Oral Answers to Questions

Norman Baker Excerpts

Thursday 25th April 2013 Commons Chamber

[Barbara Keeley (Worsley and Eccles South) (Lab)]

2. What steps he is taking to increase the affordability of bus travel for young people accessing education or training.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Norman Baker)]

The legislation which regulates the bus industry and which we inherited upon coming to office does not require bus operators to offer reduced fares for young people accessing education or training, although in many areas this is available, thanks to local authorities or operators themselves. However, this creates an unfair and confusing patchwork of fares. Young people deserve a better deal, including more consistent and affordable bus fares, and I am making this my top bus priority from now until the next election.

[Barbara Keeley]

That is a good thing, because the education maintenance allowance helped young people with travel costs, but this Government have abolished it, leaving them struggling. Many young people will have extra travel costs if they are to take up apprenticeships. Our constrained local transport authority, Transport for Greater Manchester, cannot manage to help with that. The Minister says that this is a priority, so will he review the position urgently, because it is stopping young people getting into education and taking up apprenticeships opportunities? Will he also look at putting some central costs in, because our local transport authority does not have the budget to help with this?

[Norman Baker]

The performance of local authorities and passenger transport executives across the country varies enormously. The education maintenance allowance was replaced by the 16 to 19 bursary fund—£180 million provided by the Department for Education. I am in discussions with my colleagues at that Department about access to education. With reference to access to work, the hon. Lady will be aware not only of the steps taken under the local sustainable transport fund to help access to work, but the initiative on which I have worked with bus operators to ensure that there was free access for some people out of work in January.

[Mrs Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab/Co-op)]

Will the Minister allow transport authorities to access the better bus funding scheme so that quality contracts and quality partnerships can be pursued to give young people and others a better deal?

[Norman Baker]

Quality contracts were on the statute book, put there by the Government that the hon. Lady supported. It was open to them to take whatever steps they wanted, but they did not take any of the steps that she is now advocating. The two schemes are not mutually exclusive. In response to an Adjournment debate a few days ago which one of her colleagues introduced, I made it plain that if operators behaved inappropriately, it would be possible for better bus area funding to be provided under those circumstances.

[Rebecca Harris (Castle Point) (Con)]

3. What steps his Department is taking to reduce congestion on the road network in south Essex; and if he will make a statement.

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[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

8. What plans he has for incentives to encourage the take-up of electric vehicles.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Norman Baker)]

The Government is committed to supporting the uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles, and has allocated up to £400 million for that, out to 2015, including £82 million for research and development activities, £30 million for plugged-in places infrastructure pilots and £300 million to support motorists with the plug-in car and van grants. On 19 February we also announced a £37 million package of further grants for a national recharging infrastructure, and later this year we will be publishing a document setting out our strategic approach to supporting the uptake of ULEVs.

[Duncan Hames]

The take-up of electric vehicles is accelerating but from low initial levels. Among those grants, would the Minister consider support for a national rapid charging network to encourage the transition to electric vehicles by motorists?

[Norman Baker]

Take-up is in line with our anticipation, and as is always the case with new technology, the graph shows a slow start and a rapid increase thereafter. We are seeing more rapid charging points established across the country, including by the private sector which is showing a healthy and very welcome appetite to install such points.

[Simon Kirby (Brighton, Kemptown) (Con)]

9. What steps his Department is taking to improve rail links between London and the south coast.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Norman Baker)]

Significant investment is currently being undertaken to improve rail links between London and the south coast. By 2018, the £6 billion Thameslink programme will be complete, providing more capacity for passengers with a new fleet of trains, and London Bridge station will be redeveloped and transformed.

[Simon Kirby]

Does the Minister agree with me and many other people in Brighton and Hove that the only sustainable solution for increased capacity is to build a second line?

[Norman Baker]

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend that there is pressure on the existing line. It is very full up during many of the peak hours, and that also affects train performance on that line, which I know he is concerned about. I certainly think there is a case for looking at capacity issues in a novel way between London and the south coast, and the Secretary of State and I hope to take that matter forward in due course.

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[Hugh Bayley (York Central) (Lab)]

T2. What help are the Government giving to smaller local authorities away from metropolitan areas, to introduce smart ticketing to make bus journeys more convenient and cheaper, and to get more people on to buses?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Norman Baker)]

We have seen a significant roll-out of smart ticketing, but I agree that it is more difficult for small local authority areas. The Department for Transport budget allocates £15 million to pick up on small bus operators in particular, to ensure that they are not left behind and to retain diversity of supply in the bus industry.

[George Hollingbery (Meon Valley) (Con)]

T3. Will the Secretary of State update the House on any discussions he may have had with the Mayor of London with regard to suburban railway services in the south-east?

--- Later in debate ---

[Alison McGovern (Wirral South) (Lab)]

An investigation by the Liverpool Echo last month discovered that the cost of catching a bus in Merseyside has risen by two and a half times the rate of inflation since privatisation under the Thatcher Government. The cost of public transport in Merseyside is a barrier to employment and makes the labour market less flexible. Will the Minister congratulate the Echo on its work and tell us what he proposes to do about it?

[Norman Baker]

Sadly, bus fares have been rising above inflation for many decades, including throughout the Labour Government, from 1997 to 2010, although some of these bus fares are determined locally by support from local authorities, so the picture varies across the country. The good news, however, is that overall bus mileage is holding up. In fact, last year saw a record 4.7 billion bus journeys, the highest since deregulation.

[Dr Phillip Lee (Bracknell) (Con)]

T7. Many of my constituents work in and use both Heathrow and Gatwick airports, which is one reason I would firmly support the expansion of both. We are awaiting Howard Davies’s report into Heathrow expansion, but would the Minister consider his Department’s investigating the feasibility of a superfast maglev line, such as that seen in Shanghai, to link these two essential airports?