Louise Haigh
Main Page: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield Heeley)Department Debates - View all Louise Haigh's debates with the Department for Transport
(1 month ago)
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Richard Baker (Glenrothes and Mid Fife) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Transport (Louise Haigh)
May I take this opportunity to pay my tribute to the former Deputy Prime Minister and my predecessor as Transport Secretary? A merchant navy steward who became Deputy Prime Minister, a visionary Transport Secretary and an icon of the New Labour Government, he was an inspiration to working class boys and girls across our country for what our Labour movement can achieve. Our thoughts are with Pauline, his family and everyone who loved him in our whole Labour family.
The Government are committed to ensuring that aviation is accessible to all. I am proud that we have established the aviation accessibility task and finish group, bringing together industry and consumer advocates with first-hand experience to improve aviation accessibility.
Richard Baker
I associate myself with the tributes to Lord Prescott. As a sponsor of the Aviation (Accessibility) Bill, introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford (Daniel Francis), I welcome the Secretary of State’s announcement of the new expert group to break down the barriers to air travel that are still experienced by far too many disabled people. Does she agree that ensuring all disabled people have the ability to travel on flights safely and with dignity must now be a priority for the whole aviation industry?
Louise Haigh
I am very grateful to my hon. Friend and pay tribute to him and my hon. Friend the Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford (Daniel Francis) for their ten-minute rule Bill on this important issue. The human impact for too many people with accessibility issues when flying is severe and that is why it is this Government’s priority to set up the accessibility task and finish group. We are requiring the industry to match our ambition.
Seamus Logan (Aberdeenshire North and Moray East) (SNP)
For regional and island airports, accessibility equipment can carry significant cost in proportion to the number of passengers using the facility. However, it remains vital that disabled passengers’ access is supported. What action is the Secretary of State taking to support smaller airports in this regard?
Louise Haigh
Airports are represented in the accessibility task and finish group through their trade association, AirportsUK, and both large and smaller airports are represented individually as well. We will work closely with the industry to look at what voluntary measures can be adopted as we also consider enforcement powers for the Civil Aviation Authority.
Neil O’Brien (Harborough, Oadby and Wigston) (Con)
Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Transport (Louise Haigh)
We have heard over the last 14 years that the infrastructure sector and wider supply chain needs stability and certainty—no more chopping and changing—and last month’s Budget committed this Government to that approach, ensuring that people have access to transport services and infrastructure that meets their needs. The Department’s capital settlement secures the delivery and development of infrastructure projects, including upgrades to rail in the north, further electrification of services between Church Fenton and York by 2026, and significant major road upgrades across the north of England.
Perran Moon
I associate myself with the comments about Lord Prescott.
Public access to electric vehicle charging infrastructure is vital to encourage motorists to switch away from petrol and diesel vehicles, but the roll-out process is reliant on dedicated and experienced local authority resources, funding for which is due to run out next year. Will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss measures to avoid local authorities becoming bottlenecks in the roll-out of publicly accessible EV charging infrastructure?
Louise Haigh
The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. Our manifesto was clear that we are committed to accelerating the electric vehicle charge point roll-out, particularly to address the inequity across the country. I fully recognise the importance of local authorities in achieving that, and in the Budget we announced over £200 million of investment in charging for 2025-26, including that important support for local authorities. I am sure that my hon. Friend the Minister for the future of roads would be happy to meet him.
Jen Craft
The Dartford crossing linking Essex and Kent is a key piece of transport infrastructure in my constituency. However, since moving to a new charging system last year, there have been serious failings in the administration of the Dart charge. Problems include credit not being carried over from the old system. Cars have incorrectly been charged, accounts have been closed in error and, in one particularly egregious example, a constituent of mine was told by an enforcement agent standing on her doorstep that she owed £8,000. I thank the Secretary of State for her attention on this matter. Will she update the House on the steps that her Department is taking to resolve the matter?
Louise Haigh
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this important issue. I have received several representations about its impact on drivers who use the Dartford crossing. It is essential that when errors occur they are cleared up quickly, and with compassion for those affected. I expect National Highways to work with its service providers at the Dartford crossing to ensure that that happens, and my hon. Friend the Minister for the future of roads has been holding National Highways to account. My officials are continuing to work with National Highways to drive down incorrect penalty charge notices and provide much better support to customers.
Connor Naismith
The Labour mayors Andy Burnham and Richard Parker are developing proposals for a new rail link between Birmingham and Manchester. What engagement has the Department had with the mayors and investors in relation to this project, and does my right hon. Friend agree that, as a key transport hub, Crewe must be at the heart of any future rail infrastructure connecting the north and the midlands?
Louise Haigh
My hon. Friend has consistently stood up for Crewe in the wake of the cancellation of HS2. Crewe was particularly badly hit by that announcement. I was pleased to meet with Mayors Burnham and Parker this week to discuss their proposals to address the capacity and connectivity issues north of Birmingham, and I will continue to engage with all relevant stakeholders on this topic.
Catherine Fookes
I welcome the Government’s recommitment to improving public transport and rail infrastructure across Britain. In Monmouthshire, we are eagerly awaiting the innovative Magor walkway station, which will reduce M4 congestion, improve public transport and, most importantly, help us in our mission to bring economic growth and boost the economy locally. Will the Secretary of State commit to working with me and Welsh Ministers to deliver the five Burns stations, including the Magor walkway, and will she meet me to discuss progress?
Louise Haigh
I am familiar with Lord Burns’s recommendations for new stations in south Wales to relieve congestion on the M4 motorway, and I am in discussions with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and Welsh Ministers on these proposals. I would be more than happy to discuss progress with my hon. Friend.
Rishi Sunak (Richmond and Northallerton) (Con)
I thank the Secretary of State for agreeing to meet me and the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron) about the A66. While there is a strong economic case for dualling, the road safety considerations concern me most. As she will know, 12 people tragically lost their life on the road last week. I recently met constituents in Ravensworth who live near one of the single carriageway sections of the road. They live daily with those fears. Will she reassure them that she and her team will keep road safety considerations uppermost in their mind as they think about the future of the A66?
Louise Haigh
The former Prime Minister managed to ask two questions, because he asked his first behind the Chair earlier. I am more than happy to meet him to discuss the A66, which we are considering and which provides that crucial northern trans-Pennine connectivity. I reassure him that we take road safety seriously, particularly on that section of road. We are in the process of developing the first road safety strategy in more than a decade.
Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)
Bath’s council is consulting on creating 6.2 km of cycle roads. The recent £100 million increase to the active travel fund is welcome, but councils need long-term funding. Will the Secretary of State commit to long-term funding of the active travel plans?
Louise Haigh
The hon. Lady is absolutely right, and we were pleased to overturn the previous Government’s cuts to Active Travel England, ensuring that it can help authorities such as Bath scale up their capability and capacity and deliver those important active travel routes. As we look towards the second phase of the spending review, the ambition is absolutely to move to multi- year settlements, deliver that important consistency and sustainability for local authorities.
Danny Kruger (East Wiltshire) (Con)
I thank the Minister with responsibility for roads for meeting my right hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury (John Glen) and me last week to discuss the future of the A303 and the north-south routes through Wiltshire; village roads are clogged with heavy goods vehicle traffic. Seeing as the Government have scrapped the Stonehenge tunnel, saving billions of pounds, I implore the Minister, as she considers the road investment strategy for next year, to think about mitigation of the unsustainable traffic problems that we have in Wiltshire. We have been waiting years for improvements. Please could that be considered as part of the next RIS?
Louise Haigh
As the hon. Gentleman will be aware, the Minister has already asked National Highways to meet the hon. Gentleman and his colleagues to discuss those important issues. We will place statutory duties and stretching freight targets on Great British Railways to encourage freight off the roads and on to the railways, but we are absolutely considering the specific congestion issues in the south-west as we look towards the road investment strategy.
Peter Fortune (Bromley and Biggin Hill) (Con)
An increasing amount of Transport for London’s funding comes from punitive taxes on motorists, including those in my constituency of Bromley and Biggin Hill. There are reports that the Mayor of London was actively planning to charge drivers up to 60p a mile to drive. Will the Secretary of State take the opportunity to discourage the mayor from introducing pay-per-mile road user charging across Greater London?
Louise Haigh
I am sure that the hon. Gentleman is fully aware that the mayor has repeatedly made it clear that he has no plans to act on road user charging.
Jerome Mayhew (Broadland and Fakenham) (Con)
We will all miss John Prescott. He was a titan of our politics, and a man not afraid to come out swinging for what he believed in.
The figures show that capital spending on transport is not rising under Labour; it will fall by 3.1% in real terms next year. We have huge tax rises and a more than £70 billion increase in tax. Labour’s black hole myth has been debunked by the Office for Budget Responsibility, the Financial Times and the Institute for Fiscal Studies—all real economists—so why the cut in capital spending? The Secretary of State was out of her depth when she negotiated a £9,000 pay rise for ASLEF train drivers with nothing in return. Was she out of her depth when she negotiated with her own Chancellor?
Louise Haigh
This Budget delivered £1 billion funding for local bus services and transformational capital investment in infrastructure projects, such as the trans-Pennine route upgrade, the A57 and, of course, East West Rail. This Government are committed to investing, investing, investing in transport, transport, transport.
Anneliese Midgley (Knowsley) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Transport (Louise Haigh)
This Government are committed to reviewing the over-complicated fares system to simplify it. We only have to look on social media any day of the week to see examples of people being confused and wrongly prosecuted because of the confusing nature of the rail system. My officials are exploring how ticketing innovations such as digital pay-as–you-go and digital season tickets can be rolled out more widely as quickly as possible.
Anneliese Midgley
I associate myself with the tributes paid to John Prescott. Radio Merseyside has featured many stories about passengers who were fined because they bought train tickets in good faith, only to find out that they were the wrong ones. Some of my Knowsley constituents find themselves being fined or denied travel by Merseytravel for buying tickets legitimately online. What steps is the Secretary of State taking to work with our mayor, Steve Rotherham, and with Merseyrail and other operators, to ensure that passengers are not unfairly penalised, and to create a clear and fair ticketing system that is easy for everyone to use?
Louise Haigh
We are working with the mayors as we look to establish Great British Railways. I have asked the Office of Rail and Road to conduct an independent review of rail operators’ revenue protection practices. That launches today and will involve devolved operators, where appropriate. Addressing fare evasion is a priority, but we must always treat passengers fairly and appropriately.
Mr Speaker
Order. Questions should be a bit shorter. I do not know who is doing your briefings—well, I suspect I do—but shorter questions would be helpful.
Louise Haigh
Of course, a priority for this Government is to keep public transport affordable, but our absolute priority is to fix the mess in the railways that we inherited after 14 years of under-investment, decline and putting passengers last in a broken system.
Matt Rodda (Reading Central) (Lab)
Rachel Taylor (North Warwickshire and Bedworth) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Transport (Louise Haigh)
The Government are determined to improve the condition of local roads. We had a manifesto commitment to support councils in fixing up to 1 million more potholes per year. We are going above and beyond that manifesto commitment: last month’s Budget confirmed an increase of £500 million for next financial year to fix Britain’s crumbling roads.
Matt Rodda
I pay tribute to Lord Prescott. I welcome the Secretary of State’s announcement of this vital funding. Will she comment on the excellent work carried out by Reading borough council, which has started resurfacing large sections of road? That not only creates a smoother surface for drivers, but has been proven to save money in the long run.
Louise Haigh
My hon. Friend is absolutely right to highlight the excellent practices being undertaken by Reading borough council. That is the kind of innovation that we need to see across the country—not just fixing and repairing potholes, but ensuring that we prevent them and improve the quality and lifespan of our local roads.
Dr Ben Spencer (Runnymede and Weybridge) (Con)
People living near the concrete sections of the M25 in my constituency are besieged by motorway noise. In fact, some schools and homes cannot open windows, such is the noise nuisance. Does the Secretary of State agree that that is an absolute disgrace, and will she support my campaign to scrap the concrete sections of the M25 motorway?
Louise Haigh
I believe the hon. Gentleman met the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend hon. Member for Nottingham South (Lilian Greenwood), last week on exactly that issue. She will follow up on it, as will National Highways.
Mr Sewards
I associate myself with the comments about Lord Prescott. I am grateful for the Secretary of State’s answers on local roads. The roads in Leeds South West and Morley are in a dire state. Asquith Avenue has been compared to the surface of the moon. Commuters in Farnley, Wortley, Morley and Tingley have to dodge potholes every day, and even the more rural areas of my constituency, such as Ardsley and Robin Hood, are suffering the same fate. What reassurances can the Secretary of State give my constituents that those roads will be improved, and when can they expect those improvements?
Louise Haigh
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Potholes and poor road conditions are a menace that make our roads less safe and have saddled drivers with costly repairs. The £500 million uplift will be available in ’25-26, and we will announce the allocations shortly, including those for West Yorkshire.
Rachel Taylor
I also pay tribute to Lord Prescott. Nearly 20% of my constituents work in the vital freight and logistics sector, yet the industry continues to pick up the bill for the failure of Warwickshire county council to fix my constituents’ pothole-riddled roads. Now that the Government have provided a £500 million increase to fix potholes, does the Secretary of State agree that the council must take action to tackle the scourge of potholes, which are causing untold damage to my constituents’ cars, trucks and lorries?
Louise Haigh
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Local authorities are responsible for the state of their local roads, but with this significant uplift for ’25-26, we expect them to ensure that that is a priority, and to tackle the state of the local roads, which is affecting my hon. Friend’s constituents so badly.
Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)
John Prescott was a towering figure in the politics of the Humber region, and I associate myself with the words of sympathy to his family. Roads in my constituency are under greater pressure because traffic from the A180 is continually being transferred on to them while it is being patched up. Earlier this month, the hon. Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn) and I met National Highways, and it is perfectly obvious that the A180 will be in its present state for many years to come. Will the Secretary of State meet me and the hon. Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes to discuss this and other transport issues in the area?
Louise Haigh
I am sure that the Minister with responsibility for roads, my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham South (Lilian Greenwood), would be very happy to meet the hon. Gentleman and my hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn).
Josh Babarinde (Eastbourne) (LD)
The safety and condition of our roads are hugely dependent on those who drive on them, but too many vehicles illegally use our roads without tax, without registering their details with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, and without their MOT. I thank Jamie from Seven Sisters garage for sorting my MOT out last week. Will the Secretary of State meet industry experts, such as Eastbourne’s very own Alan Wood of the National Persistent Evader Database, to discuss their solutions to tackling this problem, and making our roads safer?
Louise Haigh
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that important point. I have met the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency to talk about its important enforcement work in this area. Measures of that kind will absolutely be considered in the development of our road safety strategy, and we will work closely with stakeholders, exactly as the Minister with responsibility for roads mentioned.
Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)
I associate myself with the tributes paid to Lord Prescott. Talking of pothole repairs and road resurfacing, the director of the RAC, Steve Gooding, said:
“The long-term solution is a long-term funding settlement for councils so they can finally get on top of what has been a perennial problem.”
But councils—[Laughter.] Hon. Members might laugh, but our councils, which have to do the work of repairing our roads, do not know how much money they will get from the much-trumpeted £500 million. When will our councils actually get their allocations?
Louise Haigh
As I have said, the £500 million is available for ’25-26, and those allocations will be announced shortly. The brass neck on Opposition Members never ceases to amaze.
Greg Smith
I am just trying to get answers for our councils. Of course, it was the previous Government who committed £8.3 billion to road repairs, using money from the rightly cancelled sections of High Speed 2. Back in May, when it was in opposition, Labour tried to claim a backlog of more than £16 billion in road repairs, but now it just trumpets funding of £500 million. That is not enough, is it?
Louise Haigh
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for recognising the appalling state of our local roads, and the appalling backlog that we inherited. The significant uplift allocated for next year will start to turn the page on 14 years of decline, but of course that cannot be achieved overnight.
Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)
Jas Athwal (Ilford South) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Transport (Louise Haigh)
In the Budget, the Government confirmed over £1 billion of funding to support bus services, an additional £200 million for eligible mayors, over £650 million for local transport outside the city regions, a £500 million increase in local highways maintenance and £485 million for Transport for London, which includes funding for rolling stock on the Piccadilly and Elizabeth lines.
Jas Athwal
May I, too, associate myself with the tributes paid to the late Lord Prescott?
I commend the Government’s initiatives to increase connectivity across London. For example, the new zero emission buses are making public transport so much more convenient and greener. Nearly half of my constituents in Ilford South travel by public transport. What support is the Secretary of State providing to the Mayor of London, and TfL in particular, to ensure that my constituents can continue to commute to work?
Louise Haigh
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his championing of his constituents’ ability to commute affordably and reliably. The Government provided Transport for London with £485 million of capital funding for 2025-26, which includes funding for the procurement of new trains and rolling stock.
Lorraine Beavers (Blackpool North and Fleetwood) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Transport (Louise Haigh)
For too long, poor performance and connectivity particularly across the north of England has been tolerated. That is why one of my top five transport priorities is improving performance on the railways and driving forward reform. The Budget confirmed significant investment in rail enhancements, such as the TransPennine route upgrade, and we are committed to improving connectivity in addition to our work improving our overall network.
Lorraine Beavers
I too send my condolences to John Prescott’s family.
The town of Fleetwood and Thornton in my constituency has suffered poor transport connections for many years. Will the Secretary of State update the House on the status of the funds to improve rail links across the country, and will the relevant Minister meet me to discuss ways to improve transport connections into and out of Thornton and Fleetwood?
Louise Haigh
My hon. Friend is a champion for her constituency. We confirmed significant investment in rail enhancements across the country in the Budget, but as we look to the second phase of the spending review we will be setting out the long-term infrastructure strategy. On Fleetwood in particular, I am sure the local transport Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Wakefield and Rothwell (Simon Lightwood), would be happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss this particular transport need in her constituency.
Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)
At the last Transport questions on 10 October, I asked the Transport Secretary to confirm the status of the ringfenced funding for Aldridge train station. She promised to reply in writing. I followed this up with a letter. To date, I have received no response. The people of Aldridge deserve to know what has happened to the £30 million awarded to us for our new train station: can the Secretary of State tell us where it is, please?
Louise Haigh
I sincerely apologise to the right hon. Lady and will make sure she receives that letter today.
Martin Wrigley (Newton Abbot) (LD)
The Secretary of State for Transport (Louise Haigh)
Moving fast and fixing things is a promise not a soundbite. Yesterday the landmark Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill completed its passage through this place and now awaits Royal Assent. This is a significant milestone, bringing the railways back into public hands, restoring trust after years of lack of trust and renewing a promise to passengers that the railways can work better for them. At the same time, we are tackling rail performance now. London North Eastern Railway and TransPennine Express cancellations are down. I have tasked the Office of Rail and Road with reviewing ticket enforcements.
On roads, this Government’s £500 million boost for local highways next year will support local leaders to fix up to 1 million more potholes per year, delivering on our manifesto pledge. On top of this, we are delivering transformative investment in infrastructure that connects our great cities and towns. This Government are delivering transport enhancements that drive growth, improve lives and connect every corner of the country.
Martin Wrigley
The storm in 2014 broke the Dawlish sea wall, collapsed cliffs and blocked the south-west main line for months. Will the Secretary of State assure us that the crucial rail resilience programme final phase will be funded so that Network Rail keeps the project alive, rather than halting it in its tracks?
Louise Haigh
As we look to settling Network Rail’s control period 7, of course that will be a major consideration in the next funding settlement.
Ashley Dalton (West Lancashire) (Lab)
Louise Haigh
The Budget committed significant funding both for mayoral areas and those not covered by mayoral combined authorities through the local transport fund. Crucially, new powers will be delivered to those areas to ensure they can take back control of their local public transport services. Of course I would be delighted to meet my hon. Friend to discuss this further.
Gareth Bacon (Orpington) (Con)
Greater London is the most heavily populated and most economically active area in the whole country. It also has the highest level of bus use. In the last financial year, the level of bus subsidy in London amounted to £646 million. In the Secretary of State’s statement on Monday, of the £1 billion of funding that she indicated, £700 million will be spent on producing bus planning documents, and only £243 million is going to bus services. That will not touch the sides, will it? Is the truth not that, far from it being generational reform, it is publicly funded window dressing?
Louise Haigh
The way that the previous Government approached bus service improvement plans was to force local authorities to waste money on developing those plans. This money is going directly to authorities to make sure they are delivering public services. Public transport is a public service and it should always be funded.
Ian Lavery (Blyth and Ashington) (Lab)
Mr Paul Kohler (Wimbledon) (LD)
I congratulate the Secretary of State on the passing of the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill yesterday. Northern Rail has been publicly owned for the past four years, running trains on tracks that have been publicly owned for more than two decades. Sadly, Northern Rail still has some of the worst cancellation and punctuality rates in the country. Can the Secretary of State tell us what she has learned from her Department’s experience with Northern Rail? What else is she planning beyond nationalisation to improve the rail network?
Louise Haigh
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his party’s support in passing the public ownership Bill yesterday in the other place. He is right, and I have made clear to Northern Rail that its performance is not acceptable. We are addressing that through new agreements on rest-day working to drive down cancellations, and crucially through integrating operations with Network Rail to deliver savings and better performance.
Phil Brickell (Bolton West) (Lab)
Louise Haigh
I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. I have repeatedly made clear that it is not good enough. We inherited a railway where workforce terms and conditions were completely outdated and not fit for a modern railway. We are addressing that, and as a result Northern’s cancellations are starting to come down, but we appreciate that there is still a long way to go.
Patrick Hurley (Southport) (Lab)
Louise Haigh
Our manifesto was clear that we are committed to improving rail connectivity in the north of England. I would be delighted to meet my hon. Friend to address the specific issues on that line.
Nick Timothy (West Suffolk) (Con)
The Ely and Haughley upgrades are vital for getting freight from Felixstowe off roads and on to rail, reducing congestion on the A14 and providing much-needed relief to villages such as Kentford in my constituency. Can the Secretary of State commit to a timescale for their commencement?
Louise Haigh
I am well aware of the strong case for the Ely junction improvement and the impact that will have on freight. That is absolutely being considered as we look towards the 10-year infrastructure strategy and we consider GBR’s stretching target for getting freight off the roads and on to the railways.
Ben Goldsborough (South Norfolk) (Lab)
David Mundell (Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale) (Con)
My condolences to John Prescott’s family. I am long enough in the tooth to remember when he was the Transport Secretary.
A feasibility study on the Borders rail link was a fundamental part of the Borderlands growth deal. For some reason, the Scottish Government do not seem to prioritise transport links with England, so it is vital that the Department pushes that forward.
Louise Haigh
I am engaged with the Transport Minister in Scotland on exactly that issue.
Joe Morris (Hexham) (Lab)
Louise Haigh
My hon. Friend is right that Northern rail services on that line are very poor. That is exactly what we are addressing through continued negotiation on rest-day working agreements. My noble Friend the Rail Minister will be happy to meet him.
Ben Maguire (North Cornwall) (LD)
We have just seen the third fatality in six months at the Plusha junction in my constituency. How many more lives will be lost before her Department, National Highways and Cornwall Council finally plan to implement a flyover at this accident blackspot?
Louise Haigh
The hon. Gentleman is right to raise that. We are developing the first road safety strategy in over 10 years, and improvements in infrastructure like that are exactly what will be considered under that plan.
Jacob Collier (Burton and Uttoxeter) (Lab)
Dr Marie Tidball (Penistone and Stocksbridge) (Lab)
I associate myself with the comments about Lord Prescott, a true working-class hero.
Constituents regularly tell me that the No. 57 bus that connects Stocksbridge to Sheffield is often delayed and does not always stop, even when bus stops are busy. Will the Secretary of State confirm that the funding she announced this week will provide reliable and affordable bus routes connecting our rural and urban communities in Penistone and Stocksbridge?
Louise Haigh
I am grateful to my hon. Friend and colleague from Sheffield. I am well aware of that bus route and can confirm that the £18 million settlement for South Yorkshire will deliver better, more reliable and more frequent services for the good people of Sheffield.