Jesse Norman
Main Page: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)Department Debates - View all Jesse Norman's debates with the Department for Transport
(5 years, 8 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Emma Dent Coad (Kensington) (Lab)
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Jesse Norman)
We have set out clear plans within Government to reduce emissions across all transport modes. In my own area of responsibility, this includes last year’s “Road to Zero” strategy for road vehicles and, most recently, our future of mobility strategy specifically focused on creating cleaner and greener transport.
Bill Esterson
Nuclear, solar, tidal, offshore wind, onshore wind: all are forms of renewable energy that have been cut on this Government’s watch. Forty thousand people die prematurely each year as a result of poor air quality, and we all face the threat of climate change. This reckless approach to emissions must stop, so when are the Government going to end their reliance on fossil fuels and make the switch to electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles?
Jesse Norman
I am grateful for that question, and delighted by Labour’s recently rediscovered interest in emissions. The hon. Gentleman will know that many of the areas that he mentions—I say this as former Energy Minister—have been colossal successes. In the offshore wind industry, for example, the required levels of subsidy have fallen dramatically over time, as have the costs. As I said, we have the “Road to Zero” strategy. We also have the “Aviation 2050” Green Paper and the “Maritime 2050” strategy, all of which are designed to reduce emissions.
Kerry McCarthy
Over the past decade, Bristol has seen a 40% rise in bus use, which is obviously really good, but there is a downside in that buses and coaches contribute almost a quarter of NOx emissions in the city. We have been doing what we can to retrofit the bus stock, but we have just put in a bid for £2.5 million from the clean bus technology fund so that we can retrofit another 170 buses. Will the Government support that?
Jesse Norman
I am grateful to the hon. Lady for that question on an issue of great importance—reducing emissions from buses. We have done quite a lot of that already. I am sure that the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Wealden (Ms Ghani), will look forward to receiving the bid and will carefully examine it with her officials.
Emma Dent Coad
In Kensington and Chelsea, nearly 30,000 children are living with unsafe levels of air pollution. That is repeated across the country. Asthma UK and UNICEF UK tell us that babies born into heavily polluted areas are born with smaller lungs and brains, and are more prone to asthma, while those on steroids will have their physical development curtailed by this debilitating illness. Will the Minister please tackle this national health emergency by setting legally binding limits on particulates across the country, in line with World Health Organisation guidance, and give future generations a chance to thrive?
Jesse Norman
The hon. Lady will know that we are doing an enormous amount through the clean air fund and the other supported funding that we are giving to local authorities, including by working very closely with Transport for London. She is absolutely right to highlight the importance of this issue. However, I was slightly surprised when I carefully perused the shadow Secretary of State’s speech earlier this week, which discussed emissions in some detail, because I was unable to find virtually any mention of cycling, walking or active travel—an absolutely central part of this discussion. I commend that thought to Labour Members.
Kirstene Hair (Angus) (Con)
While I warmly welcome any initiative that helps to curb emissions, I am slightly concerned that the roll-out of low emission zones across the country will lead to problems whereby motorists, hauliers and delivery drivers are having to comply with different regulations in whatever city they come into. Does the Minister agree that we also need to look into alternative solutions so that we do not just continue to tax the motorist but give them the alternative of buying a new car or paying taxes?
Jesse Norman
That point is very well made: I thank my hon. Friend. We have been talking to the various industry organisations about this issue. There is a concern that there might be a patchwork of permits as between different cities. It is not clear exactly what each city is going to be implementing by way of a zone. We are working very closely to see if we can minimise any disruption and potentially create a national charging infrastructure.
Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)
Further to the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Kensington (Emma Dent Coad), 4.5 million children are growing up in areas with unsafe levels of particulate matter. Over 70% of UK towns and cities have levels that are above the limit recommended by the World Health Organisation. When will the Minister protect our children from toxic air? Under his existing plans, they are likely to persistently face that for another 10 years.
Jesse Norman
I am slightly surprised that the hon. Lady, as Chair of the Transport Committee, is not aware of the very considerable funding—hundreds of millions of pounds—and the very specific and close work we are doing with cities, many of them Labour cities constructively working with Government on reducing this problem. It is a complex and multifaceted issue, and we are taking it very seriously.
Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough) (Lab)
This week the chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change said that tackling climate change
“requires the strongest leadership in the heart of government.”
But with the Government set to miss their emission reduction targets, it is clear that the Transport Secretary has failed to provide the leadership required. I have a straightforward question for the Minister: do he and his boss believe in man-made climate change, and if so, why are they refusing to act?
Jesse Norman
I can tell the hon. Gentleman that I am very much persuaded that many of the effects of man have been deleterious to the environment in many different ways, including relating to climate. Of course I share his concerns, but I am surprised that the Labour party is not taking this issue more seriously. How can he make a speech that discusses wide-ranging issues and not merely fails to mention issues of diversity or disability but barely focuses on cycling and walking—a critical set of interventions in which we are investing heavily across the country?
Andy McDonald
The Minister said there was nothing about that in my speech. I will send him a copy. He needs to read it again, because it was there.
Talk comes cheap, and what matters are actions. The Transport Secretary and his team have totally undermined carbon reduction measures by slashing subsidies for electric vehicles, scrapping rail electrification, gutting local bus services, allowing fares to soar and underfunding cycling. Will the Minister give an unequivocal undertaking to reverse those damaging cuts and embark on a programme of rapid decarbonisation of transport, or alternatively, will this Government instead go down as the one who chose not to act to protect the planet for future generations?
Jesse Norman
Far from having failed to read the hon. Gentleman’s speech, I have scrutinised it with almost rabbinical closeness. It is a rather interesting mixture of the good, the incoherent and the baffling. I quite liked some of the stuff about land value capture— I thought that was sensible—but it misunderstands the nature of carbon budgets, the entire purpose of which is to allow the whole of Government to make decisions about how carbon budgets, which we are presently meeting, will be addressed. It is also incoherent in wishing to nationalise the rail service, while also somehow removing Whitehall from the process. I look forward to further details and updates for the House.
Huw Merriman (Bexhill and Battle) (Con)
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Jesse Norman)
I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I am delighted to announce that we are making available from today £21 million in new funding to support the national cycle network. I have agreed with Sustrans that it will work with High Speed 2 and Highways England to integrate routes wherever possible and to use the money we have provided to leverage further investment from other sources.
Huw Merriman
I warmly welcome the extra funding from the Minister. Two weeks ago, the Select Committee on Transport took its active travel inquiry up to Manchester, where we met Chris Boardman, the walking and cycling commissioner. He told us that they are unable to introduce certain safety measures in Manchester, such as mini pedestrian crossings, due to being discouraged by the Department for Transport because those are not recognised interventions. How can the Department do more to devolve safety improvements to local authorities, so that we can eradicate some of the less safe areas of our streets?
Jesse Norman
That is such an important question. We are working closely across all parts of the Department for Transport to think about improving road safety. I have huge respect for the work that Chris Boardman is doing in Manchester. I have met him on several occasions, as well as Brian Deegan, his chief designer, and we have specifically discussed that issue. There is a tension between national standards and local innovation. We are keen to ensure that both are met in the right way. I will certainly take this up again, because it is an important issue, and we want to see more innovation, particularly in support of road safety.
Dan Jarvis (Barnsley Central) (Lab)
Cycling and walking are good for the environment and they reduce congestion, support the public health agenda and are great fun. Chris Boardman is doing an excellent job in Greater Manchester, and I am about to appoint an active travel commissioner for South Yorkshire. Will the Minister meet my new active travel commissioner and me to discuss how we can work together to encourage more people to cycle and walk?
Jesse Norman
It is absolutely right to celebrate what is being done in Manchester. It is also important to celebrate what is being done elsewhere in the country. If Sheffield is taking a lead, that is fantastic. Great work is also being done in Birmingham by the Mayor there, who has just appointed his own west midlands cycling champion, which we welcome.
Sir Patrick McLoughlin (Derbyshire Dales) (Con)
Many millions of pounds have rightly been spent on providing cycle highways and cycle routes, but there is no requirement for cyclists to use them. Should it not become an offence for a cyclist not to use these highways where they are provided?
Jesse Norman
The answer to that, I think pretty clearly, is no. The roadway is for all users. Cycling infrastructure is used to try to preserve and protect cyclists. If that had the effect of forcing people into cycle lanes, it might have all kinds of road safety consequences that we would like to avoid.
Thangam Debbonaire (Bristol West) (Lab)
While I am a big fan of cycling, I am a bigger fan of walking, particularly for my disabled constituents, who tell me that they are really fed up with cyclists on pavements. We do need improvements to cycle lanes, to be sure, but what can the Minister tell us about improving safety for pedestrians, particularly disabled pedestrians?
Jesse Norman
I think the hon. Lady is absolutely right, and I very much salute her support for disabled people. She can have a word with the Secretary of State and, on her side, the shadow Secretary of State on the issue of disabilities. Walking is a very important part of the same issue. We are in the process of working very hard on a pavement parking review—it is coming towards the end of its work—and we are also working on the question of micro-mobility and how we regulate that. Both those issues are going to bear very closely on the question of how we think about enforcement against cyclists and other users of pavements who make life difficult for walkers.
Robert Courts (Witney) (Con)
With the disappointing news in the last couple of days that Oxfordshire County Council has had to remove the B4044 cycle path from its housing infrastructure fund bid, first, will the Minister comment on what he is doing to work across Departments, particularly with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, to provide cycling as a way of helping with new housing; and, secondly, will he commit to working with me and Oxfordshire County Council to provide the B4044 bid as a stand-alone bid, so that we can get the cycle path we need?
Jesse Norman
I am happy to look at that. I met Oxford City Council, including its cycling champion and the leader of the council, just recently on these issues. Let me make one other point, which is that the advent of e-bikes—the Department is supporting them, and further news about them has been given this week—will also open up further housing opportunities around the country in a way that can only be good both for housing and for future personal health.
Mr Speaker
I apologise to the Minister, because as a consequence of his looking at the hon. Gentleman who questioned him, I did not hear him, but I think he floated the concept of an e-bike. Did he say e-bike?
Mr Speaker
Well, I look forward to further illumination in due course. I am not familiar with this nostrum, but I have a feeling that I am soon going to be. I must say that it sounds very exciting.
Patrick Grady (Glasgow North) (SNP)
At the weekend, I had the pleasure of walking the new South Loch Ness trail with a group of friends, one of whom is getting married, and we managed to get lost only once, which was pretty good given that there was a blizzard. That trail was only made possible thanks to funding from the European agriculture fund for rural development, so what steps are the Government taking to make sure that that kind of funding continues to exist for investment in rural infrastructure that promotes health and wellbeing after the United Kingdom leaves the European Union?
Jesse Norman
I do not know the particular circumstances of the route the hon. Gentleman is talking about, but I am sure he will join me in welcoming today’s news of the work on the national cycle network, which is precisely designed to target the kinds of cyclists and walkers he is describing.
Mr Speaker, on the issue of e-bikes—there is a somewhat “Not the Nine O’clock News” quality about this—an e-bike, m’Lud, is an electronically or electrically powered velocipede, either a pedal bike or a moped, which are differently regulated by the Department in each case.
Mr Speaker
I am genuinely grateful to the Minister. One learns something new every day, and I am now better informed.
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury and Atcham) (Con)
I am delighted that the Minister is encouraging more walking. May I urge him, as a Herefordshire MP, to spend some of his Easter holiday on the Long Mynd in the Shropshire hills, an area of outstanding natural beauty, so that he can promote walking to citizens while enjoying our beautiful Shropshire countryside?
Jesse Norman
I am very grateful to my hon. Friend. I have actually walked Long Mynd on several occasions, and I have also paraglided from the top of Long Mynd. I very much encourage him to contemplate that as a perfectly splendid additional mode of transport enabled by walking.
Mr Dennis Skinner (Bolsover) (Lab)
Based on what the Minister had to say about walking, cycling, e-bikes and all the rest, when will the Government get rid of their ministerial cars and have e-bikes instead?
Jesse Norman
I welcome that question. The hon. Gentleman will be aware that I am a keen cyclist to and from work. Sometimes cars are required for security and other reasons, but I barely use a ministerial vehicle, and I encourage all colleagues to enjoy the benefits of cycling and walking.
Matt Rodda (Reading East) (Lab)
Walking is the most basic form of transport, and a 10-minute walk offers huge benefits to our health and our communities by easing congestion and air pollution. Areas where footpaths and pavements have been improved have seen increases in trade at local shops and a stronger sense of community, but nevertheless, millions of journeys of under a mile are still made by car. When will the Government properly fund their cycling and walking strategy, because the money that the Minister has announced today simply will not cut it?
Jesse Norman
In 2010 the funding levels that we inherited from the previous Government stood at about £2.50 per person, and they are now about £7.55 per person. We would like to get that spending a lot higher if we can, as we fully agree about the merits and benefits of cycling and walking. However, funding is now three times the amount that we inherited from the Government who had governed for 13 years.
Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)
Nigel Huddleston (Mid Worcestershire) (Con)
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Jesse Norman)
As my hon. Friend will know, Highways England is spending a lot of time and effort thinking about improving the strategic network around the midlands through its investment strategy; smart motorways and junction improvements on the M5 are part of that. I am sure he will also join me in celebrating the recent announcement of our large local major schemes, including the A4440 at Worcester-Carrington bridge.
Nigel Huddleston
What plans does the Department have to improve the A46, a vital artery that is key to unlocking economic growth, jobs and housing right across the midlands, and how is the Department working with Midlands Connect in achieving those goals?
Jesse Norman
My hon. Friend will be aware that we are already investing in the A46 link road phase 1 at Stoneleigh junction and in junction improvements around Coventry. We have also funded Midlands Connect to carry out a full corridor study designed to look at potential improvements, and that is an important piece of work. We expect to receive its corridor investment strategy later this year and will be taking it very seriously.
Nigel Mills (Amber Valley) (Con)
Will the Minister join me in urging Midlands Connect to have a balance of schemes in the east midlands and not just the west midlands? Perhaps he will commend to Midlands Connect the M1-A38 link road and Codnor bypass as it will be a perfect scheme to prove its commitment to the east midlands.
Jesse Norman
I thank my hon. Friend for registering that point in the most public way possible. I am not aware of any particular bias in Midlands Connect; I do not think it has one. We work closely with it on any of the schemes that it brings forward.
Mr Stephen Hepburn (Jarrow) (Lab)
Tim Loughton (East Worthing and Shoreham) (Con)
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Jesse Norman)
As my hon. Friend will be entirely aware—he is a tireless campaigner on this issue, on which we have met—Highways England is reviewing plans for the A27 in light of feedback from the public consultation. We will hopefully have a chance to review and discuss it with Highways England and, in due course, with my hon. Friend. I look forward to it, but I cannot tell him exactly when it will be.
Douglas Chapman (Dunfermline and West Fife) (SNP)
Craig Tracey (North Warwickshire) (Con)
Jesse Norman
I recognise my hon. Friend’s expertise and understanding, and I thank him for the question. Of course drivers deserve to know how secure their cars are. The taskforce brings industry, police and the Government together to see what more can be done, which includes reviewing public advice on how owners can secure their vehicles, as well as addressing new and emerging threats. We look closely at what it is doing, and we will continue to do so.
Chris Law (Dundee West) (SNP)
Mr Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury) (Con)
Jesse Norman
This is obviously a very serious matter. I thought my hon. Friend would raise the announcement of the preferred route for the Air Balloon roundabout, but this is even more important. He will be aware that the cycling and walking investment strategy safety review includes consideration of horse riders. As it happens, the Department’s Think! campaign has only just launched a new “learn the ways of the road” campaign, which includes looking out for vulnerable road users, particularly horse riders. The point is well made, and I will talk to DEFRA colleagues about this issue because, as he says, getting horse riders off the road is the best way to keep them safe.
Mr George Howarth (Knowsley) (Lab)
Some of the people of Knowsley are having real problems getting to work. On the one hand, they regularly face cancellations on Northern Rail and, on the other hand, if they have to use the Mersey Gateway to get to work in the morning, they have to pay £900 a year. The Secretary of State has done absolutely nothing to address any of these problems. Is it not about time he moved out of the way and let someone else get on with it?
Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)
Dockless bike hire schemes could have been transformative, but too many of those schemes have crashed and burned, leaving a trail of destruction behind them. Despite repeated calls from across this House, the Government have not regulated. Will they soon act?
Jesse Norman
I thank the hon. Gentleman for that question. Of course dockless bikes are a source of interesting innovation, and it has been important to see how that innovation is playing out. They can be regulated under a variety of local government powers. As we see further developments, we will continue to look at this. They will also potentially be subject to the discussion in respect of the micro-mobility review we are doing at the moment, through the future mobility strategy.
Julia Lopez (Hornchurch and Upminster) (Con)
Will the Minister update us on progress on Access for All funding bids, specifically the one I made for Upminster station in my constituency, which would help disabled people at this busy hub to connect to Crossrail in Romford and which has the full backing of the Havering Association for People with Disabilities?