Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Stephen Hepburn and Lord Grayling

Thursday 18th July 2019 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

I understand the sensitivity, particularly for local Members of Parliament and local communities who see that joint role. I reassure my hon. Friend that there are very clear statutory rules on how a local authority can and cannot act when it owns a piece of land that is subject to a planning application. I give him that reassurance that clear rules are in place.

[Mr Stephen Hepburn (Jarrow) (Lab)]

T8. The Government are investing £56 billion in HS2, £18 billion in Crossrail and £9 billion on the west coast. When will the Minister have some consideration for the people of the north-east, who do not get anything?

[Chris Grayling]

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the current £700 million upgrade to the east coast main line, the brand new trains arriving on the east coast main line, the new trains the Government are providing for the Newcastle-upon-Tyne metro, our plans to reopen the Blythe to Ashington rail line with financial support from Nexus, the opening of the last leg of motorway-grade road between Newcastle and London, and of course the mayor of Teesside’s exciting plans for his airport. One of the most extraordinary things I have come across recently is that the shadow Secretary of State proposes nationalisation in every field of transport except for his local airport, on which he is opposed to nationalisation. [Interruption.]

Transport Secretary: East Coast Franchise

Debate between Stephen Hepburn and Lord Grayling

Wednesday 23rd May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

I will give way in a moment; let me make a bit of progress first.

I am not going to go through, line by line, the process that I have been undertaking in the past few months to reach what I believe is the right position for taxpayers, passengers and employees, but I have been struck by how little Labour Members understand about the way in which such a process must be managed, and how little they appear to understand the financial structure of franchising, rail laws, or the fact that the Government have to operate within the legalities of contracts and other laws.

I believe that, when confronting a failing franchise, the Government have three duties. The first is to ensure that any transition to a new arrangement is smooth and trouble-free for passengers. That was why we engaged an operator of last resort team in the autumn, meaning that, if necessary, they would have plenty of time to plan a smooth takeover. The team registered the name and prepared the website so that they would be ready if this situation arose. That is good practice.

The second of the duties is to ensure that the failing company fulfils its contract with the Government. If I had moved to make this decision months ago, the operator of last resort would not have not been ready and, moreover, I would have left taxpayers short-changed—they would have been given back less money than they should have been. When this contract ends, the taxpayer will have recovered all the money that it is possible to recover under the terms of the contract. That is a key duty of the Government in such a situation.

The Government’s third duty is to act according to due process, to be seen to assess all options properly, and to ensure that they have proper legal protection against any challenge to the decisions that I make. In the last few months, the Department has ensured that all those duties have been fulfilled, and I am grateful to all the members of the team who helped me to make that happen.

[Mr Stephen Hepburn (Jarrow) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State mentioned the Welsh railways, but the motion is not about the Welsh railways; it is about the east coast main line, which has gone bust three times in less than 10 years. The Government are still obsessed with financing the private sector through taxpayers and railway users, whose fares have gone up by more than 32%.

[Chris Grayling]

I will tell the hon. Gentleman what the motion is about: Labour Members saying one thing in one place and doing something else in another. Why should we take them seriously when they do that?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Stephen Hepburn and Lord Grayling

Thursday 15th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

I have recently been made aware of this situation. I do not want to see the timetable held back, and I will be engaging with all those involved to see how we address the issue.

[Mr Stephen Hepburn (Jarrow) (Lab)]

T7. A constituent has complained to me that his Virgin Trains East Coast commuter rail fare back and forward to work has been increased from last week by 35%. Does the Minister agree that that should not be done without consultation and, furthermore, that it should be against the law?

Business of the House

Debate between Stephen Hepburn and Lord Grayling

Thursday 4th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

That is a clear manifesto commitment and we will deliver it at an early date. I cannot give my hon. Friend an exact timetable, but I can assure him that it is in our plans and it will happen sooner rather than later.

[Mr Stephen Hepburn (Jarrow) (Lab)]

Will the Leader of the House secure an urgent, early debate on the future of NHS walk-in centres, which were opened by a Labour Government and a quarter of which have been closed by this Government? The one in Jarrow is due to close, because of unaccountable management, and 27,000 people are going to be dumped on local GP surgeries that are already overburdened.

[Chris Grayling]

The hon. Gentleman has already had the opportunity this week to raise this matter, in Tuesday’s health debate. This Government have already increased spending on the health service and we are committed to spending a further £8 billion extra on it. We are, as yet, uncertain what his party’s policy is.

Jarrow Crusade (75th Anniversary)

Debate between Stephen Hepburn and Lord Grayling

Monday 31st October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

Let me finish. If we were not doing those things, we would be facing the economic uncertainties that we see right now in other European countries. Does anybody seriously believe that if we were in that economic position, we would be seeing private sector organisations willing to invest and create jobs? Private sector jobs have been created in this country over the past 12 months. Had we not set about dealing with the deficit, unemployment today would be higher, not lower.

[Mr Hepburn]

It is fascinating that when the Prime Minister is in the Chamber and has the Tories sitting behind him, all he has to do is talk about how Labour left them the debt and they all howl, but when he goes away and talks to audiences who are more distinguished or more educated in finance, such as the IMF and Europe, he starts talking about the world crisis. The fact is that after the second world war, we had a bigger proportion of debt than we have now, yet we built the welfare state and a full employment economy. We did not have the whinges from the Tories that we have now, which are merely excuses for their policies.

[Chris Grayling]

Obviously, the hon. Gentleman and I are not going to agree on that point, but he simply has to look around at the rest of Europe to see the consequences of over-borrowing, unsustainable debt and large budget deficits. This Government have set about the task of dealing with that problem, which is the path to economic stability.

Alongside that, we of course need measures that are designed to support the growth of business. That is why we have cut corporation tax and why we are providing additional incentives through corporation tax for investment in intellectual property. It is also why we have modernised and reintroduced the enterprise zone model in a number of places in the north-east, which is a further positive step for the area. We are seeking to deregulate in areas such as health and safety and employment law not because we want the wrong thing for employees in this country, but because the evidence is that a more flexible labour market is a better way of creating an environment in which jobs are created.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Stephen Hepburn and Lord Grayling

Monday 24th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Stephen Hepburn (Jarrow) (Lab)]

If Harrington does bring forward improvements to the work capability test, will the Minister give a commitment to review all those past cases seen and commissioned under Atos, where bad mistakes may have been made?

[Chris Grayling]

Of course, every claimant who goes through the work capability assessment has the right of appeal. I simply say to the hon. Gentleman that when Professor Harrington carried out his first assessment last year he said to me clearly that although he had recommended improvements, we could and should go ahead with the national incapacity benefit migration. I have accepted his recommendations.