Rail Franchising

Tom Blenkinsop Excerpts

Tuesday 26th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who, along with colleagues from the Greater Anglia area, have given me a pamphlet setting out the changes being made. The Minister of State, Department for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chelmsford (Mr Burns), does not lose an opportunity to tell us how we must improve the services used by not only my hon. Friend’s constituents, but his.

[Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State’s response to my hon. Friend the Member for York Central (Hugh Bayley) was disturbing. He said that he was not bothered who would run the franchise or where they came from, and could not confirm where such a company would be headquartered. Can he not use the tendering process to ensure that these details are nailed down and that the headquarters are in the United Kingdom?

[Mr McLoughlin]

I fear that the hon. Gentleman is taking me out of context. What I said was that my main concern is the service to the passenger, which I care very much about and want to see improve. The location of the headquarters will be up to the individual franchisees when they put their case forward, and they may make strong representations.

High Speed Rail

Tom Blenkinsop Excerpts

Monday 28th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

I think the hon. Gentleman is referring to the great western spur, which is in the outline of the plans we have talked about for 2014 to 2019. As somebody who had a daughter who went to Aberystwyth university, I think that what he refers to would create some challenges for us.

[Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

Given the dire economic statistics that we saw on Friday, what will the Secretary of State be doing to ensure that those in the UK steel industry are given priority in procurement contracts for long steel products—I am thinking of sites such as Scunthorpe and Teesside beam mill—so that regions such as the north-east can benefit from this project?

[Mr McLoughlin]

The hon. Gentleman makes a perfectly reasonable point. I want to see British industry able to benefit from this. There will need to be competition, but I am pretty sure that British industry will be able to compete and provide the services we want and require. We will also be looking for engineers who can work on this scheme. Indeed, the construction phase will create many thousands of jobs, with, I think, the scheme creating many thousands of jobs for the longer-term future of the country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tom Blenkinsop Excerpts

Thursday 17th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Hammond]

I disagree with that suggestion. The hon. Gentleman will remember that although subsidy was slightly lower when we had nationalised railways, underinvestment was a major feature of that era. Fares continued to rise and passenger satisfaction declined.

[Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

12. What assessment he has made of bus fare rises in non-metropolitan areas; and if he will make a statement.

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

The Government recognises that the price of public transport is an issue for many people, including those in non-metropolitan areas, and we are putting measures in place to keep down the cost of using the bus, including retaining the bus service operators grant and the concessionary travel entitlement, and encouraging more reasonably priced multi-operator tickets.

[Tom Blenkinsop]

Following cuts imposed by this Government, Mayor Mallon in Middlesbrough is proposing to axe the teen mover scheme that helps young people afford public transport, and Redcar and Cleveland borough council has already had to scale back its similar scheme. As a result, coupled with bus fare increases, young people risk being plunged into transport poverty. Will the Minister hold discussions with his colleagues at the Departments for Education and for Communities and Local Government to ensure that young people in Middlesbrough and east Cleveland can afford to travel by public transport?

[Norman Baker]

The hon. Gentleman rightly draws attention to the issue of young people and buses, and I have given considerable attention to it. I have had discussions with the industry, and there is a new website giving young people more information about bus fares and the best offers in their area. We are discussing what further steps we might take to help young people, and, indeed, I have met colleagues at the Department for Education to discuss this very issue.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tom Blenkinsop Excerpts

Thursday 19th April 2012 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

1. What assessment she has made of recent trends in the level of bus fares in England; and if she will make a statement.

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

As I set out in the recent paper “Green Light for Better Buses”, bus fares outside London fell by 4% in real terms between March 2009 and March 2011—the most recent figures available. Bus fares are set by local bus companies or in some cases by local councils, so they vary across the country.

[Tom Blenkinsop]

In my constituency, bus fares have jumped by a minimum of 10p since the Government subsidy cut. A basic return journey from Saltburn to Guisborough is now £5.10 for an 8-mile journey. Will the Minister explain why on ConservativeHome this week, a Lib Dem special adviser argued for means-testing free bus passes, as well increasing the age at which a pensioner would receive that bus pass? Are we to take it that that is now Government policy?

[Norman Baker]

I have no idea what the hon. Gentleman is referring to. That is not Government policy and it is not Lib Dem policy either. I am sorry that he seeks to make a political point about something as serious as bus fares. I hope he will take some comfort from the answer I gave, which was that bus fares have fallen in real terms by 4%—unlike under the previous Government, when between 1997 and 2009, bus fares increased by 24%.

Amendment of the Law

Tom Blenkinsop Excerpts

Friday 23rd March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

I find the Secretary of State’s emphasis on infrastructure appealing, because infrastructure is needed. Unfortunately, the Office for Budget Responsibility has put the majority of growth for the foreseeable future down to personal consumption. Last Budget, it said that 12.5% of growth would come from private consumption. It now says that the figure is 37.5%. That is the very growth that the Government have now condemned.

[Justine Greening]

I am not sure that the hon. Gentleman’s intervention made much sense. I agree that infrastructure is critical. The key part of the OBR report, which he ought to focus on, states that we are on course to meet our fiscal mandate and to get our public finances back in order. I am sure that he welcomes the OBR’s assessment that we will see the net creation of 1 million jobs in this country over the coming year.

--- Later in debate ---

[Helen Goodman]

The fact of the matter is that Ministers have overshot on their borrowing. Their borrowing is £147 billion higher than they were planning a year ago, and the credit rating agencies have put a watch on our creditworthiness. Government Members should not be quite so confident about where their Ministers are taking the British economy.

Turning to growth in the enterprise sector, there is to be a measly £25 million for aerodynamics and another measly £25 million for science, which is crucial to modernising our manufacturing. Under the last Labour Government, science spending rose by £1 billion; a £25-million investment will not get us anywhere.

Let us discuss what the Government are doing on corporation tax. They have trumpeted a cut in the main rate, but the reductions in the allowances mean that the net support to industry overall is £200 million. No wonder investment at home is so flat. Government Members claim that GlaxoSmithKline took its investment decisions in response to the Budget, but that is patently ridiculous. GSK has been planning its investments for the past two years, in response to the patent box changes announced by the previous Government before the general election. Everything this Government have done this time has been swamped by the cuts to capital allowances that they made in their first Budget, which took £1.5 billion from the private sector.

[Tom Blenkinsop]

Government Members are keen to take the credit on GSK, but they do not want to take the credit for what has happened at Rio Tinto Alcan or the 3,000 job losses at BAE Systems. Does my hon. Friend find the juxtaposition interesting?

[Helen Goodman]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Government Members are completely unrealistic about what business needs and simply do not understand that what is needed is a co-operative approach between the public and the private sectors, and long-term investment. The North East Chamber of Commerce told us that its checklist for the Budget was an increase in capital allowances and the industrial buildings allowance; a reduction in employer national insurance contributions for young people; and more support for apprenticeships. None of that appeared in the Budget this week. The Government simply have no strategy for jobs or growth.

We have heard a lot from Government Members about the benefits of cutting the 50p rate, but even the Chancellor of the Exchequer does not have the gall to put cutting the top rate of tax into the “enterprise and growth” section of his Budget. The distribution effects of this Budget are shocking. It is grotesque to give a millionaire an extra £40,000 while cutting the tax credits of those on the minimum wage who work 16 hours a week by £4,000. That is a complete disgrace. As the Leader of the Opposition pointed out on Wednesday afternoon, 300,000 people will benefit from the cut in the 50p rate, by an average of £10,000, whereas only 4,000 people will pay the higher stamp duty on properties worth more than £25 million. The Chancellor’s estimate that the loss in revenue from cutting the 50p rate is £100 million is risible. It is absurd to suggest that £2.9 billion more tax will be collected because of behavioural changes—that would be an unprecedented impact on people’s behaviour.

Before I leave the issue of tax avoidance, I wish to discuss the great contribution to the Budget made by the Liberal Democrats. They seem pleased with securing a crackdown on tax avoidance in return for succumbing to the Tory desire for a cut in the 50p rate. In fact, the Institute for Fiscal Studies says this morning that there is less action on tackling tax avoidance in this Budget than there has been in previous years.

Rail Fares

Tom Blenkinsop Excerpts

Wednesday 11th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

I want first to talk about how the Government have increased fares with no added visible benefit to Teesside and the rail users of the north-east. The Secretary of State has mentioned unprecedented funds being put into rail lines, but sadly, that has not happened on Teesside. As the hon. Member for Fylde (Mark Menzies) said, the announcement in the Chancellor’s autumn statement that the trans-Pennine route from Manchester to Leeds and York would be electrified has been greeted with enthusiasm in the north. However, that enthusiasm has been tempered with concern that the move could risk fragmenting the highly successful trans-Pennine network. The plans for partial electrification have opened a can of worms, as they could leave many major towns and cities of the north worse off than they were before.

The TransPennine Express franchise covers a network of routes across the north and into Scotland, and currently uses an all-diesel fleet. With Manchester as its hub, the TPE network serves Manchester airport, Liverpool, Blackpool, Barrow, Windermere, Glasgow and Edinburgh on the west side. Liverpool and Blackpool are to be electrified under previously announced plans, leaving Carnforth, Barrow, Oxenholme and Windermere unwired. To the east from Manchester, the TPE operates to Leeds, Hull, York, Scarborough, Middlesbrough and Newcastle. The core route between Manchester and Leeds is used by all the TPE’s eastbound services, with a pattern of four trains an hour. The Hull route diverges east of Leeds, while the Scarborough line branches off at York, and the Middlesbrough trains leave the electrified east coast main line at Northallerton. The busy section between Manchester and Leeds is ideal for electrification with lots of trains operating over a steeply graded route. The northern hub strategy would see the core route’s frequency increased from four to six trains an hour, with many services running west from Stalybridge into Manchester Victoria.

The new Ordsall curve will, when completed, allow trains to continue to Piccadilly and the airport, while Liverpool services would head west over Chat Moss, but what happens to the routes such as those to Hull, Scarborough and Middlesbrough to the east and Barrow and Windermere to the west, which are not currently down to be electrified? I have already asked parliamentary questions about the future prospects of the service to Manchester airport, expressing the concern that Teesside could be left to languish on a “non-electrified branch line”. Rail campaigners I know in Cumbria have expressed worries about Barrow trains terminating at Lancaster and about Windermere becoming a self-contained branch.

The route in my area has massively increased in popularity, largely due to the huge benefits brought by the previous Cleveland Labour authority, which invested heavily in the local rail line in 1993 and formed new train stations such as Yarm.

It is ironic, given the recent Government announcement after fantastic campaigning by my hon. Friend the Member for Sedgefield (Phil Wilson) for the delivery of the Hitachi plant at Sedgefied, that dual-use—both diesel and electrified—trains made by Hitachi will be built in an area that would not benefit from those self-same carriages. Network Rail has been asked by the Department for Transport to look at the business case for electrifying the line to Middlesbrough, Scarborough and Hull, and I believe an announcement is expected in July.

All this comes down to basic economic arguments when we have a Government who are evacuating the public sector and public sector spending and trying to implement regionalised pay and to change local business rates supposedly to attract private investment. Industry, however, particularly that using freight in my area, has no market certainty about how this Government are developing their transport plans. What makes me and people in my area angry is that at a time when manufacturing is in the doldrums, with statistics showing a potential recession, and despite the fact that the north-east is bucking the trend through its chemical industry, local steel industry and the agricultural industries in the region, we are nevertheless not getting any of the infrastructure benefits of the positive measures coming from industry and local workers in my region.

The Secretary of State said that the previous Government had left a terrible legacy and that this Government’s fiscal measures were amending that position. I beg to differ. The reason why we are able to lend at better rates at the moment has absolutely nothing to do with the fiscal measures of this Chancellor—the Secretary of State knows this—as it is really due to quantitative easing and Bank of England policy since 2008. That can be measured by the fact that foreign market purchasing of our bond yields has not increased since 2008. The Secretary of State can talk as she wishes about the economic changes being made by this Government’s policies, but the truth is that this Government have no plan for growth. As I have said, manufacturing is delivering for this nation in my region, yet the Government are providing no infrastructure support. That has been backed up by the civil engineering association in my region, which recently met me and reiterated that argument.

[Several hon. Members]

rose—

Oral Answers to Questions

Tom Blenkinsop Excerpts

Thursday 15th September 2011 Commons Chamber

[Steve Rotheram (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)]

1. What assessment his Department has made of the ability of British-based train manufacturers to win contracts for rolling stock.

[Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

2. What assessment his Department has made of the ability of British-based train manufacturers to win contracts for rolling stock.

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Philip Hammond)]

Since privatisation, Bombardier, as the only current UK-based train manufacturer, has supplied the majority of new trains across the UK main line rail and London underground networks, with a combined total of over 4,500 new carriages ordered since 1996. Going forward, there are a number of contracts that the Department would expect Bombardier to bid for, including the Crossrail project for the supply of around 600 carriages, and it is already a pre-qualified bidder. The tender for this contract is due to be issued in 2012. There are also potential future orders for the London Underground deep tube lines.

Winter Weather

Tom Blenkinsop Excerpts

Thursday 2nd December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

How much of the Highways Agency budget has been, and will be, spent on procuring salt, grit and potash from British suppliers such as Boulby potash mine in my constituency, as opposed to overseas suppliers which the Secretary of State mentioned earlier?

[Mr Hammond]

The point I think the hon. Gentleman is trying to make is simply not valid. The problem last year was that domestic suppliers could not keep up with demand. Local authorities ran down their stocks, in some cases to nil, and during the summer they needed to rebuild those stocks. To have had the Highways Agency trying to build a strategic stockpile in competition with them would have been deeply unhelpful. We took the decision to import the large part of the strategic stockpile, even though that means paying very considerably higher prices, so that local authorities could restock and the strategic stockpile could be built in parallel.