Oral Answers to Questions

John Bercow Excerpts

Thursday 10th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Norman Baker]

It is unfortunate that the hon. Lady asks her supplementary question without listening to my answer to her first. Indeed, she seems to be reinventing her party’s railways policies. The chief executive of the Association of Train Operating Companies accused the hon. Lady’s leader of suffering from “amnesia” and of displaying—these are his words—“rank hypocrisy” when it came to Labour’s railways policy, so she ought to examine her own policy and her own history before she starts attacking the Government.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. A word cannot be made orderly simply by putting it into someone else’s mouth, and I hope that the hon. Gentleman will withdraw it—straight away.

[Norman Baker]

I am happy to do so, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Speaker]

We are most obliged to the Minister.

[Ian Mearns (Gateshead) (Lab)]

3. What assessment she has made of the safety implications of changing the frequency of MOT tests for road vehicles.

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Justine Greening)]

With permission, Mr Speaker, I will answer this question together with number 7.

In April 2011 the Department published the results of independent research commissioned to examine how vehicle defects affect accident rates, and to consider the potential road safety impact of changing the frequency of the MOT. Copies of the publication have been placed in the Library.

[Mr Speaker]

May I just very gently say to the Secretary of State that I think the grouping is between 3 and 8, rather than 7? But I think we know what we are talking about.

[Ian Mearns]

May I welcome the Secretary of State to her new role? It is a fantastic opportunity for her to think again about this proposal. The MOT Trade Forum estimates that 2,200 vehicles a day fail their MOT with defects that are regarded as dangerous and would make vehicles unroadworthy—half a million vehicles a year that would be unroadworthy and dangerous to the public. Will she think again about this very strange set of proposals?

--- Later in debate ---

[Mike Penning]

My door is always open to the hon. Gentleman, as he knows. The biggest issue with rail freight is capacity. The west coast main line in particular, which runs through his part of the world and my part of the world, is at capacity levels. That is why High Speed 2 is so important.

[Mr Speaker]

Perhaps the hon. Gentleman feels an Adjournment debate coming on. We shall no doubt discover whether that is the case.

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

11. What steps her Department is taking to improve the punctuality of trains.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Norman Baker)]

We believe that there is a good future for trams and light rail in this country, and I hope that my hon. Friend has seen the recent publication “Green Light for Light Rail”. We are happy to work with the Mayor and elected bodies up and down the country to try to progress light rail, because it has a good future and is very useful for passengers.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Michael Connarty. He is not here. Margaret Beckett.

[Margaret Beckett (Derby South) (Lab)]

May I welcome the Secretary of State to her new responsibilities and assure her that her welcome will be much warmer, particularly across Derbyshire, if she makes an early decision on the eVoyager project—converting 57 vehicles from the CrossCountry fleet to dual power—and awards the contract to Bombardier?