Road Investment Strategy

Debate between Lord McLoughlin and Jim Cunningham

Monday 1st December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

I thank my hon. and learned Friend for his comments. I know that he is meeting the Minister of State, Department for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr Hayes), tomorrow to discuss these issues and will no doubt want to look at the plans in more detail.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

Earlier, the Secretary of State mentioned projects that are under construction. In the past, I have raised the question of the Tollbar junction just outside Coventry and the Whitley roundabout. We know that the work has to be done, but there have been delays that have prompted questions about business investment in the Coventry area. There are also delays related to transport problems in the area. This is a serious problem and I have asked the Secretary of State to look into it before. Will he look into it again and see what can be done?

[Mr McLoughlin]

I know that in and around the hon. Gentleman’s constituency there have been a number of pinch point improvements. These sometimes lead to delays and to considerable frustration while the work is being done, but if he has a specific case that he wants me to consider I will of course do so.

Local Bus Services

Debate between Lord McLoughlin and Jim Cunningham

Wednesday 5th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

I do not think that there is inconsistency at all. What we have seen in Greater Manchester is a coming together that goes much wider than just the Manchester authorities, with a much more imaginative scheme that includes the powers of the police and crime commissioner and many services in the area. I think that it is bold and imaginative, and I am sorry that Opposition Members seem to be a bit upset about it—I can see Manchester Members nodding in vigorous agreement with what we are doing.

We must also recognise what great things have been done by the private sector. I want devolution to be a success, based on the best that the public and private sectors can do. The private sector brings ingenuity, creativity and innovation to transport, and that must continue. We have manufacturers in the UK at the cutting edge of technological innovation, and we have operators setting the benchmark for new customer services and investing massively in new vehicles. That includes over 800 new low-carbon buses, supported by Government funding. Through the Office for Low Emission Vehicles, we will be supporting the purchase of hundreds more. I was at the bus expo in Birmingham this morning, seeing for myself what the bus and coach industry has to offer. No one could fail to be impressed by the dynamism of hundreds of the exhibitors.

Of course, there are challenges ahead. We need to go back to good transport in rural areas, for instance. As a resident of rural Derbyshire, I know how important buses are to people in the countryside. For many isolated communities, buses can be a lifeline. The old model of services is changing, and we need to ensure that as it changes people retain access to good transport. We all need to work together to get it right. I want to pay tribute to the brilliant work done by community transport operators and their many volunteers. There are three such operators in my constituency: Bakewell and Eyam Community Transport, Ashbourne Community Transport and Amber Valley Community Transport. They do a fantastic job, as do other community transport operators across the rest of the country. I want to do more to help them, and very soon I will say more on how we can do that.

[Mr Jim Cunningham]

In principle, I do not have a problem with devolving transport to local authorities, but the resources must go with it. The bill must not become a burden on local authorities so that the Government can get rid of the subsidies.

[Mr McLoughlin]

As I have set out, I am very committed and will help support the bus industry in this country.

As I was just talking about community transport, I will also say that I want to see faster movement on smart ticketing. That is happening. Only this week, five of the main operators announced a welcome roll-out of joint smart ticketing in cities across England. In west Yorkshire the MCard, launched in July last year, can already be used on 98% of buses in the area and on local rail services. There are now over 500,000 live smart cards and over 1 million smart card transactions per week—I am sure that the hon. Member for Wakefield, as a west Yorkshire MP, already has one in her pocket. Liverpool is launching a multi-operator smart ticket this month. Centro in the west midlands is making great progress too. In August the Solent Go smart ticket was launched, covering Southampton, Hampshire, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. That is an excellent model of collaboration. We need to see smaller operators in the towns and the countryside do that too. Great operators, such as Trentbarton in the east midlands, are already there.

That is our record: a Government who have backed business; an industry that is growing; better services attracting more passengers; and real devolution, not just talking about it. This Government are making the difference, unlike the Labour party, which did nothing for bus services when it was in government.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord McLoughlin and Jim Cunningham

Thursday 8th May 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

We saw at yesterday’s Prime Minister’s Question Time a number of bids, not least from my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes South (Iain Stewart), who is not allowed to ask me a question today on this issue. So the bids are coming from far and wide, and I am very pleased about that.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

12. May we make a bid for the new skills academy to be located in the west midlands, preferably in the Coventry area? The Government promised to publish a jobs and skills strategy for high-speed rail last July. It is almost a year and nothing has been produced. Can the Secretary of State give us a date when it will be published?

[Mr McLoughlin]

Let me deal with whether the academy should be in Coventry in the west midlands. Of course, the west midlands is a very large area. From Coventry to Wolverhampton to Birmingham, all those areas are making bids for the college and I am very pleased about that. [Interruption.] The hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Robert Flello) is saying that Stoke-on-Trent is in the west midlands. It is in the west midlands government area, but I am talking about the old west midlands metropolitan areas, which he may sort of remember.

High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Bill

Debate between Lord McLoughlin and Jim Cunningham

Monday 28th April 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Patrick McLoughlin)]

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time.

It is 120 years since we last built a main line railway north of London. It is even longer since, in 1833, this House voted to start what is known as the west coast main line. The line was not meant to be a national route; it became one almost by accident. It was a railway built with twists and turns to placate landowners, for slow steam trains pulling open-top carriages. It is worth recalling that in 1832 Parliament rejected the initial Bill because some people objected, arguing that canals were all we would ever need for long-distance travel. Today, we ask far too much of the line. If we were talking about roads, it would be as if traffic still had to go up Watling street, as if the M1 and M6 had never been built, and we tried to solve our transport needs by just patching up old roads—a roundabout here, a bridge there—as if incremental change could make all the difference. Well, we tried that: we spent £9 billion upgrading the west coast main line a decade ago, and most of that work did not even get south of Rugby. Cities and towns in the north deserve better. Scotland deserves better. Britain deserves better.

That is why I stand at the Dispatch Box today to support High Speed 2, a new north-south railway line. I do so with much humility and not a little trepidation, but also with confidence, because although I wholly understand the concerns of hon. Members whose constituents are affected by the route, I also know that this is a decision we cannot duck. We have waited long enough. The west coast main line can take no more; it is increasingly full. More than that, London and the south-east are also increasingly full, caught in a cycle of rising house prices, some of the most expensive commercial rents in the world and transport congestion, while cities in the north want to grow. It is time to help to break that cycle—time to connect great cities such as Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds and Liverpool.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

The right hon. Gentleman has said in the past that Coventry would benefit, but can he tell me how? If we are not careful, there could be economic problems with investment in Coventry.

[Mr McLoughlin]

If I may, I will come in a little while to how I think places such as Coventry, Northampton, Rugby and elsewhere will benefit from the building of HS2. It is not just a matter of time; it is also a matter of the capacity available to the United Kingdom in its railway network. However, I will come to that.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr McLoughlin]

Scrutiny is one thing that the Bill has not been short of since it was published. The Select Committee will be given certain instructions, which will be debated tomorrow, and I am sure that my hon. Friend will have the opportunity to raise his point in that debate.

It is essential that we get this investment right. That is why I welcome Sir David Higgins’s recent report “HS2 Plus”, which took a hard look at the plans. He proposes better developments at Euston, getting services to the north sooner, integrating HS2 more effectively with the existing rail network, and working with local authorities and businesses across the midlands and the north to ensure that they get the right railway for their needs. The Government support him in all that.

It is also right that the project should be built to budget and that is an essential part of the task we have set. In his report, Sir David says that the current £21.4 billion budget for phase 1 is right, but he goes on to warn that time is money. He cannot reduce the contingency budget of around £6 billion at this stage while the legislation has not yet been passed. In short, he throws a responsibility to all of us in the House; yes, a responsibility to consider the Bill properly, but not to delay it needlessly.

Sometimes people ask why we are rushing HS2. Some people ask why on earth it is taking so long. The answer is that we are doing it properly and to the timetable set out by the last Government in 2010, so that the first services run in 2026. But the final choice lies with Parliament. Last year, we passed the paving Act, which prepared for a new high-speed route to the midlands and the north. With support from the Government and Opposition, the House voted for the Act by 350 to 34. The Bill before us today will provide the detailed authorisation. As Parliament considers the Bill for phase 1, we will prepare our proposals for phase 2, responding to the Higgins challenge to accelerate and improve it so that the most can be made of this investment—a commitment to get high-speed services to more towns and cities in the midlands and the north, and, crucially, to make sure that we get the most out of the economic opportunities it will bring.

[Mr Jim Cunningham]

I thank the Secretary of State for giving way to me a second time. He said earlier that he would say what benefits cities such as Coventry would get from this project. Will he tell me now?

High-speed Rail

Debate between Lord McLoughlin and Jim Cunningham

Monday 24th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

I did not realise that my hon. Friend originally came from Crewe, which given its connections is a very important railway town, always has been and always will be. I will want to consider his point about the later connections on to the west coast main line in the light of Sir David Higgins’s recommendations.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

Given that Coventry will not benefit from high-speed rail, what will the Secretary of State do about the potential investment vacuum in Coventry and similar cities, and what will he do about negative equity?

[Mr McLoughlin]

I very much believe and hope that HS2 will be beneficial to Coventry. The entire west midlands benefits from HS2 and Coventry is certainly part of that wider west midlands conurbation. I want to see greater interconnection between the cities, and we have the time to plan and get that right. In this control period and the next one for Network Rail, we will be able to build on certain proposals that I know Coventry wants. Representatives of Coventry have been to see me and made recommendations about certain line improvements that they want to see.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord McLoughlin and Jim Cunningham

Thursday 20th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

My right hon. Friend makes an interesting suggestion. No doubt he will pursue that argument with me and the authorities on a number of occasions to come.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

What is the Secretary of State doing about the congestion at Tollbar End, which is affecting businesses, particularly those in the export market, and people getting to work? I contacted his Department last week but I still have not had an answer.

[Mr McLoughlin]

I am very sorry that the hon. Gentleman has not had an answer. I could compare the time delays in reply to correspondence under this and the previous Government, but instead I will try to get the hon. Gentleman an answer as quickly as possible. We are investing significant amounts in road infrastructure, more than that invested by the previous Government. That shows this Government’s overall commitment to infrastructure investment in the United Kingdom.

Flooding: Transport Disruption

Debate between Lord McLoughlin and Jim Cunningham

Thursday 13th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

I can certainly give my hon. Friend a promise about the commitment that she seeks; the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr Heath) also asked the question. I know how important the main line to Dawlish and my hon. Friend’s constituency is. The other thing that we need to consider is whether we can build in better resilience than went into the wall when it was first built more than 100 years ago.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

Has there been any major damage to the west coast main line and will the Secretary of State invest any new money into it? Will he also find out why there are regular hold-ups on that line between Birmingham and Euston?

[Mr McLoughlin]

One of the reasons why there might be regular hold-ups was pointed out by my right hon. Friend the Member for Chelmsford (Mr Burns) a moment ago: the question of capacity on that line. The hon. Gentleman will remember that the west coast main line saw investment of more than £9 billion, all north of Rugby. That went some way towards improving certain bits of the line’s capacity, but it did not improve the capacity into London.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord McLoughlin and Jim Cunningham

Thursday 19th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

T8. Will the Minister look into the situation in the west midlands, particularly in Coventry, where pensioners’ free rail passes seem to be under some sort of threat, and will he discuss that with Ministers from the Department for Communities and Local Government?

[Mr McLoughlin]

I am sorry to say that I did not quite catch all of the hon. Gentleman’s question, but I will certainly look into the points he makes. Perhaps he and I could have a discussion after this question session.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord McLoughlin and Jim Cunningham

Thursday 12th September 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

I have tried to say that the case for HS2 is not just about speed and that capacity is one of the main reasons for it. Although the reduction in journey time between London and Birmingham is not huge—it will be in the region of 30 minutes—for great cities in the north such as Manchester and Leeds the reduction will be very beneficial. There is not just one reason; there are many reasons for doing this project. Even if we took the line down to a lower speed limit, it would not reduce the cost by much—we would be talking about 90% of the present cost, rather than 100%.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

14. I agree with the right hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs Gillan). Has the Secretary of State looked at an alternative integrated rail system, as opposed to high-speed rail? Is there a Treasury limit on spending for that project?

[Mr McLoughlin]

I have set out carefully the spending limit, and we have a put in place a reasonable contingency, based on internationally recognised figures. It is a big contingency and I hope, as the chief executive of Network Rail said a few weeks ago, that the project could come in under the budget that the Government have allowed.

High Speed Rail (Preparation) Bill

Debate between Lord McLoughlin and Jim Cunningham

Wednesday 26th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

Mr Speaker, I know that a great number of Members want to speak in the debate and I will give way a number of times, but I am mindful of the fact that you asked me to allow plenty of time for others to take part.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

I apologise to the Secretary of State for coming in late and I appreciate the fact that he has given way to me. Can he tell me what Coventry will get out of high-speed rail and, more importantly, what about a decent compensation package?

[Mr McLoughlin]

I will come on to say something about compensation later in my speech. I think Coventry will get many benefits. The whole west midlands area will get a huge number of benefits from HS2. I want to see councils such as Coventry start working to make sure that they can get the best out of High Speed 2, both from the connections and the way we serve those areas. I know the hon. Gentleman is incredibly concerned about the way we serve Coventry. As somebody who knows Coventry relatively well, I am also concerned to see that take place.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr McLoughlin]

I can assure my hon. Friend that I want HS2 to be not dissimilar in this respect to Crossrail, which saw 97% of the business going to British companies. However, I am cautious about awarding contracts and making promises from the Dispatch Box. I am certainly a little more cautious than my hon. Friend was in asking me to do so.

[Mr Jim Cunningham]

Will the Secretary of State meet a delegation from Coventry, as he suggested he would just before Christmas when we met him to discuss this issue?

[Mr McLoughlin]

I hope the hon. Gentleman does not mind my pointing out that I met a delegation before Christmas. I have met one delegation and I am happy to have another meeting with the hon. Gentleman on the same issue. I recognise that the council has changed its position and I look forward to his changing his position as well.

Today marks an important milestone in the progress of HS2. We must keep it to time and budget, and minimise the impact on residents, the environment and the landscape. We can do that and we need to do that because HS2 is an engine for growth: growth in jobs, growth in opportunities for business and growth in the global race. HS2 is a project for our generation. Now is the time to make it happen. I commend the Bill to the House.

High Speed Rail

Debate between Lord McLoughlin and Jim Cunningham

Monday 28th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

I agree completely with my hon. Friend. Those announcements show the Government’s commitment to the rail industry and to the railway services that we all want in our constituencies.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

Will the Secretary of State say how major cities such as Coventry will benefit from this project, bearing in mind the representations that I made to him some weeks ago on that matter? Secondly, and more importantly, there will inevitably be people who fall outside the compensation formula. What does he intend to do about that, because I know of cases in Coventry and Warwickshire?

[Mr McLoughlin]

I am willing to listen to any representations, but a line has to be drawn somewhere on such developments. I think that Coventry will be served by the large station at the Birmingham International exchange before the line goes into Birmingham Curzon Street. It is up to Coventry to work with the Department to work out the best possible routes to link in with the line so that people in Coventry have the advantage of HS2.

West Coast Main Line

Debate between Lord McLoughlin and Jim Cunningham

Monday 15th October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

I thank my hon. Friend. As I have pointed out, there will be a two-year franchise that will be negotiated some time next year, and I hope that some of the benefits that were initially to come from a longer-term franchise agreement can be replicated in it.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

In an age of high food prices, high oil prices and high fares, will the Secretary of State, when he negotiates the west coast main line franchise both in the interim and in the longer term, put a special emphasis on fares, because they are far too high?

[Mr McLoughlin]

I am glad that we have been able to reduce the proposed increases from RPI plus 3 to RPI plus 1. I hear what the hon. Gentleman says about fares. Of course, some pre-booked fares can cost a reasonable amount, but others are very high, and that is something I think we should all look at.