local enterprise partnership in Cheshire identified this stretch of the M6 as a problem that needs work, but it failed to identify the M56 in Cheshire where major delays and serious accidents are an almost weekly occurrence. Will the Minister, while he is looking at M6 junctions 16 to 19, consider yet again the problems on the M56 and whether he can bring road safety forward in that part of Cheshire too?

[Andrew Jones]

That is a very entrepreneurial extension of the question. I am always happy to look at issues of road safety wherever they are on our road network. We have already had a Westminster Hall debate on this issue, so the hon. Gentleman is fully aware of the Government’s view.

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[Claire Perry]

In the interests of Christmas and brevity, yes.

[Christian Matheson (City of Chester) (Lab)]

Among the franchises announced yesterday was one owned by the German state rail company, DB, so can the Secretary of State tell the House what proportion of the ticket fare paid by UK commuters will be used to subsidise the fares of German commuters in Germany?

[Mr McLoughlin]

If a foreign company was to set up in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency, would he be complaining about the jobs it brought? I am very pleased that British companies are winning rail contracts to provide services in Germany. I believe that the marketplace works. The announcements we made yesterday represent a seismic change in the service for both the Northern and TransPennine franchises, which I would have thought he would welcome, as nearly every local government leader in the area has, most of them being Labour.

Aviation Security

Christian Matheson Excerpts

Thursday 5th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I have no doubt about the importance of trade to these countries. I can confirm that we do what he has outlined; we are in constant talks with our ambassadors and the like, as they, in turn, are with the Governments in those countries. If we have concerns, it is right that we flag them up.

[Christian Matheson (City of Chester) (Lab)]

The action taken today by the Secretary of State relates only to flights to Sharm el-Sheikh. Can he confirm to the House that other airports in Egypt are meeting the standards that we would expect of them? Will he do that if only to reassure the hundreds of thousands of tourists who still want to go there?

[Mr McLoughlin]

The answer to that is yes. Obviously, we are looking at security at all the airports where we have any concerns whatsoever, but the hon. Gentleman is absolutely right about the information and the warning from yesterday being specific to one airport. I very much hope that we can work with the Egyptian Government to make sure that the measures that would give us confidence about screening and the like are undertaken and that this advice will be removed as soon as possible.

draft Merchant Shipping (Alcohol) (prescribed limits amendment) Regulations 2015

Christian Matheson Excerpts

Tuesday 15th September 2015 General Committees

[Christian Matheson (City of Chester) (Lab)]

When my hon. Friend the Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston (Justin Madders) texted me to let me know that he and I had been selected to serve on this Committee and I replied with enthusiasm, I suspect that he thought either that I was being facetious or that I had seen an opportunity for cavilling with hon. Members on the Government Benches. I have to say, this is a matter of grave concern to me for reasons that I will explain.

I have no problems with lowering the limits, which seem entirely sensible. However, the regulations are predicated on the authority of the International Maritime Organisation and my recent experience is that it is not fit for purpose. Therefore, any regulations based on the IMO’s management need to be looked at carefully.

I am concerned about the inability of other countries to enforce the regulations and I am not quite clear about the testing regime at sea. My experience of this matter, limited as it is, comes from a tragic but continuing constituency case started by my predecessor as MP for Chester, the Conservative, Stephen Mosley, to whom I pay tribute for his work. The case continues, causing anguish for parents of one of my constituents who has been missing at sea since March 2011.

Rebecca Coriam was working on a Disney cruise liner, which was sailing out of Los Angeles to Mexico. It was registered in the Bahamas, but it was managed by a British-owned company. I would like to think that the International Maritime Organisation had a role to play in co-ordinating the various different authorities, including those in the UK, to protect seafarers and their passengers. Rebecca was working as a nursery assistant on a Disney cruise liner. She had worked on a couple of tours previously for Disney, so she was well suited to and versed in her duties.

[The Chair]

Order. Mr Matheson, the regulations are about reducing alcohol limits. Therefore, that is the scope of what we are discussing this morning. Do you intend to move on specifically to the reduction of alcohol limits?

[Christian Matheson]

Indeed, Ms Dorries, I will do that. If I may, I will also express my concern about the inability to monitor those limits at sea under the auspices of the International Maritime Organisation.

When Rebecca went missing, there was video footage of the last moments that she was seen. In the investigation undertaken briefly by the Bahamas police—because it was a Bahamas-registered ship—the authorities suggested that Rebecca had been drinking. I have to say that there was no evidence that that was the case and I am not clear how the regulations will protect any British citizens from being accused of drinking as opposed to actually drinking. The allegation of being drunk at sea, which was used to obfuscate the case that Rebecca’s family faces—[Interruption.]

[The Chair]

Order. I have total sympathy with your constituent and the case you are trying to highlight, Mr Matheson, but the regulations are about the alcohol limits related to mariners responsible for ships, not passengers or people who are enjoying cruising or whatever you are trying to highlight. Are your comments going to be specific to this piece of legislation?

[Christian Matheson]

They are, Ms Dorries, because Rebecca was an employee on the ship and the statutory instrument makes it clear that anyone who is an employee serving on the ship with responsibility for the safety of passengers—Rebecca had particular responsibility for the safety of children—must be tested under the regulations. From my experience of the International Maritime Organisation and indeed the Bahamas Government, which was responsible for undertaking the testing, I do not believe that the testing regime in the regulations is fit for purpose. Under the terms of the regulations, Rebecca was absolutely responsible for the safety of passengers.

The current testing regime, managed by the Bahamas authorities in that case, but under the auspices of the International Maritime Organisation, is unfit for purpose. I cannot see how testing will take place on the high seas and in cases such as Rebecca’s in which someone goes missing overboard and a multiplicity of different authorities are involved—a British-owned company and a Bahamas-owned ship sailing out of the United States—it is not clear how British citizens’ or seafarers’ wellbeing, or that of the passengers who are the responsibility of the seafarers, will be looked after.

The Minister might wish to know that the Coriams and I have now hit a brick wall. No one seems to want or to be able to take this case forward, and there does not seem to be any suggestion of how the International Maritime Organisation may wish to take responsibility for this cross-country problem. The authorities in the Bahamas have refused to correspond with me. When I have been to the International Maritime Organisation, it has backed the Bahamas. Ms Dorries, I wonder whether I might take this opportunity to seek a meeting with the Minister to discuss this case, particularly in relation to the allegation that my late constituent had been drinking, when there is no evidence of that. Of course, if the regulations had been in force, there might have been more possibility of that testing happening. If I may take this opportunity, Ms Dorries, I am very keen to seek such a meeting. I am grateful to you for giving me the opportunity to raise my concerns about the operation of this statutory instrument.

Oral Answers to Questions

Christian Matheson Excerpts

Thursday 11th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Chris Matheson (City of Chester) (Lab)]

A road investment strategy is only as effective as the bodies that are tasked with delivering it. Will the Minister therefore have conversations with Highways England about its catastrophic mismanagement of the Posthouse roundabout A483-A55 junction in my constituency, where delays to commuters and huge costs to businesses continue months after the work should have been concluded?

[Andrew Jones]

I will have monitoring meetings with Highways England every month for the remainder of the time in which it delivers our plan. I want to make sure that it is on top of this and delivering it. The Government’s ambition for the road investment strategy is significant, with £15 billion of investment, 127 schemes and 1,300 additional lane miles. It is a significant step change for our strategic road network. Its delivery is critical, and it is one of the top things that I will focus on. I will also focus on a method of communication from Highways England and me to all colleagues.