Oral Answers to Questions

Joan Ruddock Excerpts

Thursday 10th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Norman Baker]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that it is a worrying trend that the delay per incident rate is increasing. I have discussed the matter with Network Rail and the train companies. It is difficult to get to the bottom of it and it appears that there is no one simple explanation. A number of steps need to be taken by Network Rail and the train companies to deal with this issue. To answer his question directly, I am meeting both parties in about an hour.

[Joan Ruddock (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

Is the Minister aware that on 6 September, Southern, a railway company that provides services to my constituency, suffered as a result of cable theft? There were no fewer than 13,837 minute delays and 232 cancellations as a consequence. What is he doing to contact Ministry of Justice and Home Office Ministers to get this business sorted out once and for all?

[Norman Baker]

The right hon. Lady is right to raise that issue, which is a serious problem for the railway network, as well as for the energy network and the telecoms industry. We are taking it seriously. A cross-departmental group of Ministers, on which I sit for the Department for Transport, has met twice to consider what we can do within existing powers and what further steps might be necessary in regulations or legislation to deal with this serious problem, which is having a big impact on the economy and on passengers.

Oral Answers to Questions

Joan Ruddock Excerpts

Thursday 5th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

My hon. Friend makes a valuable point about the benefits and flexibility for women of establishing a business or being self-employed. She also makes an important point about getting rid of red tape and bureaucracy, which are barriers to people who are either growing their businesses or setting them up in the first place. That is why the Government have launched the red tape website, which enables people to challenge regulations. The Equality Act 2010 appears on the website. It is not the Government’s intention to abolish the Equality Act. We are putting it in place, but we want to hear from businesses how we can do regulation better to ensure that they can improve their businesses and employ more people.

[Joan Ruddock (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

I know that the right hon. Lady shares my concern about the lack of women at the top of business. Will she do as Lord Davies recommended, and insist that companies disclose annually how many women are on their boards in senior executive positions, and how many women are employed throughout the whole organisation?

[Mrs May]

I am grateful to Lord Davies for his report and his excellent proposals. We are working with business to ensure that that will be done, particularly encouraging larger businesses to set the trend so that it can then cascade down to others. I have written to my right hon. Friend the Business Secretary to ask how we can get the same message out to private as well as public sector companies. I am pleased to say that the Home Office is setting a good example in that of the four non-executive directors on its supervisory board, two are female.

Oral Answers to Questions

Joan Ruddock Excerpts

Thursday 10th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Joan Ruddock (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

In that context, will the Secretary of State consider the proposals for a Surrey Canal Road station in my constituency, on which I made representations to the Government last year? My local authority has put money into the design stage and the local developer, Renewal, is putting up a lot of money to ensure that the station can at least be started. I hope that the Government will support that vital piece of infrastructure.

[Mr Hammond]

I am happy to look at the matter, to discuss it again with the Mayor of London and to consider the points that the right hon. Lady has raised.

Oral Answers to Questions

Joan Ruddock Excerpts

Thursday 17th June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

We are grateful to the Secretary of State.

[Joan Ruddock (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

9. Whether his Department’s value for money evaluation of the proposed Surrey Canal Road station on the East London line extension has been completed.

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

We recognise the importance of Heathrow as the country’s international hub airport—

--- Later in debate ---

[Joan Ruddock]

I welcome the right hon. Lady to her position, and I am grateful for that reply. However, she needs to remember that Transport for London has found that the proposal more than meets the business case that was applicable to all other stations in London, and that it is pivotal to the development of 2,500 new homes and to the job prospects of the 2.9 million people expected to use the station. Will she meet with me to see how to get the station built now, alongside the construction of the railway?

[Mrs Villiers]

I am happy to meet the right hon. Lady as soon as possible to discuss this important issue. She has fought hard on the campaign, and I am looking into the proposal with great care. I am discussing it with officials and, as I have said, I have asked them for extra briefing. It is important to take into account local views, TfL’s views and the views of other stakeholders. However, I must also make it clear that we need to assess such programmes carefully for affordability, given the state of the public finances and the deficit that we have inherited from Labour.