Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Paul Sweeney and Lord Grayling

Thursday 2nd May 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Chris Grayling)]

Rail franchising has delivered substantial benefits to passengers and record levels of investment over the past 25 years, but it is time for a fresh approach and that is why we set up the Williams review, which will enable us to fundamentally realign the railway industry, with a renewed focus on the needs of passengers and freight customers across the country in the future.

[Mr Sweeney]

Well, the chair of that review has just said that the franchising system is not fit for purpose. In the light of that, does the Secretary of State not agree with Opposition Members that privatisation has been a litany of failure, that the fragmentation of the network has meant the coherence of the passenger-led system has been destroyed and that we need to have a reintegrated railway system under democratic control? Is that not the future for the railway system in this country?

[Chris Grayling]

The Labour party is very clear that it wants to recreate British Rail, and it has every right to argue for that—[Interruption.] Labour Members say no, but that is their policy. I remember the days of British Rail. It was a state-run railway on which routes were closed, services were cut and the trains were old and outdated. Today, we have a railway that carries twice as many passengers as it did in those days and has far more trains. The challenges that we face are challenges of success, not failure.

No-Deal Brexit: Cross-channel Freight

Debate between Paul Sweeney and Lord Grayling

Thursday 2nd May 2019 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

The bit I do not understand is that Labour Members do not appear to understand insurance. When someone takes out a home insurance policy each year, they pay their money and they do not get it back. It costs them money, but they have the insurance to protect them against an unforeseen eventuality. We took out this insurance policy because of a change to the forecast that suggested that we might have a problem in dealing with the flow of drugs for the national health service. That was the responsible thing to do—to take out the insurance policy for the country. Labour Members might not want us to do that. They might not want to look after the interests of the national health service, but we will.

[Mr Paul Sweeney (Glasgow North East) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Secretary of State calls it an insurance policy, but I do not know what part of an insurance policy involves paying £33 million in an out-of-court settlement to a company because of his own incompetence. That is not really a viable and prudent form of insurance policy. Is not the reality that the Government were never going to have no-deal in the first place and that this has been the mother of all smokescreens by the Government to raise the stakes in effectively playing poker with taxpayers’ money? It is a flagrant misuse of public funds, and he should at least have the grace to admit that.

[Chris Grayling]

I will not, because it is not true.

Seaborne Freight

Debate between Paul Sweeney and Lord Grayling

Monday 11th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

I do not want to attribute any possible reasons for Arklow Shipping pulling out. It was a shame that, just at the point when everybody had draft contracts in place ready for signing, the company backed away. It is a regret that that is the case. I would have liked to have seen this new service come into effect, if only to ensure that the port of Ramsgate had alternative business for the future, but I am afraid that it is not for me to comment on the motivations of the company involved.

[Mr Paul Sweeney (Glasgow North East) (Lab/Co-op)]

Perhaps when the Secretary of State is finally fired for his incompetence over this issue, he might get the consolation prize of being invited on to Comic Relief’s special edition of “The Apprentice”, where we can see him on “Team Seaborne”, trying desperately to fill in the capacity that he has failed to provide as Secretary of State. I think we could all do with a laugh on that front. The reality is that the financial risk is neither here nor there. There are barely 50 days to go and the Secretary of State has still failed to provide that vital freight capacity, so where is it coming from? Is he going to ask the Ministry of Defence to provide this emergency capacity?

[Chris Grayling]

Dear, oh dear; you do get them from the Opposition, Mr Speaker. The hon. Gentleman has clearly not been listening to a word I said. I said that we have options available on two other routes in the North sea. Those routes take longer and are more expensive, but we have had them in reserve all along. I judged and we judged—my Department felt—that it would be better if we could have access to a shorter route from Ramsgate to Ostend. That has not worked out and we now have the option to return to the original choices.

Seaborne Freight

Debate between Paul Sweeney and Lord Grayling

Tuesday 8th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

That is why we are not going to spend the money until the ships are available and running. The reality is that we do need to spend money to prepare for a no-deal Brexit. I hope that money proves not to be needed—I want us to have a sensible partnership in the future—but believe me, if we were here now facing a no-deal Brexit and no preparation had been done, the shouting from the Labour party would be enormous.

[Mr Paul Sweeney (Glasgow North East) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Secretary of State talks about supporting entrepreneurialism. I am a big fan of “Dragons’ Den”, and I think this is one of those pitches that everybody would have been cringing at had they actually seen it, but it seems to be good enough for the Secretary of State. He talks about a no-deal Brexit. I think the Government should rule out a no-deal Brexit, but if he is insistent on planning ahead for it he needs sure delivery of freight capacity on shipping routes. The Ministry of Defence has immediate access to four roll-on roll-off ferries. Why on earth has he not committed to using those assets, which are immediately available to him, instead of insisting on a highly risky contractual arrangement with a dubious private contractor?

[Chris Grayling]

What I have done is insist on a highly substantial commercial arrangement with two very established cross-channel ferry operators and given a small amount of business to a new operator. If there is a no-deal Brexit, which I hope will not happen, we have several other measures that we can bring into place.

Rail Announcement

Debate between Paul Sweeney and Lord Grayling

Tuesday 27th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

A central part of our strategy on the roads is hybrid cars, and a central part of our strategy on the railways is hybrid trains. The biggest difference we can make in getting people off the roads and on to rail is to ensure that we expand capacity, and that is what we are doing, with longer trains, new and reopened routes and new stations across the country, creating a better environment for people who want to travel by rail. It is the biggest programme of investment in our railways since the steam age.

[Mr Paul Sweeney (Glasgow North East) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Secretary of State lauds the benefits of reduced journey times between London and Glasgow, but that is not the full picture, because we know that, as a result of the HS2 investment, journey times between Glasgow and Manchester will actually increase. How can this be benefiting all regions of the UK when journey times between Britain’s second and third biggest cities will be increased? Is it not yet another example of putting the profit motive over the real national interest?

[Chris Grayling]

This has nothing to do with the profit motive; it has to do with whether or not trains tilt. We need to ensure, through timetabling and planning after HS2 is opened, that we deliver the best possible outcome for all the services and all the destinations it serves. It is not a question of the profit motive or the private sector; it is a question of technical capabilities and how we deliver the best possible outcome.

HS2 Update

Debate between Paul Sweeney and Lord Grayling

Monday 17th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

The Crewe station site has the potential to be much more than just a station. There is a big regeneration opportunity for Crewe around that site, and it goes far beyond the provision of rail access. Inevitably, that needs to be something we work with the local community and local authorities on. I am very excited about the potential for Crewe station: if we look at the redundant land, particularly to the west, we see huge capacity for a massive and really important redevelopment project for the whole town of Crewe.

[Mr Paul J. Sweeney (Glasgow North East) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Secretary of State will know that, in May 2015, HS2 Ltd decided that there was no credible business case for extending a dedicated high-speed rail link north of Manchester to Glasgow. Given the announcement today, will he consider the merits of extending a dedicated high-speed rail link to Glasgow, given that a classic-compatible train without tilting capability will actually increase journey times between Manchester and Glasgow? That is unacceptable.

[Chris Grayling]

As I said earlier, our goal is to work to deliver that three-hour journey time we talked about, and that has the effect of bringing high-speed rail to Scotland. We have to use taxpayers’ money wisely, and we have to find the right balance in this project, but I want this project to work for Scotland as well, and I will do everything I can to make sure that happens.