Oral Answers to Questions

Rachel Maclean Excerpts

Thursday 29th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Rachel Maclean)]

The Government have made financial support available through the self-employment income support scheme grant, which is set at 80% of three months’ average trading profits. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has provided trainers with guidance on operating safely and on testing restart dates.

[Rebecca Long Bailey]

My constituent was not self-employed. She worked supporting vaccine research during the pandemic, but with poor public transport connections and limited income, her only option was using a moped to get to work. Sadly, the Government’s failure to sufficiently extend the validity period of compulsory basic training certification during lockdown until test centres could safely reopen has resulted in her being forced to leave her job. What will the Minister do to support essential workers such as my constituent who have suffered because of the closure of training centres and the lack of extensions to their certificates?

[Rachel Maclean]

I completely agree that our frontline workers have played a vital role in the response to the pandemic—our thanks go to all of them. The hon. Lady will know that it is important that learners have the right skills to drive, because safety on the road is just as important during a lockdown as at any other time. It is vital that up-to-date road safety knowledge is there at the critical point when people drive and supervise for the first time. She will also know that motorcycle training resumed on 29 March, with testing restarting on 12 April in England and Wales. We got that testing up and running, which was possible because it is easier to maintain a covid-safe working environment for motorcyclists than for in-vehicle training and testing.

[Jo Gideon (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Con)]

What steps his Department is taking to improve the condition of England’s roads.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Rachel Maclean)]

In addition to investing £1.7 billion in 2021-22 in local roads, plus an unprecedented £27 billion in the strategic road network through to 2025, we are working towards the creation of a common data standard for the monitoring of road condition. That will aim to drive innovation and flexibility in monitoring local roads, enabling authorities to target defects in their networks more quickly.

[Jo Gideon]

Fifty of my constituents in Boatman Drive, Etruria, have been unable to access the road to their homes for over a year due to a large sinkhole that has forced Stoke-on-Trent City Council to close the road to all vehicles, including emergency services. Many of the residents have been in contact with me. One, Mr Madadi, was offered a fantastic new employment opportunity but could not accept the offer as it required relocation, and his home could not be sold because of the sinkhole. Will the Minister meet me to help resolve this issue, which I am sure she will agree has been going on for far too long?

[Rachel Maclean]

I commend my hon. Friend for raising that concern in the House and standing up for her constituents. I fully understand that this is a long- running issue involving several parties, including the water utility company and the housing developer. I completely share her and her constituents’ frustration. I would be delighted to ask my noble Friend the roads Minister, who deals with this, to meet her; she has already undertaken to do so.

[Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)]

I do not know whether the Minister has recently visited Tory-controlled Derbyshire, but I have, and the roads are in a shocking state. Plugging potholes and patching up roads in a piecemeal fashion simply does not work. What we need is a proper road maintenance programme, yet the Government have slashed funding by £375 million and are ploughing £27 billion into road expansion during a climate emergency. Does the Minister not think that it would be better for motorists, cyclists and the planet if we focused on fixing what we have got?

[Rachel Maclean]

I am delighted that the hon. Lady enjoyed her visit to Derbyshire—long may it continue to be Conservative-controlled. She is wrong to say that we are not investing in local roads. The Government announced £1.7 billion for maintenance and upgrades to tackle potholes, relieve congestion and boost connectivity.

I would like to address this allegation head-on. It is incorrect to say that we are spending £27 billion on road building or that 4,000 miles of new roads are planned. We are actually investing £27 billion in the operation, maintenance and renewal of England’s strategic road network to secure safer and more reliable journeys that have less impact on adjacent communities and places.

[Dr Neil Hudson (Penrith and The Border) (Con)]

What steps his Department is taking to encourage the uptake of cycling and walking.

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[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Rachel Maclean)]

We are working to finalise our bold and ambitious plan to decarbonise transport, and we expect to publish it as soon as possible this spring.

[Mick Whitley [V]]

The Government’s Brexit deal means that in order to avoid tariffs on electric vehicles, 55% of vehicle parts, including batteries, will need to be locally sourced by the end of 2026. Will the Government back Labour’s call for investments in at least three battery gigafactories by 2025, and can they commit to building one of those factories on Merseyside?

[Rachel Maclean]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to say that a gigafactory will play a critical role in decarbonising our transport sector. We have a world-beating automotive industry in this country, and at the election the Government committed £1 billion to back investment in a gigafactory in this country. Can I remind him that leaving the European Union has provided us with a lot of opportunities to set our own pathways to decarbonise transport? We will be setting out those plans in detail in the transport decarbonisation plan.

[Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)]

What plans his Department has to phase out roundabouts on the A1.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Rachel Maclean)]

The Department aims to create more free-flowing journeys across the strategic road network, including the A1, through its road investments.

[Sir Edward Leigh]

The A1—the great north road—is a beautiful road linking Scotland and England, and I think that to honour the upcoming jubilee we should rename it the Queen’s highway. Why not? But it is not an entirely safe road. I have spent hundreds of hours on it, and there are many fatalities on it. I cannot understand why all the roundabouts have been stripped away between Newark and the Black Cat roundabout, but going south from the Black Cat to the north circular there are still roundabouts. There are also many crossing points in Lincolnshire and other places. Will the Minister now commit to really upgrading the A1 to make it entirely safe by getting rid of all the traffic lights, roundabouts and crossing points? Let us make it a true Queen’s highway.

[Rachel Maclean]

I fully agree with my right hon. Friend’s suggestion for renaming that beautiful road, and I am sure that the Transport Secretary, who is listening carefully, will take that away and consider it. I am happy to say that we are investing significant sums in making the A1 safer and more reliable as a result of our near-£1 billion A428 improvement scheme, and there will be a major reconstruction of the Black Cat junction on the A1 so that north-south traffic will flow freely underneath it. There is potential for further enhancement along the A1, which will be considered in the light of Highways England’s work to update its route strategies, starting this year, and I fully expect my right hon. Friend’s journeys to be very pleasant indeed in the future.

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[Royston Smith (Southampton, Itchen) (Con)]

The active travel grant funding made available to local authorities such as mine was very welcome, but unfortunately the Labour-run council in Southampton has used this funding to halve road capacity on main arterial routes into the city. As lockdown has eased, this has caused congestion and made already poor air quality much worse. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that the active travel funding provided to local authorities did not come with directions on how it should be used, and that the decision to implement any schemes, for good or ill, are the responsibility of the local authority?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Rachel Maclean)]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The Department for Transport has made it absolutely clear that local authorities must focus on scheme quality. They must demonstrate that they have carried out appropriate consultation, listened to local communities, and considered access for emergency vehicles and traffic impacts. We recognise that poorly designed, temporary cycling and walking schemes can have negative impacts, but we also recognise that they can be very positive when delivered in the right way.

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[Selaine Saxby (North Devon) (Con)]

  I am delighted that North Devon is soon to become home to the first rural e-scooter trial. However, what steps is the Department taking to inform the public that e-scooters, already seen in so many public spaces, are not legally permitted unless part of the trial?

[Rachel Maclean]

I thank my hon. Friend for her support for this innovative form of transport technology. Trials of rental e-scooters began last July and have been a huge success: over 2 million trips have been taken and 5 million km ridden—the equivalent of six times to the moon and back. But the Department has written to all major retailers of e-scooters in the UK to ask them to make it clear to customers that it is illegal to use e-scooters on public roads. Retailers make this clear online and in their stores, and motoring offences will apply to the private use of e-scooters. The local police are fully engaged and have enforcement powers, and they are expected to use them.

[Hilary Benn (Leeds Central) (Lab) [V]]

Given that the national infrastructure bank will be based in Leeds, would it not be highly symbolic to start building phase 2b of the eastern leg of HS2 from Leeds southwards? The Secretary of State was quoted recently as saying that he is looking at bringing forward the start date. Would he consider that idea?

[Dr Dan Poulter (Central Suffolk and North Ipswich) (Con) [V]]

  The Secretary of State will be aware that almost 50% of UK container freight goes through Felixstowe port, and he will be aware of the importance of improving rail links from that port to the midlands and the north. Can I get his reassurance that the Felixstowe to Nuneaton freight rail link is a priority for this Government and will be delivered on time?

[Rachel Maclean]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right about the importance of freight links in our country. Since 2009, more than £200 million has been invested in capacity on the Felixstowe to Nuneaton freight corridor. Through the rail network enhancements pipeline, Network Rail is developing business cases for enhancements at Ely, Hockley and between Ely and Soham to provide additional capacity on this key freight corridor.

[Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP) [V]]

Constituents of mine who had travelled for essential medical treatment for their disabled children were required to quarantine at Heathrow in a hotel room that was completely inadequate for their needs. What consideration is being given to the needs of disabled people and those with medical needs in the hotel quarantine scheme?

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[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD) [V]]

Last week, the Government’s sixth carbon budget included aviation emissions for the first time—a welcome step. Can the Secretary of State explain how the Government think they can hit their net zero target without updating the airports national policy statement? Will he finally commit to scrapping Tory plans for a third runway at Heathrow, if he is serious about tackling the climate emergency?

[Rachel Maclean]

The hon. Lady will know that the whole House voted for the Heathrow plans, as she stated, but we will shortly be bringing forward our transport decarbonisation plans, which will discuss in full and in detail our ambitious plans to decarbonise the entire transport sector, including the aviation sector. She is right to say that we have increased our ambition on this front, and we are the only major leading nation that will set out such an ambitious set of plans to decarbonise the entire sector.

[Katherine Fletcher (South Ribble) (Con) [V]]

Hello from Lancashire, Mr Speaker. In South Ribble, there is quite a lot of interest in the Government’s recently announced £3 billion national bus strategy. Speaking to residents, many improvement suggestions have already been received. Joanne, for example, wants a west-east bus between Tarleton, the Hooles, Longton and getting into Leyland. Can my right hon. Friend share how he plans to ensure that the communities’ voices are heard during the planning of this strategy so that their needs are in the mix, and it is not just the ideas from the men in grey suits and the established industry?

[Mr Speaker]

Enjoy your travel in Lancashire when you do.

[Rachel Maclean]

I note your remark, Mr Speaker. I thank my hon. Friend for her point. I am not a man in a grey suit, so I can reassure her fully, and I thank her for the massively constructive way she has engaged with the national bus strategy since its launch. The way she has stood up for her constituents is absolutely exemplary, and I know from the discussions that she and I have had how important that is. By October, local transport authorities are expected to provide bus service improvement plans, which should be developed in collaboration with local people to ensure that they genuinely reflect the area’s needs.

[Mr Speaker]

Staying in Lancashire, I call Rosie Cooper. Come on, Rosie.

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[Mrs Natalie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)]

When direct all-day high-speed services to Martin Mill, Deal and Sandwich were suspended, I received written assurances that they would be fully restored after lockdown. Can my hon. Friend confirm that it remains the intention to fully restore the high-speed services to Deal, Sandwich and the villages as soon as possible?

[Rachel Maclean]

Morning and evening peak services to Martin Mill, Kingsdown, Deal and Sandwich are currently operating. Passenger volumes are continually monitored, and all-day service provision will be reviewed in the light of passenger demand as lockdown restrictions are eased.

[Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central) (Lab) [V]]

The Secretary of State will know that the consultation on Manchester’s rail services is considering the removal of the direct link between Sheffield and Manchester airport. Our chamber of commerce is deeply concerned about the damage that axing this service would do to local business and jobs, and our two world-class universities believe that it threatens international student recruitment, which brings more than £200 million into the local economy. Does he recognise those concerns, and will he meet me and other local Members to discuss the issue?

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[Virginia Crosbie (Ynys Môn) (Con)]

Cutting-edge maritime projects such as the Holyhead hydrogen hub and the proposed Anglesey freeport in my constituency will move forward this Government’s renewable agenda. To take full advantage of these opportunities, excellent transport infrastructure is needed across north Wales. Will the Minister confirm that he will support necessary improvements to the A55, as highlighted in Sir Peter Hendy’s Union connectivity review?

[Rachel Maclean]

My hon. Friend is a brilliant champion of connectivity for her constituency, and as a result, my right hon. Friend the Transport Secretary was in north Wales early this week, discussing plans to upgrade the A55 with the Welsh Conservative candidate standing in May’s election. We look forward to the final Union connectivity review recommendations ahead of the spending review, in which we will consider funding plans for delivering improved UK-wide connectivity. However, I must say to the hon. Lady that the fastest way for her constituents to secure upgrades to the A55 is to vote for a Welsh Conservative Government, who have pledged to end Labour’s neglect of north Wales.

[Mr Speaker]

That brings me on to my final point, which is just to say that I will be pleased when next Thursday is out of the way, but I remind Members who are going into other constituencies, other than for a private, personal visit, to please ensure that they notify the MP. That goes to all sides, because I am getting letters of complaint. Please, I do not need any more letters of complaint: just abide by good practice.