National Policy Statement (National Networks)

David Wright Excerpts

Tuesday 13th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Goodwill]

The first point to be made is that even during the bad weather and flooding we had last winter the strategic road network proved particularly resilient, as was High Speed 1, which, being built to a high specification, was able to cope with the weather. The hon. Gentleman is right that we must consider the resilience of our network, particularly the rail network, and that is why we commissioned one of the Department’s non-executive directors, Richard Brown, to look specifically at resilience, and particularly at what happened at Dawlish and the need for alternative routes. That is very important and the hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that we should focus on it.

The appraisal of sustainability in the NPS shows that overall its environmental impact will be neutral. Yes, there might be some localised environmental impacts but they have been shown not to be significant, and the targeted measures to reduce pollution in areas of poor air quality, the commitment to tackle areas of the network that are vulnerable to flooding and noise and the huge support for ultra-low emission vehicles show how the NPS supports a sustainable package of measures.

The NPS is clear that road improvements must be delivered in an environmentally sensitive way and must look to improve environmental performance wherever possible. Much environmental good can be done as part of the investment programme, including introducing noise-reducing surfaces and sustainable drainage and eliminating bottlenecks in the system that push up emissions and worsen air quality.

As a result of the consultation and the debates in the other place, we have further strengthened environmental protections. For example, we now have a presumption against road widening or new roads in national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty. We have also made a number of other changes, including strengthening the text on biodiversity, landscape, land use and noise.

Reducing carbon is very important and that is why the Government have already set stretching and legally binding carbon budgets that will see a 50% reduction in emissions in 2025 compared with 1990 levels, on the path towards an 80% reduction by 2050.

[David Wright (Telford) (Lab)]

What work is being done on increased demand for bus use and the development of road infrastructure in England? It is very important in towns such as Telford, which are car-reliant because of their new-town nature, that bus transport is promoted hard.

[Mr Goodwill]

Buses are increasingly environmentally friendly. Indeed, the Government have put £106.5 million into cleaning up buses both by supporting the purchase of new low-emission buses and by funding the cleaning-up of older buses. Many people rely on the bus to get to work, particularly at the start of their careers. Bus priority lanes are also part of the process, which is why I and many others were surprised when Labour-run Liverpool decided to abandon the majority of its bus lanes.

Carbon impacts will continue to form a key part of the transport appraisal and decision-making process for road schemes. We also make it clear that any new schemes that would have a material impact on the ability of Government to meet their carbon reduction targets should not go ahead.

At the same time, the Government are committed to decarbonising roads. Investment of more than £900 million in ultra-low emission vehicles—December’s registration figures for such vehicles are very encouraging—and fuel efficiency regulations mean that we expect greenhouse gas emissions from motoring to drop in 2030 by about 20% from present day levels.

The Government take air quality seriously, and substantial weight will be given to air quality considerations where a project would lead to a significant air quality impact or to a deterioration in air quality. Not all new road schemes will present an air quality challenge. Air quality implications are complex, depending on a number of criteria relating to both the new road scheme itself and the wider area. It is important to take an holistic approach to improving air quality. That is why this Government are committed to large investment in a package of measures to support cleaner and more sustainable transport, which will also help to improve air quality.

Consent for a scheme will be refused if the air quality impacts result in a currently compliant zone becoming non-compliant, or affect the time scale of a zone becoming compliant. The Government have recently announced various initiatives to reduce local air pollution, including more than £900 million to support the uptake of ultra-low and zero-emission vehicle technologies between 2010 and 2020; £100 million for the road investment strategy specifically for air quality improvement; £2 billion for the electrification of the rail network, replacing dirty diesel trains with cleaner electric trains; and £600 million for the local sustainable transport fund, as well as the money for cleaning up older buses, which I have mentioned.

Telford Rail Services

David Wright Excerpts

Monday 19th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[David Wright (Telford) (Lab)]

I welcome this opportunity to raise issues relating to Telford rail services. May I begin by asking you, Mr Deputy Speaker, to pass on my thanks to Mr Speaker, who visited Telford on Friday? I am sure that you will pass on my regards to him. He visited a couple of local schools and did a parliamentary event, which I believe went very well indeed.

I will cover three big issues this evening. The first is the lack of a direct link from Telford to London. That issue is embroiled in what can only be described as the fiasco of the west coast franchise process. The second is the need for speedy and regular services at a reasonable price into the west midlands conurbation and across to Shrewsbury, with improved availability of seats. The third is the ongoing improvements to station infrastructure and the current investment at Telford Central station.

[Ian Austin (Dudley North) (Lab)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate, and especially on his second point about the link between Telford and the rest of the conurbation. Does he agree that that is especially important because it would allow his constituents to visit Dudley, which is, as he would concede, the birthplace of the industrial revolution, and the truly world-class Black Country living museum?

[David Wright]

It would give my constituents that opportunity, although, of course, we have the birthplace of industry in Telford. I will touch on that a bit later, because the Ironbridge gorge is designated as a world heritage site. Dudley does not have a world heritage site, as I keep telling my hon. Friend, but he does not seem to want to accept the views of the United Nations and UNESCO.

Telford sits on the railway line that runs from Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury. We have strong connections to the west midlands conurbation, due to our new town history. In fairness to my hon. Friend, many people moved out of the west midlands conurbation, from areas such as Dudley, to Telford when it became a new town and we welcomed them. There is a significant flow of local passenger traffic, including commuters and leisure users, into Wolverhampton and the local stations through to Birmingham New Street. On a serious note, rapid access to Birmingham New Street is crucial to the local economy, as is rapid access to Birmingham International, with its links to the regional airport. If High Speed 2 does come about—I certainly hope that it does, as it is a significant infrastructure project—connectivity with the west midlands conurbation will be increasingly important for commuters and business users in the Telford area.

At present, the local services are run by Arriva Trains Wales and London Midland. A service from Telford Central runs about every 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the time of day. Those services run to Shrewsbury and across into the conurbation. I will return to the local service issues a little later. First, I will spend some time talking about the lack of a direct rail service to London from Telford, and indeed from Shropshire and mid-Wales.

Direct services to and from the capital have a chequered history in our area. The line from Wolverhampton is not electrified, which has been a problem historically. With the advent of faster, more efficient diesel units, that is not such a problem now. In the past, services to and from London had to stop at Wolverhampton, where a diesel unit was attached or removed. The regular London service ceased in the early 1990s, with a brief return and cancellation later in the 1990s. The old service ran to and from Euston up to Shrewsbury, calling at Telford Central and Wellington, which is in the Wrekin constituency. At that time, the diesel change, which I have mentioned, caused a time delay and platform blockages at Wolverhampton. It is no surprise, therefore, that the service was cancelled. However, I am assured that due to the efficiency of the new diesel units—the Voyager-type trains—our services could be integrated into the wider timetable and into the electric routes, so that there are direct services to London.

After the abandonment of the service, there was an attempt to run an open-access service by the Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone railway. The Minister will be aware of that. Local MPs fought hard to get that service in the teeth of opposition from other rail companies, which tried consistently to block access to the lines. The service picked up passengers at Telford Central and was recognised as one of the best in the country for the passenger experience. The problem was that the length of the journey into Marylebone and the unsustainably low ticket price meant that it made a significant loss. The last service ran in January 2011. The service folded with the loss of more than 50 jobs.

Following that, colleagues from constituencies across Shropshire and mid-Wales and I lobbied hard for the inclusion of a direct service as part of the west coast franchise. We met all the main potential bidders, along with the former Secretary of State and the former rail Minister. We managed to get the main bidders to include services to Telford and Shropshire in their proposals, but now we are in limbo because of the £40 million debacle surrounding the west coast franchise.

The Secretary of State has told us that, when the current franchise ends on 9 December, services will continue for up to 14 months with Virgin, and then a competition will be run for an interim agreement—that is what he called it. That means that a short contract could follow the interim service from Virgin—we do not know for how long it will be. That could leave us without a direct service to and from Telford for several years, and possibly with a complete lack of service. That is frankly a mess, and companies are unlikely to invest in rolling stock to deliver a service to Telford, Shropshire and mid-Wales unless the Government give a clear commitment to include a service to our areas as part of a shortened contract or a future longer-term franchise.

That is extremely frustrating for commuters, businesses and local leisure service providers. We want to expand rail use and further promote Telford as an attractive location for business investment. As my hon. Friend the Member for Dudley North (Ian Austin) knows, we have a world heritage site in the Ironbridge gorge and numerous major tourist attractions across our area. We want increased visitor numbers. It is about making Telford a place that people want to visit and locate their businesses in, our getting to London more efficiently and, crucially, getting people from London to Telford and the midlands. It is not all one way—down to London; it is also about getting people out into the midlands from London to invest.

Will the Minister clarify exactly what is happening? Will he give the House an assurance that a direct service to Telford is a priority for him and the Department? Will he confirm a timetable—excuse the pun—for the arrival of services at the Telford platforms?

The second theme that I want to pursue is the provision of local services, which I mentioned briefly earlier. There has been a major increase in the use of local services. A fast, reliable, comfortable and reasonably priced local service is the central concern of most rail users from Telford. The Passenger Focus national passenger survey in 2011—the results of the 2012 survey will be out next January—shows broadly high satisfaction with local service providers. However, if we drill down further into local issues, hard evidence shows problems of overcrowding and the inability to get a seat, service delays and concerns about the cost of travel.

In the current readers’ survey in the Shropshire Star, most people who had a view said that the train service was satisfactory or good, but nearly 20% said that it was poor or very poor. That is not good enough. There is overall satisfaction with the main providers, but there are problems with the service locally. That is not new. I do not suggest that the difficulty started two and a half years ago. It is a long-term problem, which we must tackle. One constituent who spoke to me today after reading that I was holding the debate said that his recent experience as a leisure traveller on the service was poor and that, as a pensioner, he did not want to stand from Birmingham to Telford. He also said that that discouraged him from using the service in future. That is sad—people not wanting to use the service because they are not comfortable using it.

The general view is that we can do better. We clearly need to increase capacity at peak times and I would welcome the Minister’s thoughts. We want a regular service with trains that turn up on time, and people want a seat. It is not rocket science, but simple stuff, and we need to get it right.

My third point is about station infrastructure. There is some positive news. Telford central station is undergoing improvements. That involves providing better facilities in and around the main building, along with improvements to platform shelters. That is good news, which is really welcome. The station was looking pretty tired. It is not old—it is quite new—but it was looking tired because of its construction type. I welcome the investment.

There has also been better integration of bus and rail services. For example, the area outside the station is being used as a coach pick-up point following lobbying by me, local resident Ricky Jones and the senior citizens forum, which keeps me on my toes.

In closing, I make a plea for the retention of services at smaller stations. My constituency has a small station at Oakengates. I grew up in St Georges and Oakengates, and I am fond of that station, which gets a regular service and is not under threat. However, I want to flag up that alongside major services and infrastructure debates, little gems such as Oakengates station provide a valuable service to local people. I hope we can keep it that way.

I look forward to the Minister’s reply. If we were in American politics we would be in the same party, being fundamentally supporters of the Democratic party. I know he is a big fan of Hillary Clinton—as am I—and I hope he will demonstrate tonight that he is also a big fan of Telford.

West Coast Main Line

David Wright Excerpts

Monday 15th October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

One of the interesting things that I have seen since franchising began, and in how these franchises are being worked on, is the engagement with local stakeholders in local communities. They have all come forward with suggestions and ideas, a number of which can be incorporated in the franchise agreements.

[David Wright (Telford) (Lab)]

There is real concern in Shropshire that the interim arrangements that the Secretary of State has put in place will mean that we will not get back a direct service to London. Will he confirm that when he looks again at the franchise process at the end of his interim arrangement—however long that may last—he will write in services to Shropshire?

[Mr McLoughlin]

I will certainly listen to representations. I know that I will get many.

Cost of Living

David Wright Excerpts

Wednesday 16th May 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (Mr Edward Davey)]

I am grateful to the Opposition for selecting a debate on the cost of living, which is a very important issue. There can be no doubt that many people in our country have been through, and are going through, some tough times, not least because inflation has cut into their living standards. I am sure that all of us pick that up in our constituencies. I do two advice surgeries a week for my constituents, and the cost of living comes up frequently.

When we talk to and listen to people, we find that the rising cost of electricity, gas and fuel has been hurting the most. We should all be concerned when we see pensioners and families worrying about basics such as food and fuel, groceries and gas. Despite the rhetoric that we have just endured, infused with the memory of an amnesiac, I wish to make it absolutely clear to the House that this Secretary of State and this Government understand those worries, share them and are acting to relieve them. Labour sometimes talks as though it had a monopoly on compassion and caring, but it never has, it never will, and to boot it does not have the record to show that it ever did.

The Government are committed to helping households cope with rising energy bills. We cannot control volatile global energy markets, and I think reasonable people understand that. However, we can act, and are now acting, to ease the pressure on consumers. In the short term, we are making it easier for people to get a better deal from their energy suppliers, about which I will say more shortly. In the medium term, we are making it easier for people to save money by insulating their homes. In the long term, we are making it easier for investors to build clean power plants here in the UK, protecting British consumers from global wholesale energy prices.

I want to set out the short, medium and long-term policies that are helping, and that will continue to help, consumers with their energy bills, not least by explaining the purpose of the energy Bill, as contained in the Gracious Speech, before its publication, which will come shortly. However, before I do so, it is only right to respond to the amendment and the speech of the right hon. Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint). The key thing I have learned in my first few months as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change is that energy and climate change policies take a long time. They involve big infrastructure, huge shifts in the structure of the economy, and changing behaviours that have developed over years. Therefore, to get results, we must act decisively and strategically. This Government have been doing just that for the two years we have been in office.

We are introducing some of the most innovative and ambitious policies to bring forward billions of pounds of investment, which will be essential for our country over the next few decades. Such investment will help our growth, from the green investment bank to electricity market reform, and enable us to decarbonise our economy, especially our electricity generation sector, so we can tackle climate change.

The problem is that the previous Labour Government did not act decisively or strategically, but lurched from one White Paper to the next consultation document. Unable to make up their mind, they delayed and dithered. This Government have been left to pick up the pieces.

However, let me give the previous Government credit. They were very good at setting targets; they just never hit them. Even on fuel poverty, they set a target. However, Professor John Hills has examined their fuel poverty targets in detail, and it turns out that they could not set a target for fuel poverty competently—they could not even measure fuel poverty properly. This coalition will clear up the Labour Government’s legacy on energy as well as on the economy.

Let me therefore explain to the Opposition why living standards have fallen in the last year. It was partly down to high world prices for oil, gas and food, but it was also partly because they left the country poorer and borrowed to hide the truth. When the economy contracts in one of our country’s deepest ever recessions, when the country’s national income falls by 7%, and when the Government borrow to compensate, there must be a day of reckoning. The problem is that the Opposition are incapable of admitting that.

The right hon. Lady and others make out that the problems are all the Government’s fault because of the cuts to feed-in tariffs or because of lower take-up on Warm Front, but they simply do not understand their legacy or the changes we are making.

[David Wright (Telford) (Lab)]

I have been in the House for 11 years and have watched the right hon. Gentleman progress in his career. I remember him sitting on the Opposition Benches and consistently calling on the previous Labour Government to spend more. It is interesting that he now completely ignores that fact. What are his targets for reducing fuel poverty and how will he deliver them?

[Mr Davey]

I must remind the hon. Gentleman that the Chief Secretary to the Treasury of the previous Government left a message to say that there was no more money. That is the legacy this Government are dealing with. We will take fuel poverty seriously. My predecessor commissioned a report to ensure we have proper targets and measurements of fuel poverty. John Hills has produced a welcome report, on which we will consult—[Interruption.] We have plenty of policies to tackle fuel poverty and I will come to them, but we want to ensure we are tackling the real thing, not the fake one.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Davey]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. I am sure that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will note her arguments.

[David Wright]

rose—

[Mr Davey]

I want to make some progress. I have already given way to the hon. Gentleman once.

Oral Answers to Questions

David Wright Excerpts

Thursday 27th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Villiers]

We do not seek to micro-manage Network Rail’s decisions on signalling—we take a technologically agnostic approach to that—but we encourage it to deliver its renewals and upgrades in the most cost-effective way possible, and I am happy to pass on my hon. Friend’s points to Network Rail, so that it can take them on board in its decisions.

[David Wright (Telford) (Lab)]

The demise of the Wrexham-Shropshire service is particularly sad. Local people really valued it, not just because it provided the direct link to London, but because the staff provided a superb service. Would the Minister be willing to meet MPs from all parties with constituencies along the line to discuss how we can consider not just how open-access services operate generally, but how we can put the line through Shropshire and up to north Wales back into the west coast franchise?

[Mrs Villiers]

I would be happy to have that meeting. I encourage the hon. Gentleman, as I did the right hon. Member for Delyn (Mr Hanson), to take part in the west coast main line consultation under way.