Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rehman Chishti and Lord McLoughlin

Thursday 10th March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

A number of measures are being considered across Government Departments. I take the matter very seriously, particularly in the light of certain recent events that have been reported.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

Following my conversation with the Secretary of State for Justice, I tabled a private Member’s Bill to prohibit certain high-powered laser pens. Will my right hon. Friend speak to the Secretary of State for Justice to see whether the Bill can be taken forward? As the hon. Member for Leeds North West (Greg Mulholland) says, access to certain types of laser pens needs to be controlled.

[Mr McLoughlin]

I am aware of my hon. Friend’s Bill. I can assure him that not only will I talk to the Secretary of State for Justice, but we are talking across other Government Departments as well. As I say, the issue is taken extremely seriously. I will also listen to the representations that have been made to the Department by the British Airline Pilots Association and the Civil Aviation Authority.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rehman Chishti and Lord McLoughlin

Thursday 4th December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Patrick McLoughlin)]

On Monday 17 November I announced £25 million to support community transport providers, and that fund will provide hundreds of new minibuses to community transport operators in rural and isolated areas. Those groups help keep rural communities alive and independent, and it is vital to do all we can to support local voluntary operators in those areas.

[Rehman Chishti]

Following the announcement that the c2c rail franchise will issue automatic refunds to commuters delayed by more than two minutes, will the Government apply pressure to other franchises such as Southeastern to follow that example?

[Mr McLoughlin]

One reason why c2c’s franchise was awarded is that it came forward with imaginative schemes. What my hon. Friend has outlined is an important development on that commuter route, and I look to improve services across the whole of rail franchising.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rehman Chishti and Lord McLoughlin

Thursday 8th May 2014 Commons Chamber

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

14. What financial assistance he is providing to local authorities for the repair of potholes.

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Patrick McLoughlin)]

In the 2014 Budget, the Government announced a £200 million pothole fund for the financial year 2014-15. Some £168 million is being made available to councils in England, including up to £10 million for London. This is enough to fix over 3 million potholes. The fund is a competition, and bidding guidance was published on 24 April detailing how local authorities can submit their bids to the Department for Transport by 22 May. This is in addition to the £4.7 billion that we are providing for local road maintenance in this Parliament.

[Rehman Chishti]

Medway council has filled nearly 4,000 potholes in just over 10 months, so it will welcome the Secretary of State’s announcement. However, Medway has also been affected by the emergence of sinkholes, including one at Rainham Mark grammar school. What are the Government doing to address the emergence of sinkholes across the country?

[Mr McLoughlin]

I am aware that a number of sinkholes appeared across the country during this year’s severe winter weather, including those that my hon. Friend has mentioned. The Government have been working, and will continue to work, with the British Geological Survey on sinkholes. It is important that any lessons learnt are shared with local authorities and other transport operators to ensure that our infrastructure has greater resilience against future severe weather events.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr McLoughlin]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his comments on this massive project, which is important both for London and for the outlying areas. I will be more than happy to discuss it with him as we develop the programme and the timetables.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Patrick McLoughlin)]

The House will recall that five weeks ago the HGV user levy came into force. I am pleased to say that in that short period the levy has generated £7.6 million in revenue from overseas hauliers and achieved a mainland payment compliance rate of 96%. Thanks to the actions of this Government, foreign hauliers are at last paying for their use of British roads.

[Rehman Chishti]

Driver distraction is a major cause of death and serious injury on our roads, and it has been the focus of a leading campaign by the charity Brake. What are the Government doing to work with such organisations to tackle driver distraction? By way of a digression, I was given the “parliamentarian of the year” award by Brake for campaigning on road safety.

[Mr McLoughlin]

I have known of Brake’s work for many years, as one of its founding members was the relative of a victim who died in my constituency. I think that the whole question of driver distraction is important. I am still amazed by the number of people who use mobile phones while driving. In August 2013 the Government increased the penalty for using a mobile phone while driving from £60 to £100. I will look at the matter and review it in due course.

Flooding: Transport Disruption

Debate between Rehman Chishti and Lord McLoughlin

Thursday 13th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

I welcome the statement by the Secretary of State. I thank him, his Department, the Highways Agency and all the other agencies for what they are doing to get the M2 back to normal following the discovery of a 16 feet sinkhole in the inner reservation. What steps are being taken to address the concerns about sinkholes, as they pose a real risk to road safety?

[Mr McLoughlin]

My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State who is responsible for roads is looking at that particular incident this morning. Sinkholes are not common events, but obviously we need to learn any lessons that we can from them. We also need to do the proper work to ensure that no further damage has been done to the road network before we reopen it. However, that part of the road network is now partially reopened.

Transport Infrastructure

Debate between Rehman Chishti and Lord McLoughlin

Tuesday 17th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

The Secretary of State will be aware of the comments made by Sir Howard Davies, who said that the estuary airport would cost about £80 billion to £110 billion and would cause massive disruption. Do the Government have that amount of money to spend when there are other, better, environmentally friendly options? Those views are shared by my constituents in Gillingham and Rainham and the local authority, Medway council. They are bitterly opposed to that bizarre idea on those grounds and many others.

[Mr McLoughlin]

One thing that will have to be considered if such proposals are made is how they will be paid for. I am, however, aware that figures for transport infrastructure projects sometimes get greatly inflated. This one started off at about £75 billion, it has grown to £100 billion, my hon. Friend says that it is £110 billion and I have no doubt that by next week it will be around the £150 billion mark.

Rail Franchising

Debate between Rehman Chishti and Lord McLoughlin

Tuesday 26th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

I know that Virgin is keen to continue with investments on that line and is happy to receive representations, both from my hon. Friend and from me, if good cases are made for investment that has a positive return.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

I thank the Secretary of State for his statement. May I also thank him for reducing train fares in the south-east by reducing the retail prices index plus 3% provision to RPI plus 1%? Under the previous Government, Southeastern had RPI plus 3% whereas the rest of the country had RPI plus 1%, and that was exceptionally unfair.

[Mr McLoughlin]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that. The truth is that we are putting massive further investment into the railways. That has to be paid for by both the fare payer and the taxpayer, but it is right that we try to get that balance right. I am pleased that the Chancellor was able to take the increases down to RPI plus 1%, not only for this year, but for next year.

West Coast Main Line

Debate between Rehman Chishti and Lord McLoughlin

Monday 15th October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

The hon. Gentleman is seeking to prejudge the two inquiries I have set up, which is something I am not prepared to do.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

On train franchising, will the Secretary of State clarify when Southeastern’s franchise is likely to be concluded, because it is currently undergoing a process of renewal?

[Mr McLoughlin]

I have announced a pause on three franchises, and there are others that have not yet been concluded in the final bidding process. We will obviously learn lessons from the Brown inquiry and the Laidlaw inquiry, but I hope that this will not have a long-term impact that will delay any of the other franchises that are going to be negotiated.