Severn Bridges

Debate between Geraint Davies and Jessica Morden

Tuesday 31st January 2017 Westminster Hall

[Jessica Morden]

My hon. Friend is completely right. More clarity would be most welcome so that, when statutory instruments are introduced on the matter, we are far clearer about what the effects will be. The consultation contains more detail about the options that are not being considered than about those that are on the table. It says that Highways England will have the responsibility in future, but will it contract out any elements of the operation or maintenance of the bridges? What maintenance charges, other than for the resurfacing, do the Department for Transport anticipate for the bridges in the first 18 months?

The consultation mentions the option of removing tolls between 10 pm and 6 am—off-peak travel—but does not seek views. Will the Government speak to businesses and others to gauge their views? Business representatives I met in my constituency on Friday said they thought it would be extremely attractive to companies based in south Wales, particularly in the logistics industry, so more work should be done to pursue that option.

To conclude, the Severn Bridges Act was written almost 30 years ago. As we have said many times, it was an inflexible piece of legislation that was not future-proofed. I have one plea for the Minister: whatever legislation we have to pass—the consultation made mention of statutory instruments—we as local Members should be consulted properly. We and our constituents need to be able to take part, because in the months to come we will have many more detailed questions, although I hope that the Minister can answer some today. I appreciate other hon. Members supporting the debate and I look forward to their contributions.

[Geraint Davies (in the Chair)]

Moving from Newport East to Newport West, I call Mr Paul Flynn.

--- Later in debate ---

[Geraint Davies (in the Chair)]

That sets a precedent—an intervention on a wind-up.

[Jessica Morden]

I appreciate the Minister’s intervention. I thank him for his comments, but I am not sure whether we are that much clearer about the breakdown of the £3 toll. I will hold him to his promise to break that down for us in more detail.

I am also not sure whether we are that much closer to understanding the handover plan. The Department for Transport clearly cannot take over the bridges the minute the last car pays up and the revenue target is reached, so it would be useful to know about that, not least because I would not want constituents to face another annual increase in January 2018. I would also like more detail from the Minister on what can be done about the TAG reduction.

I hope that this time we end up with a lasting solution that means we can future-proof the legislation. Will the Minister respond in writing to anything else we have raised in the debate? That would be particularly helpful. As in all our efforts in talking about the Severn bridge tolls, we do so for our constituents, our businesses and the wider economy of south Wales, which have been hit hard by the tolls over the years.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered future operation of the Severn Bridges.

UK Energy Infrastructure (Wales)

Debate between Geraint Davies and Jessica Morden

Wednesday 17th July 2013 Westminster Hall

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairpersonship, Mr Bayley, as I know that you are a green Chair in a green chair. In this debate, I will talk about Wales’s contribution to UK energy, and the development thereof.

Wales currently produces about 22,000 GWh of energy a year and consumes about 18,000 GW. We export approximately 4,000 GWh to England, but that figure is due to grow because of the abundant opportunities provided by the sea and the wind, and by solar energy. Essentially, I want to discuss the need to have the right balance between green energy and green tourism, with future tourism and economic opportunities paying due respect to our seascape and landscape.

The global population is growing, from something like 6 billion to 9 billion, and we are therefore not in control of the environment beyond our immediate physical surroundings. The size of the middle class in China, for instance, has grown from 2% to 20% of the population in the past 10 years, and more people from developing nations are travelling. Opportunities for green tourism in places such as Wales, which has a relatively sparse population, are therefore enormous and need to be borne in mind, as do opportunities in the creative industries. “Da Vinci’s Demons” is filmed at the old Fabian way site in my area. Our landscapes lend themselves to extraordinary Hollywood-type productions. We need a balance.

There are opportunities for nuclear development in Anglesey to produce another 34 GWh, which would be an increase of 150% in Wales’s total energy production and should justify further investment in Wales. We do not get our fair share of investment: some 80% of current infrastructure investment plans and 90% of transport plans are for London and the south-east. I know that hon. Members are interested in freight, for instance, and there is a case for investment in that.

[Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)]

Uskmouth power station in my constituency, which is one of the oldest power stations, is having huge problems getting rail freight capacity—it is difficult for rail freight companies to invest in the future—which is causing problems locally and increasing the costs to the power station’s operators. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government should consider that further?

[Geraint Davies]

I completely agree. The big political debate is the balance between growth and cuts to get down the deficit, and we need to focus on growth, which means investment in infrastructure. We need to get the right gauges for freight—from Milford Haven, Swansea, Cardiff or Newport—and we need to move around universal freight modules, which are ship-carried in many instances, and energy from power stations, as my hon. Friend mentioned. There is a case for investment now, given the expected future income from new energy sources in Wales. There has been some discussion of a barrage that might generate up to 16,500 GWh, which would be 5% of UK energy, but the idea has clearly been kicked into touch, partly by the European habitats directive.

Meanwhile, the Swansea Lagoon is a big issue in the local press. It could generate some 400 GWh, which would be 0.1% of UK consumption and 2% of what the barrage could produce. That is a relatively small level of production, but it is big scheme in that it would take £650 million to build, with its footprint extending from Swansea docks halfway to Mumbles pier. The electricity produced would be enough for about 121,000 households, but it would be for the UK grid and not for Swansea itself, which has about that many households. I am concerned, therefore, that on balance the development is at least neutral in tourism terms. We hope to become the UK city of culture in 2017—we are on the shortlist of four—and next year we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Dylan Thomas’s birth. We have high hopes for prosperity from cultural tourism in the emerging Swansea Bay city region, so preserving our iconic view is enormously important to us locally.

Food Banks (Wales)

Debate between Geraint Davies and Jessica Morden

Tuesday 12th February 2013 Westminster Hall

[Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff West (Kevin Brennan) on securing this important debate and on his compelling contribution, in which he painted a stark picture. As he said, the Government’s response to the increasing despair among Opposition Members about the growth of food banks has been to say that food banks grew under the last Labour Government, that they are a sign of the big society, that they are somewhere for people to go if, as the Downing street source said,

“they need a bit of extra food”,

and that we should thank them for the work that they do. I certainly agree with the last part. I thank Raven House Trust and King’s Church in Newport, which do a superb job with the little resource that they have. They are hugely dedicated, and I thank the volunteers in local churches who collect on their behalf. I am not sure that I know what a big society is, but I can certainly recognise examples of the good society operating in Newport.

As my hon. Friend said, we must all agree that the huge growth in food banks is sobering and a terrible reflection on how bad things have become. Raven House Trust, based in my constituency, became a charity in 1994, helping Newport’s homeless with furniture and food. In December, it gave out 850 food parcels, and this week it told me that in the last six months of last year, it had seen a marked increase in demand due to welfare changes, and that it is bracing itself for a dramatic increase from April. That trend is confirmed by the Trussell Trust, which is based in Newport and operates food banks elsewhere. It says, as my hon. Friend said, that 40% to 45% of those who ask for help do so because of changes to benefits and delays in benefit payments, although, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Neath (Mr Hain) said, many working families on low pay are also in need.

Everyone who needs a food parcel will have a different story, but it is true to say that those in desperate need and asking for help have often been the homeless, those with drug and alcohol problems and, in my area, asylum seekers. That is absolutely awful, but Raven House says that, increasingly, families with children are relying on food banks to survive. Changes to the benefit system—which often leave people with reduced payments while claims are processed—low pay and rising fuel and energy bills are causing the cost of living to rise the fastest for the poorest households.

[Geraint Davies]

On that issue, does my hon. Friend agree that the online delivery of universal credit will mean that many families, who are vulnerable and often dysfunctional—some people have mental illnesses, and many do not have access to computers—will have no benefits, leading to a massive escalation in poverty, hunger and reliance on food banks?

[Jessica Morden]

My hon. Friend is right. Yesterday, as he will know, we heard evidence from charities working with people with mental health issues in Wales. They said that for their clients, not being able to do things online was a huge problem, as many clients had difficulties opening the letters. That is a big issue.

Recently, food banks in my constituency have seen a marked change and desperate need. Let us remember that families must be referred by an agency or an advocate, such as a citizens advice bureau, social services, Newport City Homes, Women’s Aid, and others. However, help is not unlimited. People are expected to use the parcels to tide them over and get back on their feet.

The picture is much the same at King’s Church, which collects food to donate back out to agencies. When it set up it did not feel best placed to assess the need, and did not want to interrupt the established process between, say, a social worker and their client. It collects the food to pass on to agencies, which decide who to give it to. King’s Church opened in 2009 and at that stage gave out 50 food hampers a month. It has expanded the areas it covers across south Wales and now gives out in excess of 1,200 a month.

In 2012, King’s Church gave out 12,500 hampers. It expects to deliver 18,000 in 2013 and forecasts a need for 24,000 in 2014. It is important to remember that in the King’s Church model the official agencies identify the need. Demand is going up. King’s Church feels that it is just scratching the surface. Both King’s Church and Raven House are gearing up for the benefits changes, and we can see why. A study by Bron Afon housing association into those affected by the bedroom tax in Torfaen quotes tenants—it visited every one of them—saying that they would rather go without meals to find the money to stay in their home. Teachers report seeing hungry pupils each day and food banks are working with schools.

Providers in my constituency know that things will get worse. The trend has been a steep rise in demand, even before the Government’s austerity measures really hit. When FareShare Cymru, which is based in Cardiff and does an excellent job, is reporting that charities are finding it hard to pay the membership fee to join its organisation, and that it is finding it difficult to maintain the service, the Government need to open their eyes to see how their policies are hurting. They should not just make flippant remarks about people getting an extra bit of food.

National Assembly for Wales

Debate between Geraint Davies and Jessica Morden

Wednesday 6th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is a great pleasure to rise at this slightly later than anticipated hour to debate the Green Paper on the future electoral arrangements of the National Assembly for Wales.

I do so against the background of the Government’s wanting to reduce the number of MPs in Wales from 40 to 30 as part of a broader remapping of boundaries which has, I am delighted to say, failed in its attempt to reshape the political map, particularly in Wales but across the country, for party political gain. One of the key problems with that proposal is that it would break the coterminosity in Wales between MPs and Assembly Members. In the knowledge that they were doing that, the Government produced a Green Paper that said, in effect, “Don’t worry about it—we’ll reintroduce the coterminosity as a sort of Trojan horse to bring about a 30:30 arrangement, reducing the number of democratically elected AMs, increasing the list numbers, and changing the prospective balance of power in the Assembly.” That was done without any consultation or collaboration with the Assembly itself—a complete disgrace.

[Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate. Does he think that given the Prime Minister’s assurance to the First Minister that any changes in Wales should have the consent of the Welsh people, it was pretty outrageous that he just went ahead regardless, which does not say much for any kind of respect agenda?

[Geraint Davies]

I will be mild in my criticism, but I thought it was completely disgraceful. It showed a great lack of respect for the blossoming new democracy that we have in the nation of Wales, with a Welsh Government doing very good things and the road of devolution moving forwards. Where important decisions can be made locally by the people they affect most, that is what should happen. It was very unfortunate, to put it mildly, that the Prime Minister showed such disrespect to the leader of the Welsh Assembly Government.

The other propositions in the Green Paper include the idea of a five-year cycle for the National Assembly for Wales detached by a year from Westminster’s five-year cycle. That might be quite sensible on the grounds that it would be unfortunate to have both elections on the same day because there could be confusion in Wales as a result of the media carrying more about UK policies of the Labour party and other parties that may differ from those in Wales. It is important in the interests of effective democracy, and effectively communicating democracy, that the elections do not occur in the same year, and I am therefore minded to support the idea of moving to a five-year cycle displaced by a year.