Road Investment Strategy

Debate between Lord McLoughlin and Jonathan Edwards

Monday 1st December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

The right hon. Gentleman is perfectly correct in saying that the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and others, including the Chancellor, have made many representations about this particular road. I fear that it needs no advocacy from me.

[Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) (PC)]

Will the Secretary of State confirm that the road investment strategy is an England-only plan and will therefore lead to full Barnett consequentials of around £750 million for Wales over the five years?

[Mr McLoughlin]

It is an all-England plan, and the Barnett consequentials will follow.

High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Bill

Debate between Lord McLoughlin and Jonathan Edwards

Monday 28th April 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

Definitely. A little later, I shall go on to my obligations under the paving Bill, which will, I hope, go some way towards reassuring the hon. Lady.

[Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) (PC)]

In response to an earlier intervention, the Secretary of State answered a question about Crossrail, which, of course, qualified for full Barnett consequentials. Today we are debating high-speed rail between London and the west midlands, which seems to me to be an England-only railway. Why are the UK Government not awarding Barnett consequentials in this case?

[Mr McLoughlin]

Because, as I said in earlier, the simple fact is that the trains will run on to Scotland. I think that Scotland will get the benefits from the first day that the new railway line is open. I have got used to people from Scotland and Wales talking to me about Barnett consequentials, and we will obviously follow any rules that require such consequentials, but my belief is that the benefits will go to both Wales and Scotland from the point at which HS2 first opens.

High-speed Rail

Debate between Lord McLoughlin and Jonathan Edwards

Monday 24th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

My hon. Friend represents a great city, which I have visited on many occasions. It will receive benefits from Crewe. The Under-Secretary of State for Education, my hon. Friend the Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mr Timpson), who joins me on the Front Bench, has made it clear that the station will not only be very important for his constituency, but will serve the whole of the north-west, including the great city of Chester.

[Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) (PC)]

The Labour Welsh Government recently changed their view on the Barnett consequentials from HS2, following questions from the Financial Times on why they were not backing Plaid Cymru’s position on a fair share for Wales. What representations has the Secretary of State received from the Welsh Government or the official Opposition to demand a fair share for my country?

[Mr McLoughlin]

There is no doubt that Wales will benefit from HS2. North Wales, in particular, will benefit from the proposals in Sir David’s latest report to build the line faster further north, because Crewe is a major interchange that serves north Wales.

High Speed Rail (Preparation) Bill

Debate between Lord McLoughlin and Jonathan Edwards

Thursday 31st October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

Of course I do. I am more than happy to meet the right hon. Gentleman to discuss the particular issue of Euston station, because the redevelopment will bring specific problems. But we must also ensure that we get the very best deal for his constituents in the redevelopment of Euston station. I am meeting the leader of Camden council next week, although I do not know if the right hon. Gentleman will be there. I do not discount the concerns of local residents about the work on major infrastructure projects, and we have to take them into account.

[Jonathan Edwards]

Last week it was disclosed that the Treasury had made a mistake and awarded Barnett consequentials to Wales in the 2015-16 spending round. Subsequently, the Treasury said it would claw the money back in the next spending review and that it did not set a precedent. Will the Secretary of State confirm that there will not be a clawback, that the precedent has now been set and that Wales will have the consequentials? Unless he does so, we will vote against him on Third Reading.

[Mr McLoughlin]

It would be a brave Secretary of State who started second-guessing the Treasury, and I will not do that now. I understand the hon. Gentleman’s representations and will bear them in mind.

I will briefly explain the next steps. We intend to submit the hybrid Bill before Christmas. In February, the growth taskforce reports. I know the challenges ahead, but also the opportunities. We are not here to patch up our railway once again, only to spend far more later when it turns out that we should have invested properly at the start. It will take determination to strengthen our country. I urge this House to support the Bill. It is our chance to get ahead and to invest in our long-term prosperity.

High Speed Rail (Preparation) Bill

Debate between Lord McLoughlin and Jonathan Edwards

Wednesday 26th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

I met the hon. Gentleman yesterday along with two of his colleagues, and I can assure him that this is about providing extra capacity, not reducing services. I want to consider the points that he and two of his hon. Friends made to me yesterday along the same lines. I do not recognise where he gets his figure of three services per day compared to the present level of service. Of course, that will be part of the consultation and one of the aspects that we will examine fully as we move forward.

[Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) (PC)]

The last time I looked, York, Manchester, Birmingham and London were in England. HS2 was clearly an England-only project, yet there will be Barnett consequentials. Unless the Secretary of State can state that there will be equivalent consequentials for Wales amounting to about £2 billion, we will vote against the Bill at every stage.

[Mr McLoughlin]

I am sorry the hon. Gentleman feels that way, because I believe there will be advantages to Wales as well. As HS2 serves an area up to the north Wales coast, there will be ways in which that can be an advantage. I think he is saying that he will vote against because he is not getting the opportunity to get high-speed services. If we do not get the route as currently proposed, he has no chance of getting any high-speed opportunity whatsoever. He will see, if he looks at the way the plans are laid out, that this can be developed further—even further up to Scotland, as the Bill makes clear.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord McLoughlin and Jonathan Edwards

Thursday 18th October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

HS2 will be the subject of a huge amount of parliamentary time as we prepare the hybrid Bill and bring it before Parliament in the next Session.

[Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) (PC)]

Arguably one of the benefits of HS2 is that it will create extra capacity on the conventional network. However, these services are highly unlikely to be profitable and will require extra subsidy. What calculations has the Department made about the extra cost of that subsidy and the subsequent Barnett consequentials that the Welsh Government will be entitled to?

[Mr McLoughlin]

We are some way off getting to that stage. I am dealing with a number of other figures at the moment, so I will take away the hon. Gentleman’s question and think about it a little more deeply, rather than give a rushed answer at the Dispatch Box.