(9 years, 7 months ago)
Ministerial CorrectionsThe hon. Gentleman asks a number of questions. I will try to answer them all. The new franchises I am issuing have changed the way in which compensation is awarded, and they are a great improvement on those awarded by the previous Government. He also asked me about bus replacement services. If he wants us to carry out improvements on the network, alternatives have to be made available. I accept that our changes and improvements are an issue, but we are investing a record £38 billion in the railways between 2014 and 2019.
An error has been identified in the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Diana Johnson).
After the Christmas shambles, I was pleased to see that the chief executive of Network Rail voluntarily said that he would not take his bonus of £34,000. Has the Secretary of State considered introducing performance-related pay for rail bosses, in the same way as his Government advocate it for teachers?
I do not think I will take too many lessons from the Labour party about bonuses. In 2009-10, the bonuses paid to Network Rail were £2.3 billion; this year, it was going to be £260,000. I think there should be carrots and sticks, and, if the criteria set are met, a bonus is a way of rewarding the people directly involved in providing services.
[Official Report, 5 January 2015, Vol. 590, c. 36.]
The correct response should have been:
(9 years, 7 months ago)
Commons ChamberUrgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
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I congratulate my hon. Friend on the valiant campaign he has led to ensure that he gets faster train services to his constituency, pointing out how important they are for his city. I hope to be able to improve on his campaign so that he gets the services that are wanted for the constituency.
After the Christmas shambles, I was pleased to see that the chief executive of Network Rail voluntarily said that he would not take his bonus of £34,000. Has the Secretary of State considered introducing performance-related pay for rail bosses, in the same way as his Government advocate it for teachers?
(9 years, 8 months ago)
Commons ChamberYesterday my right hon. Friend the Chancellor made a number of announcements—indeed, he was criticised by some for putting too much in those announcements. As the hon. Lady will remember, I provided the money to move that scheme up to the next stage on the guide to rail investment process some time ago, and I await the outcome of that work.
(9 years, 8 months ago)
Commons ChamberThere are certain places where the Transport Secretary treads with some peril, and I think that answering that question on VAT rates and different businesses might be one of them.
I did not hear any announcement about investment in roads in Hull. If the Secretary of State is really serious about investing in transport infrastructure, when will he make the announcement about the privately financed electrification of the line to Hull, which we need desperately?
If memory serves me correctly, I have made some announcements on Castle street, which runs through the centre of Hull, and on meeting the local enterprise partnership to talk abut definite improvements. I think that I also announced at Transport questions a few weeks ago an increase in the GRIP—governance for railway investment projects—funding to look at the whole process for electrification. I think that we have made more progress on delivering infrastructure in Hull than was made in any number of years when it was represented by a number of distinguished other people.
(10 years, 1 month ago)
Commons ChamberMay I wish my right hon. Friend—and my sister—a happy birthday?
I think progress will be appreciated by all younger Members. The rolling stock will ensure that they get a good night’s sleep as they are whisked swiftly to Scotland to enjoy the many benefits of that country, which must of course stay in the Union with the rest of this country.
6. What recent progress his Department has made on provision of rolling stock in the north of England.
The Department for Transport reached agreement with Northern Rail in April 2014 to introduce four-coach electric trains that will begin operating in passenger service between Liverpool and Manchester from December 2014.
TransPennine Express also received 10 new four-coach class 350 electric trains, which will now operate between Manchester and Scotland. Since May, TransPennine Express has used the displaced diesel trains to provide an additional service every hour across the Pennines and additional capacity across the network. In relation to the TransPennine Express diesel class 170 trains that Chiltern will lease from April 2015, the Department is continuing to explore options with industry partners and is in commercial negotiations. The Department will be outlining its proposed solution later in the year.
Perhaps the Minister missed the fact that I am a Hull MP, because he did not actually mention any of the services that go to Hull. Last week there was a lot of spin about HS3 for the north, which obviously will not happen until years after 2030, so let me press the Minister on the fact that we still do not have a resolution to the rolling stock being moved from TransPennine to Chiltern Railways. Again, is it not the case that, for the north, it is jam tomorrow, but today it continues to be jams for local people on the railways?
The hon. Lady is wrong: the Department has identified a potential solution. We hope to be able to make a formal announcement later this summer. The decision to move the nine TransPennine Express class 170s was made by their owner. To address that, the Department is in commercial negotiations to develop a solution that is likely to see the introduction of more electric trains into the north, in addition to the 14 class 319s we have already announced, to release even more diesel units.
(10 years, 5 months ago)
Commons ChamberThe hon. Gentleman and I served together on the Administration Committee during the last Parliament, and I know of his enthusiasm for the education centre. We considered a wide range of options, all of which we have considered again during the current Parliament, and this option provides by far the best value. It allows us to increase the number of children who go through the education centre from 45,000 to 100,000, which is a significant advance.
A teacher who had taken children around the Houses of Parliament said that it had been a
“fantastic experience that allowed children to have firsthand experience of how the Houses of Parliament work. It was great for them to see it as a working building—online it is static and empty. They were very much struck with awe and wonder.”
Engagement with children is the future of our politics.
Will the hon. Gentleman confirm that it is very important for children from outside London, particularly those from my constituency, to be able to come and see what goes on in Parliament, and engage with the democratic process? Can he tell us when the first sod will be turned, so that we can have the centre as soon as possible?
I cannot at this moment give the hon. Lady an exact date, but it is hoped that the centre will be open in 2015, probably just after the election. As for her first point, as one who represents the most northerly constituency on the mainland of the United Kingdom—and long may it remain united—I must say that it was a tremendous pleasure to welcome children from Kinlochbervie and Wick high schools two weeks ago who made two separate visits. I am sure that we wish to continue to do everything possible to enable constituencies such as hers to benefit from these resources.
(10 years, 5 months ago)
Westminster HallWestminster Hall is an alternative Chamber for MPs to hold debates, named after the adjoining Westminster Hall.
Each debate is chaired by an MP from the Panel of Chairs, rather than the Speaker or Deputy Speaker. A Government Minister will give the final speech, and no votes may be called on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Penistone and Stocksbridge (Angela Smith) on securing this debate. I want to make a few brief comments, particularly on the trans-Pennine service between Hull and Leeds and Manchester.
Members may know that Hull and East Yorkshire has a population of some 500,000 people, but we have one service an hour from Hull to Leeds and Manchester. The line is poor, so the maximum speed is 50 mph. We have problems with outdated signalling, so no trains can run after 10 pm and the rolling stock, as we have heard, comprises the two-coach 170 trains, which causes real problems with overcrowding at peak times of the day. As I understand it, we were originally supposed to have the Siemens Class 185 stock, but that has been used for other parts of the network. People living in Hull and East Yorkshire are saying, “If the Government are serious about securing the rebalancing of the economy and ensuring that the regions get the investment they need, why is our train service not very good and likely to get even worse with the plans afoot to move the rolling stock to other parts of the country?”
My hon. Friend has clearly set out that we have to have this debate because of the debacle in the Department for Transport on franchise procedures, but I want to raise the issue of the electrification of the trans-Pennine service. Some bright spark in the Department thought it was a great idea to electrify the line as far as Selby but not to go as far as the end of the line at Hull. That ridiculous situation, with that section left out of any electrification, has implications for the rolling stock that can be used. People and businesses in Hull were very annoyed about that, but they did not just sit and moan. They put together a bid of private sector money to allow that electrification to go ahead in the round of electrification that has already been announced. It only requires the Department to put in a small amount of money—I think it is £2 million—with the rest coming from the private sector. The bid has cross-party support and the business community is up for it. We had a meeting with the Secretary of State, and I hope that good sense will prevail and we will be included in the electrification arrangements up to 2019. Hull will be the UK city of culture in 2017, but how will people get to Hull with the ramshackle train service that is currently operating? There is one service an hour and no services after 10 pm to Leeds and Manchester.
When the Chief Secretary came to Hull last week, he seemed completely oblivious to the private sector bid. That shows a problem in the Government. Private sector money is on the table and ready to go, but it is being ignored by the Chief Secretary, who did not seem to know anything about it. I hope the Minister can reassure me that the Government take the electrification proposal seriously. I also hope that he can answer the points made by my hon. Friend the Member for Penistone and Stocksbridge on why we need the rolling stock problem sorted out as soon as possible to put people’s minds at rest.
(10 years, 6 months ago)
Commons ChamberUrgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
I would like to look into the very valid points that my right hon. Friend has made and the particular cases to which he is referring.
Is the Secretary of State satisfied that rail passengers in particular are being kept up to date with information about travel disruption? If he is not, what more can be done?
The hon. Lady makes a good point. I have asked the train operating companies to do a lot more on the social media network, which they are doing. One of the frustrating aspects of this situation for people is trying to get information. A lot of people who use the railways do not use social media, and there is a difficulty there, but we are trying to make as much information available as we possibly can.
(10 years, 6 months ago)
Commons ChamberIt is vital that we roll out as much accessibility in the countryside as possible. I know that organisations such as the Country Land and Business Association benevolent trust have given grant aid for such schemes. I think we should roll out as far as possible any schemes to allow more people access to footways and to ensure that disabled people have the same rights as everybody else to enjoy the countryside.
Of all the major northern towns, Hull is the only one with no proposal to electrify its main railway line. That means that First Hull Trains’ proposal to electrify the line from Selby to Hull is an essential upgrade, especially bearing in mind 2017. Will the Minister commit to working with Network Rail and First Hull Trains to ensure that we have that for 2017?
We are certainly very interested in the suggestions made by First Hull Trains. I occasionally use that line myself and we will certainly consider that bid for electrification alongside others.
That was a splendidly pithy reply, which allows us briefly to get on to the important matter of vermin infestation.
9. What recent representations he has received on vermin infestation on the parliamentary estate.
Recent representations have been received from hon. Members about mice in Norman Shaw South. Measures taken include sealing gaps and fitting bristle strips to office doors. Leaflets have been distributed to alert occupants to the measures being taken and provide practical advice to alleviate the problem. I encourage hon. Members to follow that advice, which includes not leaving sandwiches on their desks.
According to recent media reports, mutant super rats are taking over the Commons and it is costing £6,000 per month for vermin control measures on the parliamentary estate. Surely the traditional use of cats would be more effective and cheaper.
(10 years, 8 months ago)
Commons Chamber4. What plans he has to extend railway electrification.
8. What recent progress he has made on railway electrification.
My apologies, Mr Speaker. With permission, I would like to group Questions 4 and 8. So excited was I about electrification that I wanted to mention that the Government have committed funding to electrify more than 880 miles of railway by 2019. Last week, we announced the Wigan-Bolton electrification, and a joint taskforce is being set up to explore where next we can look for rail electrification in the north of England.
Local Members of Parliament will be invited to be members of that taskforce, so undoubtedly my hon. Friend will be able to represent his constituents directly, but the taskforce will, I am sure, want to accept representations from local people as to the benefits of electrification for them.
In Hull, we need rail electrification not least because of the vast number of visitors that we will want to come to the city while Hull is city of culture 2017. Given that, as I understand it, the taskforce set up to look at the proposal for Selby to Hull electrification will not report for 12 months, does that not rule out rail electrification for 2017? Will the Minister meet a delegation from Hull to discuss this matter?
I understand the hon. Lady’s aspirations, given that Hull is the city of culture in 2017. It sounded like her Christmas present list being reeled off. The previous Government played Scrooge and electrified only 9 miles, whereas this Government are playing Santa and electrifying almost 900 miles. I would be delighted to meet the hon. Lady. She is right: that taskforce is looking at lines for electrification post-2019.
1. For what reasons he proposed a recess in November 2014.
Merry Christmas, Mr Speaker. The recesses proposed for next year, including the one in November, reflect the need to balance the requirements of Government and Back-Bench business with the reasonable expectations of Members regarding constituency business and spending time with their families.
The rationale for having a few days in November was to prepare for the Queen’s Speech. Now that that has been moved to earlier in the year, and given that there are no school holidays in November, will the Deputy Leader of the House think again? A lot of people perceive that that time could be better used for pre-legislative scrutiny of Bills that come before the House that are not well drafted, and to ensure that the Prime Minister is here on a Wednesday to answer Prime Minister’s questions.
I thank the hon. Lady for that question. I am sure she is aware that the recess dates are proposed by the Government after extensive discussion, and are agreed by the House. I did not notice any opposition to the November recess when the House agreed the recesses, although I do not know whether she raised concerns at the time with her own party managers. She will be pleased to know that the Prime Minister is in the House more frequently, particularly for oral statements, than was his predecessor.