Flight Cancellations

Robin Swann Excerpts

Tuesday 5th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mike Kane]

I refer the hon. Member to my previous answer: I have already raised regional connectivity with BA and other airlines. Odhran Dunne, chief executive officer of Visit Derry, has said there is a “fantastic buzz” around that airport at the moment, and around what is happening in the north-west. It is great to see the work going on with the Northern Ireland Executive in supporting that airport, which is a driver of the regional economy.

[Robin Swann (South Antrim) (UUP)]

What support will the Government provide to Northern Ireland airports to ensure our continued and improved connectivity? The previous Government promised £2.3 million to Belfast International airport in my constituency, under round 2 of the levelling-up fund, which would create jobs, reduce air and noise pollution, and improve the passenger experience. Will the Minister provide an update on that?

[Mike Kane]

It is great that the Northern Ireland Executive are up and running. In the devolution settlement they will be getting more money, and it is a matter for them how they spend it. On Northern Ireland and particularly Belfast, only this week easyJet—the biggest airline operating out of there, providing 3.8 million seats—has introduced new routes to Prague and Marrakech, and new aircraft. The future is bright for aviation in the Province.

Rural Bus Services

Robin Swann Excerpts

Wednesday 11th September 2024 Westminster Hall

[Sarah Dyke]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. That is an issue that I will come to later.

Budgeted local authority expenditure per resident in rural areas is on average £11.68, compared with £20.22 in urban areas. A report from the County Councils Network partly blamed how the previous Government’s national bus strategy apportioned funding. It found that two thirds of the funding went to urban areas, despite these areas having seen lower declines in passenger numbers than rural areas. It also found that councils in rural and county areas were experiencing a £420 million shortfall in their transport budgets, impacting their ability to subsidise operating routes regarded by the operator as commercially unviable.

[Robin Swann (South Antrim) (UUP)]

I thank the hon. Member for that point and for bringing this debate to Westminster Hall. Where rural areas in Northern Ireland do not have a central bus connection or even a bus route at all, organisations and individuals rely on community transport organisations, such as South Antrim Community Transport in my own constituency, to pick up the slack. That organisation takes people to hospital appointments and makes sure they can get their shopping where there is not a central bus service supporting those rural areas at all.

[Sarah Dyke]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. Once again, I will come to that a little later.

I have spoken previously in this place about the rural premium that residents are forced to pay because they live in the countryside. The severe lack of decent bus services just increases people’s reliance on private cars, which they of course need to fill with fuel and maintain, thus increasing that premium. The Countryside Alliance research from 2022 found that rural households were spending almost £800 a year more on fuel than people in urban areas, and up to 6p more per litre of fuel.

Before I move on, I draw hon. Members’ attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as a serving Somerset councillor. Somerset council receives around £25.15 per head from central Government to invest in bus services, while Campaign for Better Transport research reveals that 12 local authorities get around double that. One local authority receives more than £300 per head to spend on bus services.

Rural areas have a multitude of factors resulting in poor public transport connections. The lack of funding, sparsity of routes and smaller population centres have resulted in one in four bus routes ceasing to exist in county and rural areas over the 11 years between 2010-11 and 2021-22. A 2021 survey of rural residents revealed that only 18% felt they had access to frequent and reliable bus routes; 44% felt that bus routes had decreased over the previous three years; and 38% said that they did not use buses at all, due to the lack of frequent services.

That illustrates one of the issues that providers in rural areas consistently grapple with when trying to increase provision or save existing bus routes. Rural bus routes are less profitable, due to the smaller patronage. That means that routes are likely to be removed from service or be infrequent, so local people simply do not have the faith they need to use the local bus network. They do not trust that a bus will arrive, or know when it will arrive, so patronage drops, resulting in the route closing.

Key to improving the journey experience is providing easy access to information about bus timetables, clean buses, improved bus stops and bus stations, integration with other modes of transport, and giving priority to buses, especially in and around urban areas.

Rail and Road Connectivity: Northern Lincolnshire

Robin Swann Excerpts

Thursday 5th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Melanie Onn]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. He makes an important point. We cannot grow one area of—I will not say “corner” again—our patch, our kingdom of Lincolnshire without growing the other. The ability to travel across the county is incredibly important.

[Robin Swann (South Antrim) (UUP)]

I support the subject of the hon. Lady’s debate. She mentioned the United Kingdom; it is important that we look at the connectivity of the entire United Kingdom. In the constituency that I represent, there has already been an all-Ireland rail review, in which both the Northern Ireland Executive and the Irish Government have looked at the opportunity of improving rail links. One of those links was from Antrim town through to Lisburn, and connecting Belfast international airport via rail. The hon. Lady is worried about the state of her rail link to the airport in her constituency; I have Belfast international airport in mine, and no rail link. Could the Government work with the Northern Ireland Executive on the all-Ireland rail review to look at how that could progress?

[Melanie Onn]

I admire the hon. Gentleman’s ability to get South Antrim into a debate about northern Lincolnshire, and I support his opportunity to do that.

It is totally unsuitable to have such antiquated amenities. It is no surprise that instead of coming to Grimsby, Cleethorpes or Immingham, businesspeople will instead go direct from London to Hull from King’s Cross. As Humber-based businesses, they stay in accommodation there, perhaps with a trip over the Humber bridge for half a day. That is not enough for us to be able showcase our whole northern Lincolnshire offering.

In June, my predecessor—and my successor, actually—announced on social media that a direct train would be up and running by Christmas. I wonder if the Minister could enlighten us on the background of that assertion? I have been unable to find much more than a hope from the previous Transport Minister. I am concerned that, perhaps, false hope has been provided to residents in my constituency.

I am conscious of time, and I want to let the hon. Member for Brigg and Immingham (Martin Vickers) speak for a few minutes because I know that he is keen to contribute, but I will finish by saying that back in 2003, the then MP for Cleethorpes, Shona McIsaac, had a debate on exactly the same issue relating to the A180. At that time, a 10-year resurfacing programme was in place, promising action between 2002 and 2005. Here we are again. Please, will the Minister assist me in making some progress for my constituents?