Rail Performance

Scott Arthur Excerpts

Monday 11th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

I call Select Committee member Dr Scott Arthur.

[Dr Scott Arthur (Edinburgh South West) (Lab)]

I thank the Secretary of State for her statement, and for the leadership that she is showing to get our railways back on track—sorry for the pun. I am pleased that she mentioned LNER and Lumo, which do a fantastic job of connecting Edinburgh and London, and of providing a stress-free alternative to flying. When she first took up her post, she was clear that she wanted HS2 to get a grip of costs. Does she feel vindicated, given the reports over the weekend of more than £100 million being spent on a single structure, despite some of those involved saying that they were not aware of the need for it?

[Louise Haigh]

It was extraordinarily frustrating to see the news of the obscene amounts of money spent on that structure to do with HS2. That happened under HS2’s previous leadership. We are resolving this by bringing in Mark Wild imminently to lead the organisation, and we are also resolving issues around cost control and governance through James Stewart’s governance review of HS2. These things happened under the previous Government, and fortunately the electorate resolved that issue for us on 4 July.

Flight Cancellations

Scott Arthur Excerpts

Tuesday 5th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mike Kane]

Officials engage regularly with their counterparts across Europe and the European Union. The Government have committed to airspace modernisation, which will improve resilience. I look forward to support from Liberal Democrat Members in the near future as we progress towards modernising airspace right across our great nation and nations.

[Dr Scott Arthur (Edinburgh South West) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for his response and for reiterating the importance of getting regional air connections right, as that can help to underpin economic growth. I hope he agrees that we should not allow ourselves to be distracted. Does he agree that large parts of our country could be better served by better regional rail connections, which would hopefully reduce some of the congestion at our airports?

[Mike Kane]

Public transport penetration within an hour of an airport is vital and is a key performance indicator for how airports can grow and serve people better. Better rail, better bus, better road links and better active travel to our airports are critical for this industry.

Bus Franchising

Scott Arthur Excerpts

Monday 9th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Simon Lightwood]

Absolutely. We want to give local transport authorities and leaders the power to take back control of bus services, to shape the future of those services to accurately reflect the needs of individual communities.

[Dr Scott Arthur (Edinburgh South West) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for his statement—we should speak about buses much more often in this place. Edinburgh has an award-winning bus service, which carries 2 million passengers per week. Its highly unionised workforce—I think over 90%—works in collaboration with the directors of the company. We already get around for £2 inside Edinburgh because that is the price people pay no matter how far they travel inside Edinburgh. That is a fantastic example of what public ownership in public transport can do. Does the Minister agree that more ownership and control of bus services are key to driving down costs for passengers, increasing patronage and hitting our net zero goals?

[Simon Lightwood]

I agree with my hon. Friend. I was pleased to visit a municipal bus company in Nottingham; the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham South (Lilian Greenwood), represents that area. I was blown away by the company’s knowledge of and commitment to the local area, and its having received numerous awards, with a satisfaction rating of something like 89%. Municipal bus companies are also a fantastic option for local authorities to consider.