Oral Answers to Questions

Ronnie Cowan Excerpts

Thursday 5th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

As the hon. Lady will be aware, this is not really a transport matter. Our ports will be ready, and our plans for how we manage our borders will be ready for all eventualities, but I want, I believe and I expect that we will have a sensible agreement with the European Union that avoids the charging of tariffs. That is certainly what the EU wants, and it is what we want.

[Ronnie Cowan (Inverclyde) (SNP)]

My Inverclyde constituency has a thriving port at Greenock, with cruise ships and container ships docking on a daily basis. Can the Secretary of State assure me that the systems, including IT systems, that will be required post Brexit are well on their way to completion so that ports such as Greenock will not be adversely affected by the UK leaving the European Union?

Oral Answers to Questions

Ronnie Cowan Excerpts

Thursday 24th May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Ronnie Cowan (Inverclyde) (SNP)]

When the east coast railway franchise is once again open to bids, will the bidding process include a prosperity weighting clause, in keeping with proposals for some defence contracts?

[Chris Grayling]

When we form the London North Eastern Railway in its final form, as I have said, it will not be a conventional franchise bidding process. It will move to a completely new approach, as I set out in my statement earlier this month, and we will bring more details to the House about the shape of that in due course.

Oral Answers to Questions

Ronnie Cowan Excerpts

Thursday 18th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Joseph Johnson)]

Of course I would be delighted to meet representatives from the Kettering rail users group, and my hon. Friend.

[Ronnie Cowan (Inverclyde) (SNP)]

T5. In my constituency we have the Greenock ocean terminal, from which goods are imported and exported around the world. What assurances can the Minister give me that Brexit will not adversely affect the transportation of goods by sea from my Inverclyde constituency?

[Chris Grayling]

I absolutely understand the importance for the future of our maritime sector—of shipping goods by sea. Indeed, I recently had the pleasure of visiting Montrose port to see the important work that it does for the east of Scotland. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that the maritime sector, while often not the highest-profile sector in these questions, is enormously important to this country.

Transport in the North

Ronnie Cowan Excerpts

Monday 6th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Ronnie Cowan (Inverclyde) (SNP)]

I thank the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Diana Johnson) for bringing forward this debate.

When I was told that I was scheduled to wind up in this debate, entitled “Transport in the North”, for the Scottish National party, I immediately started researching the train timetables to Aberdeen, Wick, Thurso and beyond, and I leapt for my ferry timetable to Orkney and Shetland—not because I suddenly felt the need to run away, but because my understanding of the “north” differs from that of most of tonight’s speakers. That said, Scotland experiences many of the same issues as the north of England, and I can empathise with most who have spoken tonight.

I worked in Darlington for seven years, and my friends and colleagues often complained that investment was far greater down south. I heard the same complaints when I worked in Leeds and Birmingham. When I worked in Shoreham-by-Sea and stayed in Hove, the complaints there were that London pulled in all the money. There is a disproportionate amount of investment in infrastructure in general and transport in particular in the south, and specifically London.

Given that Brexit is to hit parts of Scotland worst, we must diminish the harm that southern infrastructure does to Scottish economies. Aberdeen could be the city worst hit by falling economic output due to a hard Brexit. A report last week from the centre for cities and the centre for economic performance at the London School of Economics said that all cities would see a fall in output owing to increasing trade costs, and Aberdeen and Edinburgh were ranked among the 10 most affected cities.

Connecting HS2 to Scotland must be a priority. Extending high-speed rail to include Scotland would provide an opportunity to create a more successful country through increasing sustainable economic growth, make Scotland an even more attractive place to do business and provide more and better employment opportunities for people. If HS2 stops at Leeds and Manchester, Scotland will lose out, as it will be relatively further away from London and the other great English cities. The SNP manifesto of 2017 stated:

“Connecting Scotland to HS2 must be a priority, with construction beginning in Scotland as well as England, and a high speed connection between Glasgow, Edinburgh and the north of England as part of any high-speed rail network.”

However, HS2 is not just about physical build; it can and should build skills and capability, and provide jobs for a generation. There is no reason why those jobs cannot be provided throughout the United Kingdom. Scotland is already positioning itself as a hub for high-speed rail expertise, and Heriot-Watt University’s high-speed rail centre of excellence puts Scotland on the map as a place for specialist high-speed rail knowledge. The shadow Chancellor has expressed Labour’s support for the extension of HS2 to Scotland. If the Scottish Tory MPs are, as they say, a voice for Scotland and therefore support that extension, a majority in the House is favour of it. The question for Scotland’s Tories now is whether they will back growing cross-party calls, or stay silent and sell Scotland out once again.

Of course, moving people from north to south and from south to north is not enough. We must also move from east to west and from west and east, and enable our large cities to be fed by their suburbs. HS2 is not the be-all and end-all. Scotland has the option to look towards our Nordic neighbours and build better links to northern Europe, but we value our relationship with the rest of the United Kingdom—when it is on an even footing. Today the First Minister of Scotland, addressing the North East England Chamber of Commerce, said:

“I am determined for us to take the necessary steps to secure Scotland’s future and improve our connectivity with England…This…could have significant benefits for people and businesses on both sides of the border.”

As we in Scotland try to improve our rail links to England, the UK Government are not helping. I am deeply disappointed by their decision to cut Scotland’s share of Network Rail funding. The most recent offer of grant funding from the Treasury for Network Rail is not consistent with the funding arrangements introduced at the point of devolution, offering a 10.43% rather than an 11.17% share. That is about £600 million short of the early estimates from the rail industry of what would be required to renew the network and meet projected demands for rail use.

In 2016, the UK and Scottish Governments jointly commissioned work to identify options for improvement on the east and west coast rail corridors, with a focus on delivering three-hour journeys between Scotland and London. According to the First Minister,

“these studies will confirm we will be able to reduce the journey time between Edinburgh and Newcastle by a third, down to only one hour, and also reduce journey times between Glasgow and Edinburgh and Carlisle.”

The Scottish Government built the Borders Railway, which is the longest new line built in the UK for over a century, and they would welcome a discussion about extending it to Carlisle.

If the Government continue to fund transport disproportionately, they will continue to feed the beast that has created the disparity that we all seek to end. As Scotland builds to the south the UK Government must build in the north, so that we can have the true connectivity that will bring benefit to all of us.

Cabin Air Safety/Aerotoxic Syndrome

Ronnie Cowan Excerpts

Thursday 17th March 2016 Westminster Hall

[Ronnie Cowan (Inverclyde) (SNP)]

The issue was brought to my attention by two of my constituents, Jakki Purdon and Lynn Perkins, who are both cabin crew on long-haul flights. To the best of my knowledge, “aerotoxic syndrome” was first suggested as a medical term in 1999. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that given the passage of time, it would be a travesty if an investigation were not convened at the earliest possible opportunity?

[Henry Smith]

Yes. The evidence that I have found is that the issue started to be spoken about slightly before 1999, in the mid-1990s. It is now about 20 years since the issue first started to be identified, which means that we should not lose any more time in having a proper investigation into the issue.

As the hon. Member for Stalybridge and Hyde said earlier, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is the latest type of aircraft not to take in cabin air through the engines, which is welcome. I am pleased that airlines operating from Gatwick airport, such as Thomson and Virgin Atlantic, have ordered 21 Boeing 787 Dreamliners. That is positive for the working environment of cabin crew and pilots on the flight deck, not to mention passengers. However, of course, the vast majority of aircraft on long-haul or short-haul flights still take in air through the engine, so the issue, as well as having grown more current over the last two decades, will be around for a long time unless it is addressed properly.

As I said earlier, I am very grateful to the aviation Minister for the responses I have received from him, and I am encouraged that both the European Aviation Safety Agency and the Civil Aviation Authority are looking into this issue. I understand that they have said that they aim to report on their findings later this year. I encourage the Department for Transport to ensure that both EASA and the CAA follow through on their research into this issue, so that we maintain the pressure on the industry to take it very seriously.