West Coast Main Line

Ian Davidson Excerpts

Monday 15th October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

I am not sure whether the second part of my hon. Friend’s question was a bid, but on the first part I can assure her that the reviews will inform us and that we will take note of them. I would not have set them up if we were not going to do so.

[Mr Ian Davidson (Glasgow South West) (Lab/Co-op)]

I came here today on the west coast main line; the train was late. May I ask the Secretary of State—[Interruption.] May I be the first to ask him to resign?

Let me say what I would like the Secretary of State to do. We will have the short period negotiation, the interim agreement and the long-term franchise. To ensure value for money, will he guarantee a public sector comparator for each of them?

[Mr McLoughlin]

I heard one colleague shout out, “Not late enough.” Obviously, we have set up the two reviews and we will look at what they produce. When we have put such things out to franchise, we have seen huge competition and interest, and it is a matter of getting the best deal for the taxpayer in the longer term.

Rail Engineering (Jobs)

Ian Davidson Excerpts

Tuesday 29th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[John McDonnell]

It is a gap in the protection of workers’ living standards, and this instance is a classic example of how people’s futures have been damaged when they thought they were secure. The material that was provided to railway workers on privatisation of British Rail—the leaflets and documents that they received in the consultations that took place—assured them of the security of their pensions for the long-term. But then, as privatisation proceeded and individual companies took over individual contracts, those assurances were unfortunately not adhered to, and subsequent pensions legislation has undermined the protections that they had. Because this is not covered by TUPE, many of the workers have suffered detriment. That is something that we need to look at, on a cross-party basis, I hope.

My final point is about the long-term future of rail engineering, and it relates to the comments made by the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon). We are now facing an immense task in seeking to modernise our railways, and the success of that cannot be put at risk by the lack of a skilled engineering work force. One proposal that I have for the Minister is that he convene an urgent, industry-wide jobs seminar to examine rail engineering employment needs not only now but for the long term, so that we can work together to safeguard and enhance skills in railway engineering.

[Mr Ian Davidson (Glasgow South West) (Lab/Co-op)]

Surely that jobs summit, or meeting, must include provision for youngsters thinking of entering the industry to assure them that they will have a stable future and will be treated properly. The sort of casualisation that we currently have in the industry is undoubtedly a deterrent to entry.