Oral Answers to Questions

Helen Grant Excerpts

Thursday 23rd June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Norman Baker]

I think that what the hon. Lady wanted to say was that we have decided, since the election, to offer a reduced interest rate on the Humber Bridge Board’s debt, which will save the board £48 million in interest payments over the next five years.

[Mrs Helen Grant (Maidstone and The Weald) (Con)]

6. What progress his Department has made on its consultation on High Speed 2.

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Philip Hammond)]

I launched the national consultation on high speed rail on 28 February. It will close at midnight on 29 July and decisions will follow by December. The Government consider that a high-speed rail network between London and Birmingham and onward to Manchester and Leeds would drive economic growth and prosperity as well as providing vital new capacity on the west coast corridor.

[Mrs Grant]

Does the Secretary of State also agree that HS2 could bridge the wealth divide that exists between the north and the south?

--- Later in debate ---

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mike Penning)]

We welcome the Committee’s report. If the hon. Lady looks at it carefully, she will see that it actually says that the status quo is not acceptable and that coastguard stations need to close. The process we inherited from the previous Administration had been sitting on their desks for years. We said right at the start of the process that we would listen and come up with proposals after consulting. It is a shame that they did not do the same.

[Mrs Helen Grant (Maidstone and The Weald) (Con)]

T4. Will the Minister meet me to discuss performance issues on the Medway valley line, which runs through my constituency?

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Mrs Theresa Villiers)]

I would be entirely happy to do that. It is important that all rail passengers have access to reliable services. The Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Lewes (Norman Baker) and I are very focused on that issue and would be happy to meet my hon. Friend.