Exiting the EU and Transport

Nick Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

Absolutely. The task is within the remit of the Minister of State, Department for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr Hayes). Not only is he the Minister responsible for our strategic road network but, as a former skills Minister, he holds the skills portfolio in my Department, and I know that he is very exercised about this issue. Of course, with a managed system of migration, we shall be able to recruit skills internationally when we need them, but I want a new generation of young drivers. There is much that we can do to make the profession more attractive, and my right hon. Friend is working on that at this very moment.

I have talked about the potential for a more tailored regulatory framework for the ports sector after we have left the European Union. We have a thriving and competitive ports sector, strong international investment, and some first-class facilities. I believe that the sector will be an essential part of a nation that is focused on global trade, trading opportunities, and opening up trade links with other countries.

Our railway services through the channel tunnel link us with the continent, but apart from that Britain’s rail network is domestic. Although on day one after exit the rules will be the same as before, in future we shall be able to make our own decisions about changing those rules. We currently have a derogation from many of the EU standards for our existing railways. That is because many of them date back to Victorian times and were built to entirely different standards. That is not the case for new railways, so one example of the kind of challenge that we are dealing with in the construction of HS2 is the fact that European specifications for platform heights are inconsistent with flat access for disabled people on to trains. We have to address that as part of the development of HS2, but it is an example of how, freed from European Union regulation, we can make sure that we do a better job, in this case for disabled people, which I believe that Members on both sides of the House will think is the right thing to do.

I talked about the global opportunity for Britain, and across the transport sector I am determined not only to negotiate the best deal for Britain within Europe, but to find new opportunities for our transport sector around the world. We should support our industries as they sell their expertise and products and seek to win major contracts around the world. We have world-class expertise in this country in the automotive sector, aerospace, logistics, transport engineering, rolling stock manufacture and much more. We need to be confident in offering these services to the world, and we have every reason to be confident: we are doing some great things in this country at the moment, from the first-class work being done to deliver Crossrail in London to the high-quality automotive technology that is developing the new generation of autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State talks about Crossrail. The infrastructure gap between London and the rest of the UK remains unbridged, so does he agree that the Cardiff-Swansea section of the great western railway electrification project must be delivered with UK Government funding as soon as possible?

[Chris Grayling]

As I said in the House the other day, I am not at all happy with the progress that has been made on the electrification of the great western main line so far. Actually, right now my priority is to get investment in better services into Swansea as soon as possible. The economy of Swansea and south Wales needs improved services, and that is my focus. I do not want to wait for the future for infrastructure projects; I want better services now. As we re-let the Great Western franchise, I am determined to see improved services to south Wales that provide a real boost to the economy in the areas that the hon. Gentleman and other Members for south Wales represent. Better transport links and improved services to south Wales and to the south-west are essential to making sure that we have a productive economy.

[Chris Grayling]

Clearly, outside the EU, we have the opportunity to shape our own procurement rules. I do not want to be part of a Government who say that international firms are not welcome in the UK—that would be quite the wrong thing to do—but it is equally reasonable for us to say, for example, “If you’re coming to do business with us by being involved in the construction of HS2, we want you to leave a skills footprint in this country. We want apprenticeships and technical skills, and we want the engineers of the future to be trained and developed, and to be working on these projects so that they can carry on beyond them to build us further projects for the future.” That is our intention.

Let me be clear: Brexit is an unprecedented opportunity.

[Nick Smith]

I am very unhappy that the Secretary of State avoided my question about supporting the Cardiff-Swansea electrification, so I would like a better answer on that in the future, please. I am owed a letter from his ministerial colleague the hon. Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys (Paul Maynard). Having said that, the Secretary of State did say he wanted to support an economic boost for south Wales, so will the UK Government be supporting the Cardiff metro plans, which are important for getting Blaenau Gwent working again?

[Chris Grayling]

Not only are we supporting the Cardiff metro plans and looking at how to deliver better services to the whole of south Wales—it cannot be just about Cardiff; it has to be about what happens to the west—but I will also be looking at whether we can provide better services to connect with the west of Wales and better services to Swansea. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will forgive me for saying it is not just about south Wales; it is also about how we deliver better services to north Wales. There is a tendency, particularly in the Administration in Cardiff, always to look to the south—there are important things happening there—but we as a Government have not forgotten that there are many different parts of Wales, and the commitment to the north is also very much in my in-tray.

Let me be clear that Brexit represents an unprecedented opportunity to shape our own future, and we will make the most of that opportunity. We will get out into the world and do business right across the globe, and at home we will continue to build a world-class transport system for this country.

--- Later in debate ---

[Andy McDonald]

The hon. Gentleman raises a critical point that is the whole focus of this debate. It is our concern in this House that we are simply not going to be able to deliver the same level of interoperability and accessibility as we currently enjoy throughout Europe. In the aviation sector, it is critical to achieve that before we even begin discussions about our trading relationship going forward.

[Nick Smith]

The National Audit Office says that, under this Conservative Government’s watch, Network Rail and the Government have wasted £330 million so far on the great western mainline electrification. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Department for Transport needs to pull its socks up to deliver on future infrastructure projects?

[Andy McDonald]

My hon. Friend makes his point eloquently. That is the sort of wastage from this Department that we have seen in so many areas over the past several years. We have seen smart ticketing costs written off and the Great Western debacle. Everyone in this place is worried about its inability to function effectively.

It is vital that there be not only early assurances from Government, but confirmation that the status of current aviation practices will be guaranteed beyond our formal departure from the EU.