Train Operating Company Contracts

Debate between Lord Davies of Gower and Lord Birt

Monday 25th March 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Davies of Gower (Con)]

I have to declare that I am a regular traveller on Great Western Railway services and appreciate much of what the noble Baroness says. Cancellations, especially those made close to the time of travel, can be very inconvenient, preventing passengers travelling with confidence. When trains are regularly cancelled, this can disrupt people’s lives. That is why the department holds operators to account for cancellations. The scrutiny and penalties depend on the reasons for these cancellations, as well as on how close they are to the planned time of travel and therefore how much they inconvenience passengers. However, I am not aware of any arrangement that the department has with GWR in relation to cancellations.

[Lord Birt (CB)]

My Lords, last year, my wife and I spent a delightful three weeks in Japan visiting the ancient cities and gardens, travelling extensively by bullet, regional and local trains. We laughed increasingly loudly as every train, without exception, arrived on time, exactly to the minute. By contrast, almost every wait at a UK train station—including my journey here today—is punctuated by computer-generated announcements of delay and cancellation. In the last 12 months, 33% of UK trains have failed to arrive on time. One in 30 trains has been cancelled. Why can we not run a railway as well as the Japanese?

[Lord Davies of Gower (Con)]

I take the noble Lord’s point. The Secretary of State visited Japan recently and looked closely at its operating systems. Let us hope that we see an improvement to the extent that we can operate our service equally well.

Rural Crime

Debate between Lord Davies of Gower and Lord Birt

Tuesday 11th July 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Davies of Gower (Con)]

I thank my noble friend for his question and congratulate him on taking his Private Member’s Bill through the House. The Government welcome the support the Bill has received in this House and the other place. We expect to see a real decrease in the theft of all-terrain vehicles as a result of the measures in it. The introduction of immobilisers and forensic marking as standard will help prevent them being stolen. Importantly, it will be harder for criminals to sell on stolen machinery, which will have a deterrent effect.

[Lord Birt (CB)]

Metal theft in country areas is rife. Catalytic converter theft is on the rise. Lead stolen from church roofs has a devastating impact on local communities. Stealing miles of copper cable from our telecom and rail infrastructure is highly and increasingly disruptive. All these crimes are the work of sophisticated, skilled criminal gangs, operating not locally but regionally and sometimes nationally and even internationally. Will the Minister encourage a concerted, intelligence-led police focus on a category of crime increasingly committed in country areas with impunity?

[Lord Davies of Gower (Con)]

Again, I thank the noble Lord for that question. I respond with two aspects. First, we have the safer streets fund, which includes funding with a focus on crime prevention in rural areas. We also have the National Wildlife Crime Unit and the National Rural Crime Unit. The Home Office is providing £200,000 in funding for the new National Rural Crime Unit this year. The funding will help to cut crime and keep communities safe by tackling anti-social behaviour and in particular, equipment theft.