Rewiring the State

Debate between Graham Leadbitter and Louise Haigh

Wednesday 2nd September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Louise Haigh]

It is an excellent question and something that my hon. Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet (Dan Tomlinson), who sits in the Treasury as well as the Cabinet Office, has been working on through No. 10 North. We are planning a brand of civil service reform that will move civil servants from the centre to regional and local government in order to share expertise, and we will provide them with the AI and data expertise that we have at the centre in order to do exactly that.

[Graham Leadbitter (Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey) (SNP)]

Can I remind the First Secretary that during this summer my constituency experienced the extensive Cairngorms wildfire? It was a major incident in difficult terrain that destroyed around 20 square miles of iconic hillside and forestry, threatened homes and businesses, and required the efforts of over 500 firefighters and volunteers.

There are actions required of the UK Government, the devolved Governments and numerous public agencies and landowners, and I am pressing all of them on these issues. With the risk growing, my ask of the First Secretary is that the lack of military aerial firefighting capability within the UK be urgently reviewed, so that aerial assistance can be provided in these extreme and often prolonged incidents. What work is being done with our European neighbours in respect of mutual aid in tackling wildfires? We must recognise that exceptional local effort cannot be a substitute for national and international preparedness.

[Louise Haigh]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his question. My thoughts and sympathies are with all those affected in his constituency by the wildfire. Some £100 million has already been invested in fire and rescue services, and we will continue to look at the issues that he raises to do with equipment in future Budgets. We are engaging with our European neighbours on exactly this issue, and we are well aware of the opportunities that arise from it.

Rail Performance

Debate between Graham Leadbitter and Louise Haigh

Monday 11th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Louise Haigh]

I am grateful for those comments. Govia Thameslink had an improvement of 3% in its cancellations on last year, but it is still falling behind on punctuality. I am happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss what more we can do.

[Graham Leadbitter (Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey) (SNP)]

I welcome the Secretary of State’s update on how the UK Government are following in the Scottish Government’s footsteps by nationalising train operating companies, but Labour cannot claim to be nationalising the railways while leaving the trains in private hands. Even with the passage of her Bill, profits will continue to flow out of our railways to rolling stock companies, some based in tax havens, rather than be reinvested in services and infrastructure, and consequently in performance. Will the Secretary of State set out when she plans to bring forward proposals to nationalise the rolling stock companies and bring the railways back into public hands in their entirety?

[Louise Haigh]

One of the purposes of this reform was to save the taxpayer money, and bringing operators into public ownership as their contracts expire means there will be no compensation. We will also be saving the money currently leaking out of the system through dividends and management fees. It would not be fiscally prudent in the current environment to spend billions of pounds on nationalising the rolling stock, so we will continue the current arrangement whereby private finance is leveraged into rolling stock companies.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Graham Leadbitter and Louise Haigh

Thursday 10th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Graham Leadbitter (Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey) (SNP)]

18. Whether she has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on increasing capital investment in transport.

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Louise Haigh)]

As the Chancellor set out in her statement, this Government inherited a £22 billion fiscal black hole, including billions of pounds of underfunded and unfunded transport projects. We must fix the foundations of the economy, so I am reviewing capital expenditure in transport to ensure that every penny is spent responsibly, to get the best value for money, and to ensure that our investment powers growth in every corner of the country.

[Graham Leadbitter]

The Secretary of State will be aware of the ambitions of Scotland and the other devolved nations when it comes to major capital transport schemes. However, she will also be aware of the swingeing cuts made to capital budgets by the previous Tory Government, while construction inflation has risen to eye-watering levels. Will she ensure that capital funding for transport projects is substantially increased to enable work on vital connectivities to progress at pace?

[Louise Haigh]

I have met the Scottish Transport Minister, Fiona Hyslop, and look forward to a constructive working relationship with her. The hon. Gentleman will appreciate that spending commitments are a matter for the spending review, but those negotiations and discussions are ongoing.