Rail Infrastructure Investment

Ronnie Cowan Excerpts

Thursday 17th January 2019 Westminster Hall

[Ronnie Cowan (Inverclyde) (SNP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Evans, and to sum up the debate on behalf of the Scottish National party. At a momentous political time, such as we have experienced this week, it is easy to forget about the many Government portfolios that require attention and scrutiny. Brexit may be dominating the headlines and the levers of government, but it should not be used as an excuse to sweep all other policy issues under the rug. It has therefore been helpful to hear hon. Members’ contributions, which I shall refer to throughout my speech.

A common theme in this debate, the Transport Committee’s report and wider political reporting is a clear concern about the Department for Transport’s handling of the rail network. The report highlights concerns about the boom and bust investment cycles, and the failure to give the industry sufficient confidence to invest in its workforce, skills and innovation. Other evidence gathered by the Committee cast doubt on the Rail Minister’s understanding of how and where emerging technology, such as battery-powered trains, is being developed. Perhaps it is forgivable for a Minister not to have a comprehensive understanding of absolutely everything covered by their Department, but it will not reassure those asking serious questions of the Department for Transport and Network Rail.

[Andrew Rosindell in the Chair]

Certainly, the headlines will not comfort the UK Government. With news outlets talking about meltdown, appalling services and chaos, it is clear that the rail network in England is failing at the most fundamental level. Of particular interest to me—this was mentioned throughout the debate—is the disparity in transport expenditure across the UK. Unsurprisingly, the Committee’s report noted that there is a massive disparity between rail investment in London and other parts of England. Although we should consider the difficulties in accurately breaking down regional funding, we cannot ignore the problematic London-centric nature of funding in the UK. Figures from the House of Commons Library show that railway spending per capita in England was up to 10 times higher in London than in other English regions. If I were a resident of the east midlands or of Yorkshire, I would ask serious questions about the levels of funding in my area.

Transport bodies in London and the UK Government will attempt to rationalise—or even justify—those disparities, but the Department for Transport’s introduction of a rebalancing toolkit is a clear acknowledgment of the problem. Thankfully, in Scotland we have the Scottish Government to act in our interests. It will come as no surprise that SNP MPs support the Scottish Government’s call for Network Rail to be fully devolved. Research commissioned by Abellio in 2018 found that just 30% of people support the current arrangement, with a majority supporting the full devolution of Network Rail. I also welcome the proposals from Reform Scotland and the former Labour Transport Minister, Tom Harris, for Network Rail to be fully accountable to the Scottish Government. That is a common-sense approach.

I would argue that it is completely logical to devolve those powers fully, given the Scottish Government’s existing transport responsibilities. That case has been repeatedly made to the UK Government and has been repeatedly ignored. Indeed, the Secretary of State for Transport said on record that he does not believe that

“the Scottish Government are capable of overseeing it properly.”—[Official Report, 16 May 2018; Vol. 641, c. 291.]

That is certainly a bold claim in the light of his Department’s well-documented failings.

Passengers can become frustrated when their rail service does not operate as expected. In Scotland, people often become angry at ScotRail and the Scottish Government for problems that arise from Network Rail’s infrastructure—a UK Government responsibility— and given the tangle of responsibilities between devolved and reserved matters, that is an understandable confusion. The devolution of Network Rail’s activities in Scotland would therefore improve accountability and allow the Scottish Government to build on the action that has already been taken to improve services.

There has been significant Scottish Government investment in the ScotRail franchise for the benefit of rail users. There will be a 23% increase in seating capacity and more than 200 new services across Scotland by the end of 2019. The Scottish Government will continue to invest £1 billion in public transport every year. According to the latest figures, that support means ScotRail’s performance measure has been higher than the UK average. Importantly, the Scottish Government will use powers from the Scotland Act 2016 to allow a public sector bid for all franchises in Scotland. The facilitation of such bids ensures that the Scottish National party will deliver what was promised: a robust public sector bid for the ScotRail franchise.

In closing, I believe that the Transport Committee’s report should form part of a wider review of the rail network, and the SNP welcomes the long overdue acceptance by the UK Government that a review is necessary. The Department for Transport must commit to implementing any future recommendations. I hope that the Minister can assure me that the UK Government are serious about their decentralisation agenda. If they are, I would be grateful to him if he outlined what discussions he plans to have with his Scottish Government counterpart, particularly in the light of polling that shows widespread support for the devolution of Network Rail.

--- Later in debate ---

[Andrew Jones]

I am not the Minister with responsibility for HS2, so the day-to-day correspondence does not come across my desk, but the Government are entirely committed to HS2. The Treasury is right to say that we will look at projects to ensure that they come in on budget and on time, and that we do not see project-creep in terms of cost. The Treasury has been sighted, for example, on the way we are re-planning our investment process to ensure that decisions are made in as informed a way as possible so that there are as few surprises as possible.

Let me be absolutely clear to everybody that HS2 is a critically important project. Work is already under way to deliver it. The hon. Gentleman made the point that the appetite for it grows the further north one goes, and I am happy to echo that entirely. HS2 presents fantastic regeneration opportunities, about which I have had conversations with Judith Blake in Leeds, Andy Burnham in Manchester and Andy Street in the West Midlands.

The hon. Gentleman also highlighted the industrial relations issues that blight some parts of our rail network. The Government are keen to see a second person on trains. Indeed, we have said that there will be no blockage from the Government if that is what everybody wants. We can make changes to any agreements. Indeed, we have gone further than that and said that we will provide financial support. I have made those comments to the unions and the company. The dispute is between those two parties, but the Government can play a role in creating an environment to help them get around the table and talk, and I think I have done that. I want to see them get around the table and talk and, as they do so, stop the strikes, which have had a detrimental impact on the economy of the north.

I have not yet addressed the comments by the hon. Member for Inverclyde (Ronnie Cowan) about devolution to Scotland. Rail is devolved to Scotland. The Scottish Government set their own high-level output specification. The statement of funds available is above the Barnett formula for CP6. Off the top of my head, having discussed Scottish rail issues with colleagues in the Adjournment debate on Monday night—that was very late, so I understand that not everyone will have been present—I think it is £4.85 billion. There is significant funding available for the Scottish rail network, and the Scottish Government have control over rail.

[Ronnie Cowan]

This is not just about funding; it is also about control and management. When ScotRail is run by the Scottish Government and Network Rail is run by the UK Government, that can obviously fall between two stools. That is what we seek to address. We want the responsibility to go with the railway.

[Andrew Jones]

I just point out that decisions about what happens are taken north of the border. We have a national rail network, which cuts across all the nations of the United Kingdom, but decisions are made north of the border. I have had conversations with the Scottish Transport Minister, and I fully understand where his responsibilities start and mine finish.

We have accepted many of the Transport Committee’s recommendations, and I hope I have made it clear that our new approach through the RNEP is clear, logical and fair, and makes sense. We want that approach to lead to better outcomes for passengers, certainty for the supply chain and the industry, and a much more balanced portfolio of investment. I know that colleagues are hungry for investment. We are catching up on decades of under-investment in our rail network and other modes of transport by Governments of all colours. It is clear that we all agree that rail plays a huge role in our national economy, and that is why we are investing in it at record levels. I look forward to keeping the House and the Committee updated on our progress.