Oral Answers to Questions
Louise Haigh Excerpts(1 year, 3 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for Transport (Louise Haigh)
Nowhere is the Tory legacy of transport failure more obvious than in the legacy we have been left on High Speed 2, with costs allowed to run completely out of control, communities ignored, and misery for passengers baked into the plans. My Department is working with the rail industry to minimise disruption during the construction of Old Oak Common station, including through a £30 million investment in mitigations that will allow services to continue to operate during the disruption.
Jayne Kirkham
Our railway in the south-west is too slow, too fragile and too expensive. Does the Transport Secretary agree with me and colleagues across Cornwall, the south-west and Wales that this new HS2 station will mean slower and more disrupted journeys? Will she meet me and a delegation of south-west MPs to discuss mitigation of the legacy she has inherited from the last Government to ensure that the south-west does not suffer now and in the future because of that disruption?
Louise Haigh
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for rightly raising these issues. I will be delighted to meet her to discuss the mitigations. Efforts will be made to minimise the impact on passengers, including trains terminating at either Ealing Broadway or Reading, but we will work with her to monitor and minimise disruption for her constituents.
Dr Ben Spencer (Runnymede and Weybridge) (Con)
Traffic delays at level crossings in Egham, Addlestone and Chertsey are punishing my constituents, and engineering works and diversion routes just make that worse. Will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss how we can mitigate and improve our level crossings, especially during these engineering works?
Louise Haigh
I fully appreciate the implications of Network Rail engineering works, and the construction and maintenance of level crossings in particular. I will happily pass on the hon. Member’s request for a meeting to the Minister for Rail in the other place.
Mr Speaker
Order. I am sure that question must be related in some way to Old Oak Common. I think we need to be more descriptive when asking such questions. Secretary of State, answer as you wish.
Louise Haigh
I am happy to answer that question, Mr Speaker. The two-year industrial dispute cost the taxpayer £25 million a day every time the Tories oversaw a strike day. The reforms that they pursued cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds. We have since settled the national pay dispute and localised disputes on London North Eastern Railway and CrossCountry, leading to improved passenger services across the country.
Jake Richards (Rother Valley) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Transport (Louise Haigh)
Every death on our roads is a tragedy; for too long, they have been treated as an inevitability. The safety of our roads is an absolute priority for this Government. Since the general election, the Department has begun work on a new road safety strategy, the first in more than a decade, which will support our mission to build an NHS fit for the future.
Jake Richards
Last week, I met South Yorkshire police to raise the issue of speeding and in particular the phenomenon of boy racers, which is a problem across my constituency, particularly in Broom, Sitwell and Whiston, as well as along the A57 around the Todwick roundabout. That was a constructive meeting, but what steps are the Government taking to clamp down on this dangerous problem?
Louise Haigh
I applaud my hon. Friend for raising this important issue. I know the blight that such antisocial behaviour and speeding has on communities, particularly in areas like the one he represents. A key part of our safer streets mission is to take back our streets, and the Government will give police the powers they need to seize illegal, dangerous and antisocial vehicles and take them off the streets for good, so that they can quickly be crushed. We are working on delivering the road safety strategy, the first in over a decade, to reduce antisocial behaviour, injuries and tragic deaths on our roads.
Dr Luke Evans (Hinckley and Bosworth) (Con)
In Hinckley, we have one of the most bashed bridges in Britain; it gets hit every two weeks on average. It is on the A5, which also has some black spots for accidents and pinch points. Will the Secretary of State arrange for a meeting between me and the Roads Minister, the hon. Member for Nottingham South (Lilian Greenwood), to talk about how we can get through the improvements that have been looked at for the last few years to ensure that our bridges are not hit and that we do not have black spots on the A5?
Louise Haigh
I am grateful to the hon. Member for raising that important issue. It is clear, with stats like those, that it needs some attention. I am sure that my hon. Friend the Roads Minister will be happy to meet him.
Jacob Collier (Burton and Uttoxeter) (Lab)
Between 60,000 and 90,000 vehicles pass through the A50/A500 corridor every single day, but the road is slow and unreliable, with average rush hour speeds below 20 mph. The road is a daily nightmare for residents of Uttoxeter and the surrounding areas, and serves as a significant barrier to economic growth. Will the Minister commit to meeting me in Uttoxeter to see for herself the upgrades that are needed?
Louise Haigh
I fear I may be filling up the diary of my hon. Friend the Roads Minister, but I am sure she would be happy to meet my hon. Friend the Member for Burton and Uttoxeter (Jacob Collier) to discuss the road in question.
Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)
Road safety is one of the main reasons why young people do not cycle, and that is particularly true in cities such as Bath, where the historic infrastructure makes it difficult. What will the Government do to help young cyclists in particular by making roads safer in Bath?
Louise Haigh
I am grateful to the hon. Lady for raising that point, and it sits at the heart of our ambition to develop the new road safety strategy. The previous Government pursued poisonous culture wars against road users of all descriptions. We are determined to take back streets for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers, and that will be at the heart of our new ambition for the road safety strategy.
Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)
Road safety is inextricably linked to the state of our roads. [Interruption.] Government Members might want to wait. New polling suggests that surface conditions on major roads are getting worse, risking more accidents. Will the Secretary of State confirm—a yes or no answer will suffice—whether her Government will maintain the previous Conservative Government’s commitment to £11 billion in road repair budgets?
Louise Haigh
I was fascinated to know how Opposition Front Benchers would approach their legacy when raising questions today. The legacy we have been left includes a maintenance backlog of billions and billions of pounds on our local roads. It is one of the biggest issues facing people across the country, and our manifesto committed us to repair and prevent up to a million potholes a year.
Nigel Huddleston (Droitwich and Evesham) (Con)
Bambos Charalambous (Southgate and Wood Green) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Transport (Louise Haigh)
Practical driving test waiting times remain far too high after the previous Administration failed to reduce them, limiting would-be drivers’ access to opportunities. I have met the chief executive of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency and driving test examiners, and I have instructed my officials to work at pace to identify solutions to this pervasive problem.
Bambos Charalambous
I welcome the fact that the Secretary of State has met the chief executive of the DVSA to discuss urgent solutions to the sky-high driving test waiting times. According to the latest statistics, the waiting time in the Wood Green driving test centre in my constituency was 18.64 weeks. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that this issue is a top priority for the Government, so that my constituents can be reassured that driving test waiting times will be drastically reduced?
Mr Speaker
Order. Can I just say to Members who have been here a long time, please speak to the Chair? They should be speaking through a third party, not directly. I am trying to take some of the anger out of it. Please work with me on that.
Louise Haigh
I am very grateful to you, Mr Speaker, as I am to my hon. Friend for raising that important question. He is absolute right. Average waiting times at the Wood Green centre currently sit just above the national average. The measures that the DVSA is already taking to reduce waiting times include conducting tests outside regular hours, at weekends and on public holidays, and continuing to deploy examiners from areas with lower waiting times. That is in addition to producing additional examiners across the country in areas where waiting times are highest. We will soon set out to the House further steps by which we will bring down waiting times further.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the Secretary of State very much for that response. Waiting times for tests continue to be a problem. What assessment has been made of the knock-on effect that could occur with the validity of theory tests should delays in practical tests remain and not improve?
Louise Haigh
I am very grateful to the hon. Member for raising that important issue. I will take it away and write to him.
Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) (LD)
Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Transport (Louise Haigh)
The state of the country’s bus services is too often unacceptably poor after more than a decade of neglect and decline. Politicians in my position have neglected them for too long, and it shows. In September we moved fast and announced transformative new measures to make it quicker and easier for every local authority in England to have London-style control over its bus services.
Paul Davies
Public transport is crucial for rural communities, connecting residents to essential services. However, between 2011 and 2023 England saw a 20% reduction in bus services, with a 28% per capita decrease when the figure was adjusted for population growth. That decline has had a severe impact on rural areas such as my constituency, leaving many residents isolated and struggling to gain access to education, employment, healthcare and social activities. Can the Secretary of State tell me how the better buses Bill will improve the position for my constituents?
Louise Haigh
I am aware of the premium that my hon. Friend places on public transport. Indeed, I have campaigned along with him, in his beautiful constituency. I am delighted to confirm that we will introduce a new buses Bill this year to give local leaders the tools that they need to ensure the delivery of high-quality bus networks, putting decision making into their hands and seriously accelerating the franchising process.
Mary Kelly Foy
Bus services in the city of Durham are an absolute headache for my constituents. Buses are often 45 minutes late in villages such as West Drayton. The Labour Mayor of the North East and I want to crack on and deliver our manifesto promise to bring buses back into public control. Can the Secretary of State assure me that the better buses Bill will allow us to enfranchise buses sooner rather than later, and will she meet the Mayor and me discuss the bus situation in Durham?
Louise Haigh
I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s question. The better buses Bill is designed exactly to help authorities such as the North East combined authority. I have met the Mayor, as has the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Wakefield and Rothwell (Simon Lightwood), who has responsibility for local transport, on a number of occasions to discuss how we can ensure that the franchising process is sped up so that we can deliver better bus services much more quickly for my hon. Friend’s constituents. I am sure the local transport Minister would be delighted to meet both my hon. Friend and the Mayor.
Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields) (Lab)
My right hon. Friend knows that when the previous Government axed over 1,000 bus routes, local communities were completely ignored. As she rebuilds our bus network, can she assure me that the better buses Bill will make provision to fully include local voices, not just the voices of those in elected positions?
Louise Haigh
I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who has put her finger on exactly the problem with the system across the country at the moment. For too long, we have allowed private operators to pick and choose whatever routes and services they want, with no say whatsoever for local people or local leaders. The better buses Bill is at the heart of our bus service reforms, and it will give local people a proper say on the routes and services that they absolutely depend on.
Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)
In my constituency of Huntingdon, eight villages receive no bus services whatsoever, including Molesworth, where we will shortly see a half a billion pound investment in upgrading and expanding our defence infrastructure at RAF Molesworth. Given that franchising will potentially be introduced in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss how we can guarantee that our rural villages are given the focus they urgently need?
Louise Haigh
The hon. Gentleman has made the case for franchising. It is totally unacceptable that entire villages are cut off, without the bus services that they absolutely need. That denies people the opportunity to move around their area and get to work or education opportunities. The Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is pursuing franchising. We are supporting him in those efforts, and we will make sure that villages such as those in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency are properly included in the franchising process.
Helen Whately (Faversham and Mid Kent) (Con)
I wonder if the right hon. Lady can see the irony in the fact that the new bus system that she is so excited about introducing is broadly the same as the train system that she is busy dismantling. The simple truth is that without funding, the Government’s plan will not make struggling bus services viable or affordable for passengers. What has helped is our £2 fare cap, which has saved millions of people money and helped to keep local buses going, especially in rural areas. Does the Secretary of State agree that the £2 fare cap has been a good thing and, crucially, is she going to keep it?
Louise Haigh
The hon. Lady is absolutely right to suggest that the underfunding of bus services over a decade has led to the cancellation and scrapping of thousands of bus routes across the country, and passenger numbers have fallen over the last 40 years. We are committed to consolidating funding and ending the “Hunger Games” style process that the previous Government oversaw, which pitted authorities against each other and created winners and losers.
Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)
Graham Leadbitter (Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey) (SNP)
The Secretary of State for Transport (Louise Haigh)
As the Chancellor set out in her statement, this Government inherited a £22 billion fiscal black hole, including billions of pounds of underfunded and unfunded transport projects. We must fix the foundations of the economy, so I am reviewing capital expenditure in transport to ensure that every penny is spent responsibly, to get the best value for money, and to ensure that our investment powers growth in every corner of the country.
Graham Leadbitter
The Secretary of State will be aware of the ambitions of Scotland and the other devolved nations when it comes to major capital transport schemes. However, she will also be aware of the swingeing cuts made to capital budgets by the previous Tory Government, while construction inflation has risen to eye-watering levels. Will she ensure that capital funding for transport projects is substantially increased to enable work on vital connectivities to progress at pace?
Louise Haigh
I have met the Scottish Transport Minister, Fiona Hyslop, and look forward to a constructive working relationship with her. The hon. Gentleman will appreciate that spending commitments are a matter for the spending review, but those negotiations and discussions are ongoing.
Jim Dickson (Dartford) (Lab)
As a result of under-investment in the lower Thames crossing project, Dartford residents face a noxious cocktail of bad air quality and disruption, living as they do near the hugely over capacity Dartford crossing. Will my right hon. Friend consider making representations to the Treasury to ensure that the lower Thames crossing, which is a vital infrastructure project, is funded?
Louise Haigh
The decision around the development consent order for the lower Thames crossing is a quasi-judicial one. I am afraid I am unable to comment further than my written ministerial statement this week.
Ian Lavery (Blyth and Ashington) (Lab)
David Simmonds (Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner) (Con)
The Secretary of State for Transport (Louise Haigh)
I pledged to move fast and fix things, and that is exactly what my Department is doing. Not only have we ended the longest ever national strike on our railways, saving the taxpayer millions and boosting our economy, we have passed a landmark Bill through this House to bring rail services back into public hands after decades of failure and fragmentation. We are taking back control of buses by providing new powers to deliver control to every community in England. We have taken a step closer to greener flights, with a new sustainable aviation fuel mandate. Just yesterday, I announced new measures to strengthen working rights at sea and prevent a repeat of the P&O Ferries scandal ever happening again.
Transport is powering the crucial work of repair and renewal. It underpins each of our national missions, from economic growth to clean energy, and under this Government it will serve working people, wherever they live.
David Simmonds
My constituent, Frederick Cooksley, was sent a fine by the Mayor of London for breaching the ultra low emission zone rules, despite driving on a road where the ULEZ does not apply, which provides access to a very important hospital in my constituency. Will she prevail upon her colleague the Mayor of London to ensure, unlike Mr Cooksley, who had to challenge at great length to get his money back, that everyone who has been issued a fine in error for driving on a road where the rules do not apply is automatically refunded?
Louise Haigh
I am sure the Mayor of London will have heard that question. We will pass on issues around fining on roads where the ULEZ does not apply.
Jen Craft (Thurrock) (Lab)
Helen Whately (Faversham and Mid Kent) (Con)
After just 100 days, this is already one of the most anti-growth Governments in history, from investor-scaring taxes to the right hon. Lady hitting the brakes on our transport infrastructure pipeline, with Northern Powerhouse Rail, the Midlands Rail Hub and road upgrades across the country all on hold. Growth requires investment and investment requires confidence. Will she give some to the businesses looking to invest, to the contractors waiting to get started, and, crucially, to the communities that so badly need these upgrades?
Louise Haigh
I wonder whether the hon. Lady has spoken to any businesses or infrastructure providers over the past 14 years who have suffered appalling uncertainty and a lack of confidence. Her Government presided over billions of pounds of waste and failure in the delivery of infrastructure and have cost our economy hundreds of billions of pounds.
Helen Whately
I was expecting the right hon. Lady to say something along the lines of “wait for the Budget”, or “wait for the spending review”, as we have heard many times during this question session. However, she did not wait for the Budget to give unions a massive pay rise, to re-announce our plan to get HS2 to Euston, or to signal billions of pounds for a new HS2-light. If she can make those decisions before the Budget, surely she can confirm that every penny of investment that we had committed to transport through Network North will continue to be invested in our country’s transport infra- structure.
Mrs Sureena Brackenridge (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)
Mr Paul Kohler (Wimbledon) (LD)
I congratulate the Secretary of State on saying recently that it is ridiculous for HS2 to end at Old Oak Common. Can she confirm whether funding for the work necessary at Euston station has now been secured and what she is doing to reverse the Tories’ equally absurd decision to end the northern leg at Birmingham?
Louise Haigh
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his comments. As I said earlier, nowhere is the legacy of the previous Government more pertinent than the mess in which they left HS2. Even under their disgraced plans, Euston was always going to be part of the position on HS2, and we will shortly be making a full announcement about the future of HS2 and, crucially, about its cost controls.
Mary Glindon (Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend) (Lab)
Louise Haigh
I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for her question. The previous Government took two-and-a-half years after the P&O ferry scandal to do nothing. In fewer than 100 days, we are bringing forward legislation that will prevent such a scandal ever happening again, and we are working with operators who employ properly in this space and the trade unions to bring forward protections on rostering as well.
Sir John Whittingdale (Maldon) (Con)
Lauren Edwards (Rochester and Strood) (Lab)
Louise Haigh
I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s important question. We share her and her constituents’ disappointment in the commercial decision by Eurostar to cease services. We hope to see a reinstatement, either by Eurostar or another operator, in the future, but I will meet with her, other MPs and local stakeholders to continue discussing this matter.
Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)
Siân Berry (Brighton Pavilion) (Green)
Louise Haigh
The capital review and our assessment of the transport appraisal guidance are absolutely considering how we can capture better the wider implications of transport infrastructure funding. We are committed to working with Active Travel England and ensuring that all investment involves consideration of how we can better promote active travel and public transport use, but we are committed to road building as well.
Sojan Joseph (Ashford) (Lab)
The deployment of Operation Brock to queue freight lorries heading to Dover on the M20 caused huge disruption and inconvenience for residents and businesses throughout my Ashford constituency. Ahead of the introduction of the new EU entry/exit system, will the Government work with the French Government, local authorities, the port of Dover, and Eurotunnel to minimise delays and ensure that Operation Brock is used only as a measure of last resort?
Marsha De Cordova (Battersea) (Lab)
One of the final acts of the last Tory Government was to cancel Access for All funding for Battersea Park station in my constituency, despite there being a costed plan in place with the local authority. The funding has been promised for more than a decade. Will the Minister meet me to discuss how we can get the project back on track and finally make Battersea Park station step-free?
Louise Haigh
I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who has been campaigning on this issue since the moment she set foot in this House. I would be delighted to meet her to see how we can take forward this important project.
Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)
Local people in Harpenden and Berkhamsted are already blighted by noise from Luton airport, and are highly concerned about the proposed expansion to almost double passenger capacity. What assessment has the Minister made of the compatibility of the expansion with the views of the Government’s own advisers, the Climate Change Committee?
Matt Rodda (Reading Central) (Lab)
Twenty-five years ago, two trains collided just west of Paddington station, in what was one of worst rail accidents of recent times. Thirty-one people lost their lives and many more were injured. Will the Secretary of State join me in paying tribute to all those who were affected by the Paddington rail crash?
Louise Haigh
I commend my hon. Friend for his bravery in recently speaking out about his personal involvement in that tragic crash, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Kensington and Bayswater (Joe Powell) and my officials for attending the commemoration last weekend. I join my hon. Friend the Member for Reading Central (Matt Rodda) in paying tribute to the families of the victims and to all those heroes who responded on the day.
Luke Taylor (Sutton and Cheam) (LD)
Residents in my constituency have been in contact about services at Worcester Park, which have been cut dramatically over the past few years, as has already been alluded to by my hon. Friend the Member for Wimbledon (Mr Kohler). One resident complains that prices have gone up by 20% in the past five years, and that the last train has been brought back from almost 1 am to before midnight. This is not only throttling London’s night-time economy, but causing issues for local residents who choose more sustainable transport. Will the Minister explain when we can expect to see improvements in services following renationalisation, which may begin as early as next year?
Louise Haigh
The hon. Member has outlined exactly the kind of issues that we seek to address through the public ownership reforms and the creation of Great British Railways. The Department is already working with operators that are in public ownership and those that are not yet, such as Southern, to ensure that the decisions that they make are properly joined up with Network Rail and that we can start driving improvements immediately.
Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
As a result of a failure in regulation, the cross-border taxi trade is undermining the high standards set by local taxi companies and black cabs. What is being done to improve regulation, and will the Minister meet me to discuss the situation in York?
Daniel Francis (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Lab)
I pay tribute to the “Rights on Flights” campaign for the work that it is doing to improve accessibility, particularly for wheelchair users. What steps is the Secretary of State taking to improve aviation accessibility for disabled people?
Louise Haigh
I met the “Rights on Flights” campaign early on after becoming Secretary of State. We will set out our plans to address the major issue of aviation accessibility shortly.
Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)
The last Conservative Government ringfenced funding to the West Midlands Combined Authority for the delivery of a train station in Aldridge. Can the Secretary of State confirm that that is proceeding as planned and will be delivered by 2027, or has she signed away our ringfenced funding in favour of a wider Transport for West Midlands budget in order to support the Labour Mayor’s ideologically driven plan for bus nationalisation?
Louise Haigh
The West Midlands Mayor’s plan for bus services across the west midlands are predicated on delivering better bus services and transport across the region as a whole. We will look into where the funding is for the Aldridge train station.
Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)
I welcome the Secretary of State’s decision to approve the new roll-on, roll-off shipping terminal at Immingham. However, as she will be aware, it will put more pressure on the local road network, particularly the A180. Will she bring forward improvements to the A180, particularly the removal of the concrete surfaces? Long term, we really need the A180 to be upgraded to motorway status.
Louise Haigh
I have heard all about the A180 from the hon. Gentleman, and from my hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn), so I know about the issues that it is causing his constituents. We will write to him with a National Highways update.
Manuela Perteghella (Stratford-on-Avon) (LD)
The town of Stratford-upon-Avon is one of the most visited locations in the UK, yet for many years we have not had a direct train to the capital. What steps is the Secretary of State taking to fix the lack of capacity in Chiltern Railways so that my constituents and visitors can travel directly and sustainably to and from London?
Louise Haigh
That sort of service and provision is exactly what the reforms around Great British Railways are designed to address. Decisions around infrastructure and operations will be made together so that we can deliver services that make sense for the hon. Lady’s constituents, for visitors and for the economy as a whole.
Richard Foord (Honiton and Sidmouth) (LD)
One hundred and fifty parishes in Devon wrote to Devon county council last year asking for 20 mph zones, but only six were successful. Those that were not successful were told that they could pursue the measure through so-called “community self-delivery.” My constituents think, “But this is what we pay our council tax for.” Does the Secretary of State understand that?
Louise Haigh
I am very grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s question. It is absolutely my position that if local residents want to design and support local measures around speeding and road safety, they should be supported to do so by their local authorities.
Planning
Louise Haigh Excerpts(1 year, 4 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for Transport (Louise Haigh)
This statement confirms that it is necessary to extend the deadline for a decision on the application by National Highways under the Planning Act 2008 for the A122 (Lower Thames crossing) development consent order.
Under section 107(1) of the Planning Act 2008, a decision on an application must be made within three months of receipt of the examining authority’s report, unless the power under section 107(3) is exercised to extend the deadline, and a written ministerial statement is made to Parliament announcing the new deadline.
The examining authority’s report on the Lower Thames crossing development consent order was received on 20 March 2024. The current deadline for a decision is 4 October 2024, having been extended from 20 June 2024 by way of a written ministerial statement dated 24 May 2024.
The deadline for the decision is to be further extended to 23 May 2025 in order to allow more time for the application to be considered further, including any decisions made as part of the spending review.
The decision to set a new deadline is without prejudice to the decision on whether to grant the application development consent.
[HCWS110]
London Luton Airport Development Consent Order: Decision Extension
Louise Haigh Excerpts(1 year, 4 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for Transport (Louise Haigh)
This statement confirms that it has been necessary to extend the deadline for the decision for the London Luton airport development consent order under the Planning Act 2008.
Under section 107(1) of the Planning Act 2008, a decision must be made within 3 months of receipt of the examining authority’s report unless the power under section 107(3) to extend the deadline is exercised and a statement is made to Parliament announcing the new deadline.
The examining authority’s report on the London Luton airport development consent order application was received on 10 May 2024. The current deadline for a decision is 4 October 2024, having been extended from 10 August 2024 to 4 October 2024 by way of written ministerial statement dated 24 May 2024 available at https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2024-05-24/hcws506
The deadline for the decision is to be further extended to 3 January 2025—an extension of 3 months. The reason for the extension is to enable the applicant further time to provide requested information, and for that information to be considered, including by interested parties, before the final determination of the application.
The decision to set a new deadline is without prejudice to the decision on whether to give development consent for the above application.
[HCWS91]
Bus Retrofit Performance Report
Louise Haigh Excerpts(1 year, 4 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for Transport (Louise Haigh)
Today, I am providing an update regarding the retrofitting of buses with selective catalytic reduction—SCR—technology to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides.
Through a series of trials between 2013 and 2015, the previous Government explored the potential of reducing emissions or improving fuel economy in older buses and other large vehicles through a range of retrofit technologies. Retrofitting SCR technology was found to be the most effective in reducing the levels of NOx emitted from older buses. Allowing for some variation based on the Euro standard of the retrofitted bus, the reduction of NOx using SCR technology in trials averaged around 90%.
The clean vehicle retrofit accreditation scheme—CVRAS—was launched in 2017 to accredit retrofit technologies that could reduce NOx emissions from buses to close to Euro VI levels. Between 2017 and 2019, £64 million was allocated to the clean bus technology fund for bus upgrades and retrofits. A further £31 million was provided to local authorities in the Government’s NO2 programme. Approximately 9,000 buses in England have been retrofitted with CVRAS-accredited SCR technology.
In 2021, the Government were made aware of new evidence from Scotland suggesting that real-world emission reductions from retrofitted buses were lower than expected. In 2022, a roadside monitoring campaign was commissioned to measure NOx emissions from retrofitted buses in three areas in England, which reported in early 2023. The findings were similar to those in Scotland. Government funding for bus retrofits was paused in April 2023 while further research was carried out to understand the causes of poor performance and assess the scope for improvement.
The research was overseen by the Department for Transport and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs chief scientific advisers, assisted by an external independent expert group. Today I have placed the bus retrofit performance report, containing the findings of this research, in the Libraries of both Houses. The performance report was commissioned by the Government and finalised in November 2023. In the interest of transparency, I am releasing the report today.
The report concludes that the real-world performance of bus retrofit SCR technology is highly variable, achieving 80% to 90% NOx reductions in some cases, but having a minimal effect in others. There is an average 11% reduction in NOx emissions overall from retrofitted buses, compared with non-retrofitted Euro V buses, which is significantly lower than the 80% reduction anticipated.
The research shows that a number of contributing factors can lead to poor performance, including the incorrect functioning of retrofit systems, the condition of bus engines and low catalyst operating temperatures. Based on these findings, I am announcing today a permanent end to further Government funding for retrofit and the closure of the clean vehicle retrofit accreditation scheme to further accreditations.
Moving forward, we will work with bus operators and retrofit suppliers to encourage a step change in the monitoring and maintenance of retrofit systems to get the best possible performance from the retrofitted buses currently in service. This will include ensuring that buses are providing live data showing retrofit performance, so that operators and depots can prioritise and target essential maintenance on the poorest-performing buses. Providing this data will be a condition of the buses remaining on the list of CVRAS-accredited vehicles.
Air pollution is the biggest environmental threat to human health, and this Government recognise the need to take preventive public health measures to tackle the biggest killers and support people to live longer, healthier lives. We will continue to work closely with the relevant local authorities to identify alternative measures to deliver compliance with legal NO2 limits in the shortest possible time.
[HCWS97]
Development Consent Decision Extension
Louise Haigh Excerpts(1 year, 4 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for Transport (Louise Haigh)
This statement confirms that it is necessary to extend the deadline for a decision on the application by Tritax Symmetry (Hinckley) Ltd under the Planning Act 2008 for the Hinckley national rail freight interchange development consent order (“the application”).
Under section 107(1) of the Planning Act 2008, a decision on an application must be made within three months of receipt of the examining authority’s report unless the power under section 107(3) is exercised to extend the deadline and a written ministerial statement is made to the Parliament announcing the new deadline.
The Secretary of State received the examining authority’s report on 10 June 2024. The current deadline for a decision on the application is, therefore, 10 September 2024.
The deadline for the decision is extended to 10 March 2025. The Department will however endeavour to issue the decision ahead of the extended deadline of 10 March 2025 where possible.
The reason for the extension to the decision deadline is that while the Secretary of State is minded to agree with the examining authority’s recommendation that she should withhold consent, she wishes to gather further information on certain matters and to allow for the analysis of that further information before taking her final decision. She is therefore publishing a letter today which explains why, having weighed the benefits and adverse effects of the proposed development, she is minded to refuse consent and sets out those matters on which she requires further information.
The decision to set a new deadline is without prejudice to the Secretary of State’s decision on whether to grant the application development consent.
[HCWS78]
Shadow Great British Railways
Louise Haigh Excerpts(1 year, 5 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for Transport (Louise Haigh)
Today I am announcing that I will be instructing the CEO of Network Rail, the director general for rail services in the Department for Transport, and the CEO of DfT OLR Holdings Ltd to establish a shadow Great British Railways. As the main organisations responsible for the operational railway, they will be working in closer collaboration, bringing together track and train to deliver for passengers and freight users, ahead of legislation to create Great British Railways as an arm’s length body.
Our manifesto committed to putting passengers at the heart of the service by reforming the railways and bringing them into public ownership. Great British Railways will be created to deliver a unified system that focuses on reliable, affordable, high-quality and efficient services, along with ensuring safety and accessibility.
GBR will put passengers back at the heart of the railways and introduce new measures to protect their interests. This will include paving the way for a powerful new passenger watchdog, the Passenger Standards Authority, to independently monitor standards and champion improvement in service performance against a range of measures. Great British Railways will reform the ticketing system, to make it simpler for passengers, drive innovation across the network, replace the current myriad of ticket types and maximise passenger growth.
There will be a statutory duty on GBR to promote the use of rail freight, alongside an overall growth target set by the Secretary of State. The Government will include safeguards to ensure that freight operators continue to receive fair access to the network. Open access operators have a proven track record in driving competition and better passenger outcomes, and where there is a case that open access operators can add value and capacity to the network, they will be able to.
While primary legislation is required to initiate the change to public ownership and establish GBR, this Government will begin delivering improvements for passengers and freight users straight away. That is why I am taking the immediate step of standing up shadow Great British Railways today. The three organisations will work collaboratively, taking a whole-system approach to decision making and driving improvement, whilst retaining their existing accountabilities and duties.
We can achieve change on how organisations work together quickly. But change on the ground, for those who use the railway, will take time. Our railways are fragmented and have been for decades, suffering from a short-sighted investment approach and not providing the services passengers and freight customers need. Delivering change for passengers will rely on building new levels of trust, openness and transparency across the industry, with diverse teams brought together that reflect the customers and communities we serve—setting the tone for reform and enabling us to create a modern and affordable railway for everyone in Britain.
I will expect shadow Great British Railways to be passenger focused and unlock barriers to delivery. I will also expect it to work alongside my team and me with rail stakeholders and partners across Great Britain, including national and regional governments, mayors, the trade unions, train operators, passenger and freight representative groups, the supply chain, the regulator and railway staff to deliver improvements. As part of the plans for reform, this includes the need to speed up training for drivers and collaborate with the sector to build resilience and improve productivity.
I will be writing to the chief executives and the director general to set their initial priorities and how I expect them to work together as shadow Great British Railways.
[HCWS67]
Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill
Louise Haigh ExcerptsTuesday 3rd September 2024
(1 year, 5 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 View all Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 Debates Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts Amendment Paper: Committee of the whole House Amendments as at 3 September 2024 - (3 Sep 2024)
The Secretary of State for Transport (Louise Haigh)
I would be interested to know whether the hon. Lady has spoken to her immediate predecessor to understand exactly the value of the reforms he was pursuing as Secretary of State, and if she was aware that they were worth less than half the cost of every time the railways went on strike under his leadership.
Helen Whately
Unfortunately, the right hon. Lady’s approach is deeply flawed and risks our facing more strikes in future, rather than fewer. [Interruption.] Yes, to directly answer her question, I can assure her that I have spoken to her predecessor in the role, and I know that the reforms proposed to modernise the railways were crucial not only to controlling increasing costs and fares, but to improving the reliability of our train services. Unfortunately, she gave all that up overnight when she gave away a bumper pay deal of almost 15%, with nothing from the other side to improve services.
The independent body I am proposing would look at pay and terms and conditions in the round. It could shed some light on who is getting a fair deal and help put modernisation at the top of the agenda in negotiations. Given that this Government seem to be set on creating a single huge employer across the network, as set out in their manifesto, which surely means harmonising pay and terms and conditions across many thousands of employees, none of whom I suspect will want to give up whatever terms they most value—a four-day working week, 34 days of annual leave and the extra money they negotiated to start using iPads are some examples—can the right hon. Lady imagine what effect this might have on ticket prices and the efficiency of our network? An independent pay review body could at least gather evidence and advise Government on what makes sense to fill jobs and provide value for money for the taxpayer.
Madam Chair, I am grateful to you for giving me some time to outline our amendments, and I am mindful that other Members wish to talk to their amendments or make maiden speeches, so I will wrap up my comments with a couple of final points. As we made clear on Second Reading, His Majesty’s official Opposition do not support this Bill. Our rail system needs reform, and we have set out plans to do that, but this Bill is not the right way to go about it. On the contrary, the Government are being driven by a flawed ideological belief along the lines of “public sector good, private sector bad”. It is not underpinned by evidence of what works, and they are not being straight with people about the possible downsides such as higher fares for passengers, higher costs for taxpayers and less reliable trains.
Why are the Government rushing through this Bill? Is it to please their Back Benchers, who we know are deeply unhappy about scrapping the winter fuel allowance, or is it to please their union paymasters? I know the right hon. Lady has promised everyone that she is going to move fast and fix things, but this looks more like moving fast and breaking things. I say sincerely to her, as I am sure she will want to make this legislation as good as it can be and, like me, wants to do the best possible job for all our constituents and for the country we serve, that she should please consider the amendments we have tabled and think hard about giving them the Government’s support.
The Secretary of State for Transport (Louise Haigh)
I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time.
It has been an extraordinary privilege to take this Bill through the House, as the first major piece of legislation to pass through the Commons under this Labour Government. The work to rebuild Britain and return to a politics of service started the moment we entered office. We pledged to act decisively to get our country moving and our public services working. I set out my motto for the Department for Transport—to move fast and fix things—which is why this Bill wastes no time in fulfilling one of our central manifesto commitments, calling time on the 30-year ideological privatised experiment on our railways that failed passengers, failed to modernise our railways and failed our economy. It is why this Government have begun the work of reform by bringing services back into public ownership, so that our railways will finally be run in the interests of passengers.
There will be immediate benefits. Our railways will serve the British public, be they passengers or the taxpayer, and as we bring services into public ownership, we will drive up performance. We will remove the burden of the millions of pounds squandered every year in private sector management fees. We will bring services into public hands as soon as their contracts expire, but if operators fail to deliver in line with those contracts—if they continue to let passengers down time and time again—I will not hesitate to use every tool at my disposal to drive up standards, including terminating contracts early where appropriate. In my meetings with Avanti and TransPennine and in the rail Minister’s meetings with Northern, London North Eastern Railway, East Midlands Railway and CrossCountry, as well as their Network Rail counterparts, we have been clear that we will not tolerate for any longer the poor performance that the last Government tolerated. My officials will drive improvements using the mechanisms in those contracts.
That work is already bearing fruit. Last week, LNER and ASLEF resolved their long-standing local dispute at no cost to the taxpayer, preventing 22 days of industrial action while ensuring an improved service for passengers. As a result, there were no driver cancellations over the weekend or this morning—the first time that has occurred for many years. Last month, we ended the longest strike in our railways’ history. It was a strike that cost the taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds in lost revenue and cost the economy more than a billion pounds, and a strike that the Conservative party deliberately prolonged and provoked, at enormous cost to the taxpayer and passengers.
A passenger-centred railway needs workforce reform; I do not shy away from that fact. As we move towards Great British Railways, we will waste no time driving those reforms forward. This is an area where the party opposite totally “failed”. That is a quote from the former Conservative Rail Minister, who is no longer in this place. To his credit, unlike his colleagues, he has at least had the decency to apologise for what he put our country and our railways through.
We are under no illusion: the Bill is not a silver bullet. It is the first stop on our journey to a modern railway for a modern Britain. We will introduce separate legislation later in the Session on the wider reforms that are required. Fixing the industry’s crumbling foundations is the only way to deliver the lasting improvements that passengers expect and deserve. Providing national leadership and a single point of accountability, Great British Railways will bring track and train together. It will plan services on a whole-system basis. It will increase innovation while cutting waste. It will put an end to outdated working and management practices, and end the operational meddling of Whitehall that has characterised the industry, particularly post covid. In short, we will create a simpler, safer and more reliable rail industry, relentlessly focused on passengers and on growing our economy.
That, of course, cannot happen overnight, but as passenger in chief, I am not prepared to wait. That is why today I have made a written ministerial statement formally standing up shadow Great British Railways, in order to bring together the Department’s passenger services, Network Rail and the operator of last resort. For the first time in 30 years, the railways will begin to act as one coherent system, and there will be the political backing for decisions to be made in the public interest. Shadow Great British Railways will review performance and finances. It will begin work to modernise our railways and unblock barriers to ticket reform, and will start to make urgent improvements now for passengers and freight.
Before I finish, I thank the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Wakefield and Rothwell (Simon Lightwood), for his excellent work, support and dedication of time to getting the Bill through the House. I also thank the Clerks, Chairs and parliamentary counsel, and of course my fantastic officials, who have worked at pace and done an excellent job supporting us in our first two very short months in office. Finally, I am hugely grateful to hon. Members from all parts of the House for their scrutiny and collaborative approach. I add my congratulations to the many hon. Members who made their maiden speech during the Bill’s passage.
The Bill represents a line in the sand. It shows that the Government are willing to roll up their sleeves and do the hard work to fix what is broken and reform what does not work. Getting this right matters for people up and down the country, for whom the railways are their route to opportunity. It matters for communities that need a reliable railway to support businesses, retain talent and attract investment, and it matters for this mission-focused Government, because the railways underpin our efforts to rebuild Britain, from building economic growth to providing clean energy, and to deliver hope and opportunity to everyone, wherever they live. I commend the Bill to the House.
Transport Infrastructure
Louise Haigh Excerpts(1 year, 6 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for Transport (Louise Haigh)
The financial inheritance this Government have received is extremely challenging. The previous Administration has left a £22 billion public spending gap this year alone, £2.9 billion of which is unfunded transport commitments. Communities up and down the country have been given hope for new transport infrastructure, with no plans or funds to deliver them. This Government will not make that mistake. This Government will rebuild our economic foundations while restoring transparency and public trust.
In recent weeks, the gap between promised schemes and the money available to deliver them has been made clear to me. There has been a lack of openness with the public about the status of schemes, some of which were cancelled or paused by the previous Government, without proper communication to the public.
As the Chancellor informed Parliament, I am commissioning an internal review of the Department for Transport’s capital spend portfolio. We will bring in external expertise and move quickly to make recommendations about current and future schemes. This review will support the development of our new long-term strategy for transport, developing a modern and integrated network with people at its heart, and ensuring that transport infrastructure can be delivered efficiently and on time.
I am determined that we build the transport infrastructure to drive economic growth and opportunity in every part of the country, and to deliver value for money for taxpayers. That ambition requires a fundamental reset to how we approach capital projects with public trust, industry confidence and Government integrity at its heart.
[HCWS49]
Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill
Louise Haigh ExcerptsMonday 29th July 2024
(1 year, 6 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 View all Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 Debates Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Secretary of State for Transport (Louise Haigh)
I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time.
At the general election, when millions of people called time on years of dysfunction, disruption and decline, they demanded change, not only in how the country is governed but in how it works, because for too many, from our economy to our public services, the country simply does not work any more. The things on which we rely are letting us down too often. Lifelines have turned into liabilities. That is why this Government have already started the work of rebuilding Britain, brick by brick, Bill by Bill. Five transport Bills in this year’s King’s Speech show not just the scale of our ambition, but how transport is at the heart of our plans for change. Growing the economy, becoming a clean energy superpower, making our streets safer, spreading opportunity, rebuilding our NHS—whatever this Government’s mission, transport is now mission critical.
Alberto Costa (South Leicestershire) (Con)
I am grateful to the Transport Secretary for giving way so early in her comments. There is a very controversial planning proposal for South Leicestershire, which is sitting on her desk as we speak—it is for the Hinckley national rail freight interchange. I am for rail freight interchanges, but the issue that has united Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative politicians in and around the area is that there are about five other rail freight interchanges within a 30-mile radius. Can she give a commitment from the Dispatch Box that whatever she says today will not ride roughshod over the views of Labour-led Rugby council and Conservative-led Blaby district council? Both have very serious concerns about this matter.
Louise Haigh
I am grateful to the hon. Member for putting his views on the record. He will know that I have a quasi-judicial role in determining the development consent order for that project. He is right to say that it is on my desk now, and I am considering it carefully. Nothing in today’s Bill will influence that decision.
National renewal requires nothing less than the biggest overhaul of our public transport in a generation. That starts with improving performance on our railways and kick-starting reform, which brings us to today’s Bill. It should surprise no one in this House when I say that our railways are not fit for purpose. For two and a half years, I said as much from the Opposition Benches to no fewer than three Tory Transport Secretaries. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the new shadow Transport Secretary, the hon. Member for Faversham and Mid Kent (Helen Whately), to her place. I should note that my three predecessors, who sat on this side of the House, are no longer Members—I am not sure whether it is her job or mine that is cursed, but I wish her luck in the role.
Under three Tory Transport Secretaries, we were promised reform, yet, three years after Keith Williams’s review, little has changed. We were promised better services, yet some of the worst-performing operators were rewarded with new, lengthy contracts and handed performance bonuses.
Mike Amesbury (Runcorn and Helsby) (Lab)
When can we expect to see the shambles that is Avanti West Coast kicked into touch and returned to public ownership? I would certainly welcome that, and so would lots of northerners up and down the country.
Louise Haigh
I had a feeling that my hon. Friend might mention Avanti, and he knows my views. One of the first meetings I held as Secretary of State was with Avanti. I called in representatives of its Network Rail business unit for being one of the worst-performing operators—a meeting that was not held by any of my three predecessors while I was shadow Secretary of State. I made it clear that Avanti’s level of performance will not be tolerated, and we will use all measures under its national rail contract to hold it to account. That does not exclude terminating the contract before it expires if Avanti defaults.
We were promised High Speed 2 to Manchester, yet that was axed—in Manchester, no less—leaving a west coast main line that is now bursting at the seams. Meanwhile, passengers continue to suffer, with overcrowded trains and poor facilities, record-high cancellations—almost one in three trains is late—some of the most expensive fares in Europe, and regular bouts of industrial action.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
May I welcome the Minister to her place and wish her well in her new role? I thank her for bringing forward a Bill to modernise the railways.
I make a plea on behalf of those who are disabled. Whenever we have had debates on the railways in this Chamber, including Adjournment debates, the issue of disabled access has come up over and over again. Does the Secretary of State agree that disabled access at all railway stations should be a bare minimum and must be a priority, given that we have commuters who must still take private taxis to get to a wheelchair-friendly station? Further, does she agree that rural communities should not be disadvantaged by the closure of small stops in order to provide more streamlined timings?
Louise Haigh
I marvel, as always, at the hon. Gentleman’s ability to find something of interest and relevance to the debate at hand. He is absolutely right to say that accessibility is far too often overlooked, and we made it clear in the plans we set out ahead of the general election that accessibility would be one of the key measures against which we would eventually hold Great British Railways to account. The way in which people with accessibility needs are treated by our public transport system is undignified.
The broken model that our railways rely on is holding back talent, holding back opportunity and holding back Britain. It must be fixed, and we are wasting no time in doing so. By amending the Railways Act 1993, today’s Bill will fulfil one of our central manifesto commitments: to bring rail passenger services into public ownership. It overturns the privatisation by the John Major Government and allows us to take action as soon as contracts expire, or earlier if operators default on their contracts. It is a sensible approach, ensuring that taxpayers do not fork out huge sums to compensate operating companies for ending contracts early. Public ownership will become the default option for delivering passenger services, instead of the last resort.
Ruth Cadbury (Brentford and Isleworth) (Lab)
I congratulate my right hon. Friend on her appointment as Secretary of State and thank her for bringing in this excellent Bill. Since coming under the operator of last resort, TransPennine Express, which had been one of the worst-performing rail companies, became the most improved operator, so will this Bill mean that passengers on South Western Railway will see the same level of improvement, and how long will it take?
Louise Haigh
My hon. Friend is absolutely right to say that we have seen immediate improvements on bringing previously privately run operators into public ownership, but we can go further still, and that is the benefit of taking the two-pronged approach that I will set out later in my speech. She should be in no doubt that South Western will be brought into public ownership, as will all remaining contracts within the first term of this Government, and ideally within the first three years of this Bill receiving Royal Assent. We will act swiftly. I have no doubt that we will hear plenty of voices from the Opposition Benches labelling this an ideological move. Those accusations are way off the mark. There is nothing ideological about fixing what is broken and reforming what does not work.
Nadia Whittome (Nottingham East) (Lab)
I very much welcome this Bill and I congratulate my right hon. Friend on all her work in getting us to this point. Since our railways were taken out of public ownership, tens of billions of pounds have been lost to shareholder dividends and the inefficiency of a privatised system, all while ticket prices have soared. Does she agree that it is high time that we put passengers before profiteers?
Louise Haigh
My hon. Friend is exactly right, and that is what is at the heart of these proposals. This is an opportunity to genuinely reform our railways from top to bottom, to ensure that passengers and growing the railways are the only objectives that they should serve—not private operators, not shareholders, not the whims of the engineers that run Network Rail. This is a once in a generation opportunity to make sure that our public transport system serves the public, so it is not ideological. What was ideological was the previous Government sitting back and presiding over a broken system while passengers and the economy paid a heavy price. I know that the Tories have been trying to pretend that the last 14 years of failure have not happened, but they cannot deny that after 30 years of privatisation we find ourselves in a position where taxpayers are responsible for 50% of the rail industry’s income and underwrite almost every penny spent, while profits are siphoned off to shareholders.
Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
I congratulate my right hon. Friend on her appointment as Secretary of State. I note that clause 2 of the Bill talks about the extension of the current contracts. Could she set out the circumstances in which that could occur, because we know that rail safety is best when track and train are brought together, as they would be under Great British Railways?
Louise Haigh
Clause 2 is purely a fail-safe if, for whatever reason, DOHL—the operator of last resort—does not have the capacity to take in a private operator’s contract at the moment it expires. We have allowed ourselves that flexibility if taking on a contract is not practically possible but, to demonstrate that it is not enabling franchising or private operations by the back door, we have also included the provision to remove that power again, to make sure that public ownership remains the default. It will happen only in exceptional circumstances for a very limited time.
As the railways’ passenger-in-chief, I am acting decisively today. This is the only response to the failure of privatisation to deliver reliable and affordable services for passengers. It also makes financial sense, saving tens of millions of pounds each year in private sector fees. That money can now be reinvested in the railways. Running the railways in the interest of passengers and taxpayers, not to the benefit of shareholders, also makes operational sense.
Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside) (Lab)
Will my right hon. Friend give way?
Kim Johnson
I congratulate my right hon. Friend on her new position.
As a long-suffering Avanti West Coast passenger, I welcome the Government’s prioritisation of this Bill, but does my right hon. Friend agree that railway workers should not be outsourced? Will she say a little about what she intends to do to ensure that they are not?
Louise Haigh
Network Rail has done a considerable amount of work on insourcing over the last few years, and I will ask it to do a more comprehensive review to see whether there is further it can do. As private operators are brought in, their contracts and supply chains will be considered, to ensure that they are delivering the best possible service for passengers. My hon. Friend raises a very important point.
The case for public ownership should not be controversial. After all, rail infrastructure was brought into public ownership by the last Labour Government following private sector failure. Germany, France and Spain, our European neighbours, all have models of public ownership. Indeed, the architect of the previous Government’s rail reform plan endorsed Labour’s plans ahead of the general election.
As has been said, four franchises—Northern, TransPennine, Southeastern and London and North Eastern Railway—are already in public hands and have seen some improvements. As someone who relies on TransPennine, I accept that it is still far from perfect, but cancellations have fallen from 20% in January 2023 to around 5% since it was taken into public ownership. LNER recently achieved a financial surplus, which was returned to the taxpayer.
Bringing the remaining 10 operators under public control will take time but, as passenger-in-chief, I am putting them on notice. I will not tolerate the status quo, I will not hesitate to demand improvements, and I will not be afraid to rip up contracts early if operators default on their obligations to the public.
The Bill means that the railways will finally be run for the public by the public, but owning the house is just the first step. Next, we must fix the crumbling foundations. That means fundamental reform, no ifs and no buts. We will set up Great British Railways as a new directing mind. Running the network, both track and train, as one integrated system will finally put an end to the fragmentation and waste that make our railways among the least efficient because of their spiralling costs and falling revenues, competing interests and industry inertia.
We will build a growing, innovative railway that is relentlessly and single-mindedly focused on passengers. There is no questioning the benefits at stake. Because GBR will take a whole-system view, we will be able to simplify the overly complex fare system so passengers can be confident that they are getting the best value. We will take aim at overcrowding by moving rolling stock to where it is needed in the network. We will end the piecemeal approach to innovation and roll out benefits such as digital pay-as-you-go and digital season tickets, and we will put accessibility at the core of our rail offer so that passengers with disabilities can expect a consistent level of service.
Of course, such change does not happen overnight. That is why setting up GBR and delivering our plans in full will be the focus of separate legislation later in the Session. But we will not sit back and wait for that legislation to be on the statute book; we plan to use every lever available to us urgently to improve services for passengers. That includes creating shadow Great British Railways, which will focus squarely on driving improvements in the short term, from ticketing to better services. This is a crucial next step, putting passengers back at the heart of the railways and firing the starting gun for reform.
Ben Maguire (North Cornwall) (LD)
What benefit will this Bill bring to my North Cornwall constituents who currently do not have a single railway station? Will the Secretary of State please explain to them what mainline train services will be coming to towns in North Cornwall such as Bude, Bodmin, Wadebridge and Launceston?
Louise Haigh
As the Chancellor has set out today, we will not only be reviewing the previous Government’s unfunded, underfunded and, in some places, cancelled capital projects, but we will be taking forward an integrated long-term infrastructure strategy. I would be delighted to meet the hon. Gentleman to talk about his constituents’ needs.
When I became Transport Secretary, I told the Department that we had a new motto: “Move fast and fix things.” The Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill, the first major piece of legislation under this Labour Government, shows we are doing exactly that. The 30-year privatisation experiment has failed. Passenger satisfaction remains too low, while costs soar. Even before the pandemic, half of all trains in the north of England were late. All of this failure has consequences—communities cut off, talent stifled and ambition limited. It leaves Britain stuck in the sidings, unable to realise this Government’s mission of economic growth.
Today we start the work of repair, bringing our railways back into public service, restoring pride to an industry we should be proud of, and taking back control so that our railways finally work for everyone, wherever they live. In this mission, I am absolutely determined. I commend the Bill to the House.
Sustainable Aviation
Louise Haigh Excerpts(1 year, 6 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for Transport (Louise Haigh)
Sustainable aviation fuel is an important part of the strategy to decarbonise air travel. It can be used in existing aircraft, and it emits on average 70 per cent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than using fossil jet fuel on a life cycle basis.
Developing, using and producing SAF will help drive our missions to kickstart economic growth and make Britain a clean energy superpower, delivering the Government’s manifesto commitment to secure the UK aviation industry's long-term future, including through promoting sustainable aviation fuels.
Today, in addition to the announcement we have already made in the King’s Speech on 17 July that a Bill will be introduced to support sustainable aviation fuel production, we are taking a further important step in confirming that, subject to parliamentary approval, we will introduce a SAF mandate to start from 1 January 2025. We will be one of the first countries in the world to legislate in this way. We are also today confirming the full policy detail of the mandate.
Today’s announcement is good for aviation, the environment and for the UK overall: sustainable aviation fuel production is estimated to add over £1.8 billion to the economy and over 10,000 jobs across the country while supporting decarbonisation. The SAF mandate will drive demand for SAF in the UK, deliver emission reductions up to 2.7 MtCO2e in 2030 and up to 6.3 MtCO2e in 2040 and provide investor confidence that the UK will be a place to produce, use and supply SAF.
SAF mandate
The SAF mandate will start in 2025 at 2% of total UK jet fuel demand, increase on a linear basis to 10% in 2030 and to 22% in 2040. From 2040, the obligation will remain at 22% until there is greater certainty regarding SAF supply.
The mandate will encourage the innovation of advanced fuels that can generate greater emission reductions and the diversification of feedstocks to reduce dependencies on scarce resources, by including in the mandate:
a cap on the feedstocks used in the hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids process, but not until other types of SAF are also commercially viable to recognise the important part that HEFA SAF will play in the 2020s. HEFA supply will not be limited under the mandate for the first two years, fall to 71% in 2030 and still contribute 35% in 2040;
a separate obligation on power to liquid fuels from 2028 that reaches 3.5% of total jet fuel demand in 2040.
The mandate will include a buy-out mechanism for both the main and power to liquid obligations to incentivise supply while protecting consumers where suppliers are unable to secure a supply of SAF. These will be set at £4.70 and £5.00 per litre of fuel, respectively. These provide a significant incentive for fuel suppliers to supply SAF into the market rather than pay the buy-out. They also set a maximum price for the scheme, and therefore deliver emission reductions at an acceptable cost. The plan includes a review mechanism to help minimise the impact on ticket fares for passengers.
We will also work closely across Government on feedstock availability to ensure that feedstocks are used in a sustainable and productive way.
SAF revenue certainty mechanism
The Bill announced on 17 July will introduce a revenue certainty mechanism for SAF producers who are looking to invest in new plants in the UK. This builds on the SAF mandate, which will create demand for SAF by setting targets on fuel suppliers to use a proportion of SAF. This new sector will create jobs and growth opportunities in the UK, help secure a supply of SAF for UK airlines, and enhance energy security.
There are a number of SAF projects being developed across the UK. Bringing in a revenue certainty mechanism will help to reduce risk, giving investors the confidence they need to invest in UK SAF plants. It will increase the likelihood SAF plants will be built in the UK, thereby securing a supply of SAF for the UK aviation sector and supporting the delivery of the SAF mandate.
These two SAF initiatives will drive the Government’s mission-driven plan to kick start economic growth and make Britain a clean energy superpower.
[HCWS16]