Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Stephen Hammond and Justine Greening

Monday 11th September 2017 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Hammond (Wimbledon) (Con)]

T3. I recently visited two excellent primary schools in my constituency, West Wimbledon and Joseph Hood, both of which want to know when the Secretary of State will publish the full details of the national funding formula and whether she will confirm that no school will see a reduction in its funding as a result.

[Justine Greening]

We will be publishing it very shortly. As I have said to other hon. Friends and colleagues, we will ensure that no school loses as a result of the national funding formula. In fact, schools will gain, unlike what would have happened had Labour won the election.

Rail Investment

Debate between Stephen Hammond and Justine Greening

Monday 16th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

I have to say that I did not know that snails were that fast, but I believe we need to try to get off this hook of above-inflation rail fare rises every year, which is one reason why we are looking at the efficiency savings programme that Roy McNulty first outlined. Today’s investment in electrification will be a key part of that as well.

[Stephen Hammond (Wimbledon) (Con)]

In my right hon. Friend’s time as Secretary of State, a new Victorian era of rail investment is not only being promised but delivered. Does she agree that removing some of the bottlenecks is key to capacity? Will she use some of the £700 million that is available so that users of the Wimbledon loop will gain the full benefits of Thameslink?

[Justine Greening]

I am sure that we will look closely at the case my hon. Friend has made. I know he has worked very hard, alongside other local MPs, to see local railway services improved. Wimbledon itself is a key railway hub for his local area. It plays a really important role, and I am keen to see what we can do to improve it.

Rail Fares

Debate between Stephen Hammond and Justine Greening

Wednesday 11th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

That is an over-simplification. However, the hon. Gentleman is right to point out that Sir Roy McNulty identified in his report a need for the different parts of the rail industry to work together much better. Network Rail is already doing that with many of the train operating companies. That was to be a key way of driving costs down—not through worsening services but by running the system better in the first place.

[Stephen Hammond]

If we are comparing privatised or denationalised and nationalised railways, perhaps the Secretary of State would like to reflect on the point of history that, in the last 15 years of British Rail, fares rose faster than in 15 years of denationalised railways.

[Justine Greening]

As ever, my hon. Friend, for whom I have huge respect and who is obviously an expert in the House on the subject, makes an incredibly powerful point. It is worth complementing that with the point that we also experienced unprecedented increases in passenger demand since privatisation.

High-speed Rail

Debate between Stephen Hammond and Justine Greening

Tuesday 10th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

One of the things that we have always tried to balance is getting assurance about what our lead proposals are so as not to cause unnecessary blight and trying to share information with residents as soon as possible. I believe that we will be able to start informally consulting local groups later this year and in 2013. We will do the formal consultation—the sort that the hon. Gentleman has seen on the first phase of this route—in 2014.

[Stephen Hammond (Wimbledon) (Con)]

I commend my right hon. Friend on her statement. Will she assure me that she was aware that the chief executive of Manchester city council said last week that this was a most significant decision for the north of England’s economy? Will she confirm that she still expects the monetised value of the scheme overall to be in the order of £50 billion?

[Justine Greening]

I can confirm that when we look at the key people pushing for this scheme, we notice that the key economies and great cities in the north will see the benefits. The monetised total value is upwards of £40 billion, even £50 billion. Ultimately, however, we must recognise that that calculation takes place over a 60-year time frame. Anybody building the railways back in Victorian times would never have counted the benefit we get from them today, which is very real, and the potential benefit of HS2 is significant.

M5 Motorway Accident

Debate between Stephen Hammond and Justine Greening

Monday 7th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

My hon. Friend is right to raise the subject of information. It is not just when there are accidents that it is good to give motorists additional information so that they can make their own decisions about how to avoid a congested area. I would also like to look into how we can get better information to motorists on a daily basis, because it can help whatever the driving circumstances.

[Stephen Hammond (Wimbledon) (Con)]

I welcome my right hon. Friend to her place, endorse her remarks, echo her condolences to the families, and commend her statement. It is absolutely right to take a calm and measured approach towards making road safety the key priority. Given some of the increases in braking technology, for instance, I am sure that she will have the support of the whole House if she does not rush to early conclusions on the remarks about speed at this stage.

[Justine Greening]

We have always said that any decision we took would follow a consultation, and that is right. These are important areas to get right, and they require a balanced approach. That means understanding all the downsides and upsides before any final decision is taken. I can therefore assure my hon. Friend that we will go through the right process before we take any decisions.