Executive Agencies

Stephen Hammond Excerpts

Thursday 27th March 2014 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Stephen Hammond)]

I am pleased to announce the publication of the 2014-15 business plans for all of the Department for Transport’s Executive agencies—the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), the Vehicle Certification Agency (VGA), the Highways Agency (HA) and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).

The business plans set out:

the services each agency will deliver and any significant changes they plan to make;

the resources they require; and,

the key performance indicators (KPIs) by which their performance will be assessed.

These plans allow service users and members of the public to assess how the agencies are performing in operating their key services, managing reforms and the agency finances.

The business plans will be available electronically on gov.uk and copies will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses in due course.

Extension of Crossrail

Stephen Hammond Excerpts

Thursday 27th March 2014 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Stephen Hammond)]

I am pleased to inform the House that following agreement with the Mayor of London, my co-sponsor on the Crossrail project, it is now intended that Crossrail services will be extended to serve Reading from 2019. This marks a change in Crossrail’s western terminus, which was previously Maidenhead.

My Department has worked closely with Transport for London, Crossrail Ltd and Network Rail to determine the best use of capacity on the Great Western line. This work has considered how to maximise capacity on the route while ensuring Crossrail services can operate efficiently enabling the best possible overall mix of passenger and freight services on this highly congested part of the national rail network.

The decision to extend Crossrail services to Reading will achieve this while also offering greater flexibility for future timetabled services. Once Crossrail services begin across the whole line in 2019, passengers travelling to London from Reading and the other Thames valley stations will be able to travel to more destinations across London without the need to change at Paddington.

Once operational, Crossrail services are expected to serve Maidenhead on a four trains per hour basis as originally planned, with two of these services continuing to Reading via Twyford.

In addition, the planned future Great Western franchise service pattern from Reading to London will not change. Twice hourly semi-fast services and existing fast mainline services will continue, calling at the same stations as today.

Passengers will continue to benefit from the service frequency enjoyed today between Reading and Hayes and Harlington, maintaining connectivity with Heathrow and to Ealing Broadway, for interchanges with the Central and District lines.

The Reading extension will also generate some cost savings from reduced infrastructure enhancements at Maidenhead and Slough, and only minor works will be required at Twyford and Reading to accommodate Crossrail services.

When fully operational, Crossrail will boost London’s rail-based capacity by 10%, connecting Reading and Heathrow in the west and Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east, through 21 km of newly built twin tunnels under central London. Transport for London will run Crossrail as part of its integrated transport services.

Access to Ports

Stephen Hammond Excerpts

Thursday 27th March 2014 Westminster Hall

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Stephen Hammond)]

Mrs Brooke, it is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this afternoon. I should like to put on the record that I apologise to you for not being here at the start of the debate. Through you, Mrs Brooke, I particularly wish to apologise to the Chairman of the Select Committee, the hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Mrs Ellman). As she knows, the debate was due to start slightly later and I was coming back from the west country, where I was looking at other transport infrastructure this morning. I am pleased that the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough and Whitby, was able to make some detailed notes on the hon. Lady’s comments. I will try to deal with some of her comments now and I hope that she will forgive me if I miss any. My officials will certainly respond to her if there is anything we have left out.

We are grateful to the Committee for securing this debate on a subject of great importance, as a number of hon. Members who contributed to it attested. We welcomed the report and the inquiry on the basis that they presented everyone with the opportunity to take stock of the situation with ports in England and Wales. It is right to make the point that it is difficult to overestimate the huge economic importance of ports to our country. They are key.

I am pleased that the report recognises, as we all do, that the connectivity of major ports was a problem and that it welcomes some of the new infrastructure announcements. The hon. Lady is right that the final few miles to a port gate are often a problem, but much work has been done on rail network and road network infrastructure to address that key connectivity point. A number of Members, particularly the hon. Lady and my hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal (Dr Coffey), have talked about the A14 and welcomed its construction and the abandonment of tolling. To be clear, the statement on community consultation will be published in the next few weeks. The pre-application consultation will start in April 2014 for 10 weeks. That will explain the details of the scheme and why the improvements are needed. Construction work is still expected to start in December 2016 and to be completed by the end of the decade.

The hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside raised some other points about private sector involvement and coastal shipping, and I will pick those up in some of my later remarks. I reassure her that this Government have, right from the outset, supported investment in ports and the connectivity and infrastructure around them. We set out our response to the Committee in some detail in writing. Although I will touch on a number of the subjects today, it is not appropriate for me to repeat the response at length. It recognised the responsibilities the Government have, and we have shown practical examples of working in partnership with the ports industry to ensure the complementarity of the infrastructure either side of the port gate. I will talk a little more about the review of the guidance on developer funding. In direct response to the hon. Lady’s question, the Department will review that guidance and is reviewing it this year. She also asked about freight grants, which were addressed at paragraph 6 of the Government’s response to her Committee.

There were some questions about the planning system. There has been some huge simplification through the national planning policy framework and the coastal concordat, and the advice that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and its unit have given on habitats cases is helping to inform ports. I recognise that there were some problems in the beginning, particularly with the Marine Management Organisation and its lack of consultation with some of the ports. Harwich Haven had a problem that was brought to me, which I met the chief executive of the MMO to discuss. The MMO has recognised and addressed some of the failings in its consultation procedures. To ensure that those failings are addressed for the benefit of ports, I have a bi-monthly meeting with the MMO to ensure that it takes into account ports consultation, even though, as my hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal rightly pointed out, it is not absolutely in my direct jurisdiction, as it is under DEFRA’s. To conclude that point, we held a maritime round table on environmental requirements, particularly planning requirements, at the industry’s request last autumn. At that meeting, the chief executive of the MMO and officials and the Minister from DEFRA responded to a number of a criticisms of how the system had been working and how some of the changes had been made.

My hon. Friend the Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood (Eric Ollerenshaw) made what I might describe as a predictably forceful contribution. He is absolutely right that all ports are a national asset. He is right to celebrate that, while for many years the port of Heysham lacked a road, the Government found the funding for the local authority scheme on the A6 Lancaster road. The road is now under construction and it is for the local authority to complete the scheme. I commend him on his campaign for that road, which would not have happened without him. He will, I am sure, continue to make the point forcefully to the Government. He rightly points out the need for road access to Glasson dock. He knows, as I do, that it is for Lancashire county council and the local enterprise partnership to prioritise that as a local major scheme. It could be funded through the growth deal scheme.

The shadow Minister made some comments about the growth fund, but he should be aware that a Transport Minister sits in on all the discussions and a Department for Transport representative or official has been on most of the visits. To believe that the Department is not taking what I can only describe as an active, full and comprehensive part in that process would be to misunderstand what is happening in government.

My hon. Friend the Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood was right to talk about the Mersey dredge. I know that a lot of people are concerned, but it was a truly exceptional grant. None the less, other major dredges are going on, and they have all been commercially funded. I encourage him to work with the local port to ensure that it sees the benefits of commercial funding. If he feels that there is a truly exceptional case, I am sure he will continue to make it.

I am grateful for the kind words of the hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse (Jim Fitzpatrick), who was the Minister responsible for shipping in the previous Government. He talked about what the Government should have said in our response. I will ensure that we do not miss a trick in blowing our own trumpet slightly more loudly. I will address the point about waterborne freight rates in a moment. He is right that the maritime roundtable we established has brought together parts of industry with senior Ministers and senior officials from all the relevant Departments: the Department for Transport, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Cabinet Office, the Treasury and DEFRA. Senior officials connected with that group are working all the time. He is absolutely right that we should perhaps be saying a lot more.

I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s contribution to London international shipping week, where he was almost as omnipresent as I appeared to be. Pretty much everywhere I went, I met him and the Select Committee Chair. It was a great success and will happen again in 2015. Perhaps it should be called UK shipping week. I have already had pitches from Felixstowe and a law firm in Ipswich to host a professional services conference during a future shipping week. Some 60 or 70 events took place during that week in London and more widely.

The hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse is also right that we should set out much more clearly the huge amount of work that goes on to help the shipping and ports industry in practical ways. He will remember from when he was a Minister that one of the great advantages of being a member of a UK Government is that on international business one can talk about the benefits of the UK and what the UK does well. A month ago, I went to Singapore to address some of the maritime issues that we face there. One part of the visit was working with UK Trade & Investment to sell the benefits of the UK flag and the UK ship register. I was delighted that, a week before that visit, one of the Singaporean companies put eight flags back on the British register. As a result of that visit, we have nine expressions of interest from other shipping companies to put more flags back on the register. It is important that the Department for Transport work with UK Trade & Investment on visits such as those and remembers the whole access issue. People often recognise London as the global centre for maritime professional services. We needed to remind the Singaporeans of that, because they are catching up fast and working hard at that. None the less, it is hugely important that we stress the benefits of the UK flag and what UK shipping and UK maritime are doing.

The hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse is quite right about state aid, which the hon. Member for Blackpool South (Mr Marsden) mentioned. It is indeed a knotty and thorny issue. State aid on ports and the port services directive is a live issue. It is absolutely crucial that the UK Government stand up for British interests on the port services directive, and we are doing so actively. We are working hard to ensure—as the Government have done twice previously, at least once on the watch of the hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse—that elements detrimental to UK interests are not included. He will appreciate that the part in question of the port services directive would bring some financial transparency to ports for the first time ever. It may well be of interest to see what sort of state aid is provided, not always correctly, to certain international ports. Therefore, while the UK Government are keen to ensure that we exclude everything, we will be considering carefully whether it is beneficial.

The point about state aid is a live one in the UK. It is directly due to the pressure brought by this Government and the Dutch Government, in collaboration with several other Governments, that an active discussion is now going on within the Commission about how state aid is applied, what it is doing and whether it is being used to distort international positions. The hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse was right to bring the issue up. At one point, I was about to say to him that flattery would get him almost everywhere. It almost did in this debate. I am grateful for his remarks about some of my work, in terms of what a Minister can and should do in this area. He obviously recognises that.

I welcome the support of my hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal for the A14. I hope she heard me say a few minutes ago that there is no delay to the project. I congratulate her, and my hon. Friends the Members for Bury St Edmunds (Mr Ruffley) and for South Suffolk (Mr Yeo), who were instrumental in asking the Government to change their mind and reconsider the tolling. I praise her campaign and that of other Suffolk MPs; it was why the Government had another look at the proposals. She was right to highlight some of the issues that would have been caused for her constituents, and potentially for those using the road from the port, and the Government have been right to listen.

My hon. Friend also discussed the resilience of the Orwell bridge. I particularly remember the onion incident. I know that transport is a serious matter, but sometimes one is allowed to smile. That incident gave a lot of amusement to broadcasters up and down the country as they announced it. The Highways Agency’s route-based strategy study programme is considering all future needs of both the A14 and the A12 corridors, and it will consider the Orwell bridge. The programme is due to report in March 2015. I heard her forceful case for the electrification of Felixstowe. She is right to welcome the opening of the Ipswich chord next week; it will bring huge benefit to the freight network around Felixstowe.

I heard what my hon. Friend said about dualling and level crossing improvements. I know that Hutchison Whampoa has had discussions with Network Rail about that, which it is obviously free to do. I will talk a little more about developer contribution in a moment, but she will understand that it is not about asking ports to contribute directly to the infrastructure; it is about situations in which development is going on around the ports and the usual planning process applies, some of which involves section 106 agreements. I know that Hutchison has been discussing, and is free to discuss, section 106 agreements on partial dualling or level crossing, but the last time I was in Felixstowe—I think it was late last spring—I was pleased to see work going on to make new improvements to rail access and facilities.

Finally, the hon. Member for Blackpool South started by saying that what mattered was the quality of contributions to this debate, not the quantity. That has been absolutely true. His speech had a consensual start, and then he pointed out that the Select Committee had done some gentle chiding of the Government. That is absolutely right. It is the Select Committee’s role to hold the Government to account, and it is the Government’s role to respond to it and, we hope, to address its recommendations.

I would say gently that I listened to the hon. Gentleman’s points initially. For many years, there has been an infrastructure deficit in terms of connectivity to ports, which the Government are seeking to redress. That is key. The Government were already addressing some of the Select Committee’s remarks and recommendations. On my watch, we have established the high-level maritime forum for the industry, Ministers and senior officials. We have now developed a ports strategy and a shipping strategy, which have been published and shared with the Select Committee. We have had high-level consultations with the industry about sulphur. It is clear that the EU will proceed with the regulations. One thing this Government have secured is a look at the new regulations that will take effect from 2020 and involve an even bigger cost to the industry.

Working with the International Maritime Organisation, we have also secured a review of the 2020 proposals. It is clearly key that that review should happen next year rather than in 2018. Otherwise, the availability of fuel and the implementation of the new legislation will have a huge impact on British shipping.

[Mr Marsden]

I am grateful to the Minister for laying out the detailed programme of Government activity in the area. I asked a specific question about the position of Her Majesty’s Government when the original regulations were introduced. I would be grateful for a response on that. Also, as he said he was drawing to a close, I raised the issue of the future structure of ownership for the Dover harbour board. Can he enlighten us further as to whether any progress has been made on that?

[Stephen Hammond]

I am afraid I am about to disappoint everybody. Far from drawing to a close—

[Mr Marsden]

Sorry. You said “finally”.

[Stephen Hammond]

“Finally” in terms of the point about sulphur. There is so much to tackle on this fascinating subject that I must disappoint hon. Members. I probably have at least another five minutes yet to go, and perhaps more.

The Government’s position has been clear. We have sought to challenge the regulations, but we are now ensuring that we work with the whole industry to mitigate the cost to industry. Therefore, I—or my officials, to be more precise—have held detailed negotiations, and I chaired a roundtable with the abatement technology manufacturers, colloquially known as scrubbers, and the industry to ensure some progress. Clearly, for some, the cost of retrofitting is prohibitive, and the cost is unwelcome to a number in the industry, but the key point is that the 2015 regulation will happen. We have tried several times to secure agreement at EU level. We proposed several mitigation measures, but were not supported by other EU members on that matter. However, we have global support at the IMO to hold an early review of the availability of fuel in 2020, which I am currently actively pursuing.

I want to make a few remarks about some of the other important issues that have come up. We need to continue to support a multi-modal approach to distribution from ports, recognising the congestion issue and the benefits that road and coastal shipping can bring. In practice, most ports, in particular the smaller ones, are still, as several hon. Members have said, heavily reliant on road connections. Hauliers need to be able to access ports efficiently and need journeys to and from inland destinations to be as reliable as reasonably possible. Infrastructure and its maintenance—working with local authorities on local roads, but local highways authorities on strategic roads—are clearly important.

Ports themselves have an important role to play in local road connectivity. Several ro-ro and container ports have introduced advanced lorry-booking systems and contingency arrangements to deal with disruption, which has led to huge improvements in the delays that road hauliers used to experience. The Department for Transport has been assessing the benefit of such procedures in time savings and reliability for HGVs. Such schemes continue to offer benefits and it is possible to get more.

Bottlenecks still exist on links to important ports, however. There is an ongoing task for the DFT and ports in our strategic partnership to facilitate the growth in trade and a strong recovery in the wider economy by ensuring that we continue to put the right road links in place. Good access to ports from the strategic road network will be considered through the Highways Agency’s programme of route-based strategies and the Department’s programme of feasibility studies. Six such studies are in place and aim to identify and fund solutions to major congestion on the strategic road network. The studies will report in time for this year’s autumn statement. Several studies have direct relevance to the accessibility of ports, in particular the A47 to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft study, and the A27 to Portsmouth, Shoreham and Newhaven corridor study.

The Government have announced plans to create a local growth fund from 2015-16 onwards. It will be a pot of £2 billion a year until 2021 and all LEPs will have the opportunity to bid for that funding through their strategic economic plans, which are due to be submitted to the Government at the end of the month. As I have said, the DFT is actively involved in those bids, has been working with the Minister responsible for cities to examine the bids and has encouraged bids that recognise the importance of transport and, where relevant, access to ports. The fund will allow local areas to prioritise infrastructure schemes that they deem essential for their economic growth. It is now for LEPs to get involved to agree what schemes they want to bid for through their strategic economic plan. It is a competitive process, with the strongest bids likely to receive a big, rather than proportionate, slice of funding.

Developer contributions for major schemes were set out in DFT circular 02/2013, which explains how the Highways Agency engages with communities and developers. It is primarily about responding to development proposals that affect existing trunk roads and seeks to support environmentally responsible development while safeguarding the primary function and purpose of the strategic road network. Where ports promote development that will affect the trunk road network, the principles set out in the circular will apply, including how development impact will be assessed and under what circumstances mitigation will be sought to ensure that the strategic road network is able to accommodate existing and development-generated traffic. Exactly what the Government are expecting has been set out pretty clearly for developers. As part of the ports strategic partnership, we will be reviewing developer guidance this year to ensure that it covers all the relevant points. If further specific clarity is needed, I anticipate that the review will lead to an addendum to the circular.

On rail access to ports, the past seven years have seen some significant rail freight infrastructure investment. A further £200 million has been ring-fenced for the strategic freight network in the next control period from 2014 to 2019. That money is being spent on projects identified by the rail freight industry as key to its needs. A significant proportion has been given to gauge clearance, facilitating the transport of shipping containers by rail from ports to inland distribution hubs.

The Felixstowe to Nuneaton route has been much mentioned. Through a combination of transport innovation fund and strategic freight network funding, gauge clearance out of Felixstowe to all major routes will be complete by the end of this year. Other major developments include the Nuneaton north chord, which opened in 2012, and the Ipswich chord, which I was delighted to visit last week. The Ipswich chord is a fantastic piece of engineering, with the tightest acceptable curve on the UK rail network. It will reduce a significant bottleneck for freight, saving between 45 minutes and 75 minutes, and will bring benefits to passengers at Ipswich and to the south and north, because the freight that previously had to go into Ipswich could hold up passenger trains. It is an important part of the Felixstowe to Nuneaton route enhancement. My hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal will know that it is one of the Government’s top 40 investment projects, and Network Rail is looking at several additional enhancements that could be taken forward on this route over the next control period and will be seeking the rail freight industry’s views on how they should be prioritised. I recognise the case being made for the electrification of the line out of Felixstowe, but it is important that we get the freight network right first.

Much good work has been done out of Southampton, and I am happy to acknowledge that some of it happened under the previous Administration. Gauge enhancement work between Southampton and the west coast main line was completed with funding under this Government, ensuring electrification out of Southampton, which is part of the “electric spine”. As part of huge investment in Southampton port and rail infrastructure, Freightliner has put in six extra lines into Southampton.

Network Rail works closely with the rail freight industry to establish priority areas for the allocation of strategic freight network funding. We are beginning to see a huge amount of freight travelling by rail. Only five years ago, Tesco told me that it did not anticipate moving much of its freight by rail; now, some 40% of Tesco goods are moved by rail.

The Government have always supported the transfer of freight from road to rail, and the Department provides freight grants to encourage that modal shift to rail, or water, where the cost of the alternative mode is higher than road and where there are environmental benefits. Freight grant schemes, where they are in place, are reckoned to remove some 800,000 lorry journeys from Britain’s roads annually and save some 120,000 tonnes of CO₂ through the modal shift. The waterborne freight grant is designed to encourage the start-up of new services. It recognises the higher start-up costs for coastal shipping through a higher initial grant rate, declining thereafter. The service has to be viable at the end of the grant.

I have already made some comments about state aid, but state aid clearance for both grant schemes ends on 31 March next year, and the Department is reviewing freight grants. We are looking at stakeholder suggestions for a scheme similar to the mode shift revenue support scheme—it provides grant funding to rail and inland waterways—which would be better for coastal shipping than the current format. State aid approval would need to be secured for the scheme, the potential of which we are actively studying.

Much has been made of several ports around the country. I commend the work of the Highways Agency with London Gateway on the improvements to the M25 and its junction 30, including the A13 and on to the junction with the A126. That scheme has been key to reducing congestion by the non-London Gateway traffic. It also allows for the ability to work with London Gateway to ensure that the port and the freight coming out of it will no longer be a congestion concern, as was anticipated. In due course, there will need to be an amendment to the London Gateway Port Harbour Empowerment Order 2008. The deed of variation is being sought, and that will facilitate the mitigation and the contribution from London Gateway. The Highways Agency and London Gateway together are making some substantial progress.

The hon. Member for Blackpool South challenged me about Dover. I have to commend the excellent work of the revitalised and changed Dover harbour board since January 2013, when I changed the chairmanship. George Jenkins has done excellent work with the board, which has had three new non-executive directors appointed to it through the independent process over the past year. There has been a revitalisation of relationships with port operators and a willingness to communicate with community groups, to ensure, following the decision not to proceed with the privatisation scheme, a resolution that is acceptable to the harbour board, with its aspirations, and the community of Dover, which has regeneration aspirations. Foremost in that campaign has been my hon. Friend the Member for Dover (Charlie Elphicke), who has been a formidable campaigner to ensure that community interests are recognised in the port. He has stood up for what he believes is right for the port. I am pleased that there has been significant negotiation between the harbour board and community interests, as well as with the Department for Transport. To use that favourite phrase, I am anticipating making an announcement in the near future.

We have had the opportunity to speak about various ports this afternoon, but I am in danger of making my longest ever speech in this Chamber—or indeed in the House of Commons. I therefore again thank the Committee for its work on the report and for securing today’s debate. The quality of Members’ contributions have shown that shipping and ports in their constituencies are vital not only to this country’s regional interests but to our national interests. I assure the House that the Government have never been more aware of that essential contribution. I intend to continue to ensure that we have a coherent approach throughout Government to such a vital national industry.

Traffic Commissioners (Triennial Review)

Stephen Hammond Excerpts

Thursday 27th March 2014 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Stephen Hammond)]

I am today announcing the start of a review of the traffic commissioners. Triennial reviews are part of the Government’s commitment to ensuring that non-departmental public bodies continue to have regular independent challenge, including to their objectives and governance.

In the case of the traffic commissioners, the review will also contribute to delivering the Government’s response, published last October to the Transport Select Committee’s inquiry into the work of the Vehicle and Operating Standards Agency—which has since become part of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. I have sought and considered stakeholder views about the review’s coverage.

This is planned to be an in-depth review of the traffic commissioners, involving an independent consultant. I will inform the House of the outcome of the review when it is completed.

Northern Direct Award

Stephen Hammond Excerpts

Thursday 27th March 2014 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Stephen Hammond)]

Today I have announced the successful conclusion of negotiations for a new directly awarded franchise agreement with Northern Rail Ltd. Northern Rail will continue to run passenger rail services on the Northern franchise for a period of 22 months, from the end of the current franchise on 1 April, to the start of services on the new competed franchise, expected in February 2016.

The five passenger transport Executives in the region are cosignatories to this agreement and are continuing to work in partnership with Government on the management of services and the specification for the new franchise.

The Northern franchise serves some of the country’s biggest cities including Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield. The new agreement sets challenging new targets for passenger satisfaction, punctuality and reliability, which will see continued improvement in the services provided to passengers, at reduced cost to the taxpayer.

This award is a key step in securing the benefits to passengers from the north of England investment programme, which will see substantial Government investment over the next five years. This programme includes the electrification of a large part of the network, which will allow for cleaner, quicker and more reliable journeys for passengers.

Passenger Focus (Triennial Review)

Stephen Hammond Excerpts

Tuesday 25th March 2014 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Stephen Hammond)]

My noble Friend, the Minister of State for Transport, Baroness Kramer, has made the following written ministerial statement:

We will shortly be commencing a triennial review of Passenger Focus (PF). PF is the independent non-departmental public body (NDPB) set up to represent the interests of rail passengers in England, Scotland and Wales, bus and tram passengers in England—outside of London—and passengers on scheduled domestic coach services in England.

Triennial reviews are part of the Government’s commitment to ensuring that NDPBs continue to have regular independent challenge, including to their objectives and governance. A triennial review normally has two aims:

to provide a robust challenge of the continuing need for the NDPB; and

where it is agreed that it should remain as an NDPB, to review the control and governance arrangements in place to ensure that the public body is complying with recognised principles of good corporate governance.

However, following the public bodies review, PF completed a significant restructure in 2011 and now has a key role in relation to future transport policy, including increasing the passenger voice in future rail franchises. As a result, it has therefore been decided that this review will focus its attention on the second stage.

The report of the review will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses when it is completed.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Hammond Excerpts

Thursday 20th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[David Rutley (Macclesfield) (Con)]

7. What plans he has to review funding for mountain rescue teams.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Stephen Hammond)]

I am pleased to inform my hon. Friend and my hon. Friends the Members for Skipton and Ripon (Julian Smith) and for Penrith and The Border (Rory Stewart)—and the whole House—that we have listened carefully to the concerns they have raised and will therefore provide in 2015-16 grants totalling £250,000 to mountain rescue organisations in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for use towards the cost of their equipment and training. That is in addition to the grants totalling £600,000 that we have made available over the past three years and the £200,000 to be payable this year for 2014-15.

[David Rutley]

I welcome the Minister’s announcement today and the support that he is showing mountain rescue teams across the country. In Macclesfield and other constituencies where outdoor activities in the hills play an important part in the lives of residents and visitors, mountain rescue teams may be seen by many as a fourth emergency service. Will the Minister join me in thanking them for their important work and recognising what the all-party mountain rescue group also does in supporting them?

[Stephen Hammond]

My hon. Friend is right. I am happy to commend his and all local mountain rescue teams throughout the country. I recognise and commend the work of the all-party group.

[Rory Stewart (Penrith and The Border) (Con)]

I add my voice in thanks to the Minister for this wonderful announcement. May I please remind him of two things: first, the important work also done by cave rescue, in addition to mountain rescue; and secondly, that all the work of the mountain and cave rescue teams is entirely voluntary, notwithstanding the compensation for VAT on their equipment?

[Stephen Hammond]

I am duly reminded. Undoubtedly, it was my hon. Friend’s campaign and those of my hon. Friends the Members for Skipton and Ripon (Julian Smith) and for Macclesfield (David Rutley) that made us consider the grants that I announced today.

[Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)]

It will be not just mountain rescue but cave rescue organisations in Grassington and Clapham in my constituency that benefit. The Transport Secretary has been on his bike in Skipton and Ripon. Will he now commit to coming down a cave with me in the near future?

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Gentleman poses a very serious challenge to even the most vivid imagination in the House.

[Stephen Hammond]

I really wonder whether I can answer the question better than Mr Speaker. I am loth to commit my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, but between us I am sure we will find someone who can join my hon. Friend the Member for Skipton and Ripon.

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

8. What plans he has to review MOT tyre requirements for buses and coaches.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Stephen Hammond)]

Buses and coaches are inspected annually from the anniversary of their date of registration. Tyre condition, wear and their suitability for the vehicle are all checked at that time. Tyres are also checked routinely as part of the safety inspections undertaken by traffic commissioners who manage the licensing of such vehicles.

[Steve Rotheram]

The Minister may be aware of the tragic death of three people in a car crash on the A3 in September 2010, when a 19-year-old tyre burst on the front axle of their coach. Early-day motion 1166 calls on the Government to commission urgent research into whether legislation can be enacted to limit the age of a tyre on a bus or coach. Will he confirm that the Government are taking this issue seriously? When will they commission such a study?

[Stephen Hammond]

The hon. Gentleman will know that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State met the previous shadow Secretary of State, along with one of the mothers of the people who were tragically killed in that coach crash. As an interim measure, the Department has already published guidelines to the bus and coach industry recommending that tyres of more than 10 years old are not fitted to the front axles of such vehicles. That was in December 2013, and I can confirm that we are in discussion with the tyre organisations about the product and about whether age and maintenance are the key factors and how they should be addressed.

--- Later in debate ---

[Julie Hilling (Bolton West) (Lab)]

12. What steps he is taking to ensure adequate supply and stability of rolling stock until 2018.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Stephen Hammond)]

The Government have embarked on a programme of rail capacity increase greater than anything seen since the Victorian age. More than 3,100 new carriages will be in service by the end of 2019. Through the franchising programme, we expect the market to deliver additional rolling stock solutions, building on the possibilities created by the rail investment strategy, electrification projects and capacity increases. I am confident that a solution will shortly be found to enable diesel trains to be released to address the capacity issues in Bolton.

[Julie Hilling]

My constituents are fed up with jam tomorrow and playing sardines today. With diesel trains in great demand but short supply for the next four or five years and with services for my constituents being some of the most overcrowded in the country, what is the Minister doing to prevent other companies from snatching more of our trains from Northern Rail and First TransPennine Express?

[Stephen Hammond]

I was pleased to meet the hon. Lady and other Members from Bolton recently. She knows that commercial leases are a matter for the operating companies, but also that, as I said a moment ago, I have worked with operating companies to reach a solution to ensure that there is extra capacity on the line in Bolton from Christmas onwards.

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Adrian Sanders (Torbay) (LD)]

T3. Will the Minister commit to looking at the electrification of the Penzance to Paddington route, a scheme which, at a fraction of the cost of HS2, would benefit everyone in the south-west, unlike some of the other promoted schemes that would benefit only some people at the expense of others?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Stephen Hammond)]

In 2012, the Department commissioned a study from Arup to look at electrification to the west of Newbury. We have already seen some of that study’s results, which indicate that there is a very good business case for going to Bedwyn, and further results from that study are being considered by the Department.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

First Great Western was originally due to pay more than £800 million in premium payments over the years 2013 to 2016, but the Government have now handed over the franchise for just £17 million a year. If there is now a further five-year extension on the line, with no competition, at the same time as Ministers are selling off the successful East Coast operator, will not taxpayers once again pay the price for this Government’s incompetence and ideology?

--- Later in debate ---

[Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)]

T2. This morning, like many Members, I caught a London bus on my way to work. Quality contracts are one reason why London has bucked the national trend of rising fares and falling passenger numbers. Will the Secretary of State join me, Tyne and Wear public transport users group and his friend, the Mayor of London, in supporting quality contracts for quality bus services?

[Stephen Hammond]

There are many ways of developing quality bus services up and down the country. The Government are making a huge commitment through grants to bus operators and have reformed the bus service operators grant so that local authorities are now in charge of it. We believe that partnership is the best way forward and I am convinced that it still is.

[Mr Simon Burns (Chelmsford) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State agree that it is somewhat surprising that more has not been said in this Question Time to congratulate Hitachi on its decision to bring its rail business headquarters to England? Does he agree that, ever since he gave it the contract for the intercity express programme rolling stock, it has gone from strength to strength? The irony is that, in some years’ time, we could be a net exporter of rolling stock, rather than having to import it.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Tobias Ellwood (Bournemouth East) (Con)]

Pokesdown railway station, in my constituency, is in dire need of upgrade. The lifts have not worked for a number of decades. In response to a parliamentary question, the Minister said that we should blame South West Trains. I wrote to South West Trains, and it said that we should blame the Government, because that is not part of the franchise agreement. All that the people of Bournemouth want is for the lifts to be working. May I invite the Minister to come to Bournemouth to take a look at the situation?

[Stephen Hammond]

My hon. Friend will know that the Government support local decisions by local communities on improving local connectivity, but I am happy to accept his kind invitation.

[Several hon. Members]

rose—

Transport Infrastructure (South of England)

Stephen Hammond Excerpts

Monday 17th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Stephen Hammond)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Gosport (Caroline Dinenage) on securing this debate. It follows on from an Adjournment debate that I was delighted to respond to last week when, as my hon. Friend pointed out, my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth North (Penny Mordaunt) made a number of salient points about transport infrastructure in the south of England. My hon. Friend the Member for Gosport clearly made the case tonight that this is a subject of great importance to her and her constituents, including businesses in the area. I am sure she will remember that when she launched her innovative suggestion that the HMS Daedalus site become an economic zone I was delighted to be with her and to support her on that first occasion, some 18 months ago. That campaign has been hugely successful and I shall comment on it later.

My hon. Friend the Member for Gosport is right that effective transport infrastructure is vital in supporting local communities, enabling people to access their workplace, and driving local economic growth, so it is right that we take time to debate these issues. She is right, too, to point out that, as many of us who are Members of Parliament for constituencies in London and the south of England know all too well, the south is not all leafy suburbs. As a man who was born and bred in Southampton, I am delighted that she raised the need for connections between Southampton and Portsmouth. They may have traditional rivalry in a number of things, but the links between the two great cities of the south need improving. I am pleased that the Government are clear that we need to invest in record amounts to maintain, upgrade and expand our road and rail infrastructure.

[Bob Stewart (Beckenham) (Con)]

I go to Southampton by train quite a lot and I totally support what my hon. Friend the Member for Gosport (Caroline Dinenage) says about the time that it takes to get to Southampton from London. If we had an express link, as suggested by my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth North (Penny Mordaunt), more people could get up to London and get more jobs, helping the depressed people of Portsmouth and Gosport.

[Caroline Dinenage]

I referred in my speech to the £90 million that Hampshire county council will ask the Solent LEP to make when it meets on Friday. That is all part of the scheme mentioned by the Minister, which is about looking at roads in the Gosport and Fareham area, including the A27 corridor, about which he has spoken. I very much hope that the Government will look very favourably on that bid.

[Stephen Hammond]

I obviously hear my hon. Friend’s plea. As she will know, a number of people will make such a plea.

I was going on to commend my hon. Friend, because the fact that the Solent LEP and Hampshire county council are working together will make their bid to the Government for a grant from this fund more powerful. From this Dispatch Box, as well as in writing and in one-to-one meetings, I have stressed to several colleagues that it is absolutely essential for the local economic partnership and the economic zone to work together, which will certainly achieve a higher priority in assessments. She is right that it is clear that a LEP’s agreement to a scheme ensures that it is most likely to be in the strategic economic plan, and although the process is competitive, it is of course likely that the strongest bids will receive the biggest slices of funding.

In conclusion, I again congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate. The powerful case that she has made tonight has reminded us of the importance of an effective transport network for the economy. As I have made clear, this Government are committed to, and have set out plans for, large-scale investments now and in the future to improve local and strategic networks both in rail and on the road and—importantly—across the whole of this country, including the south of England.

Question put and agreed to.

Vehicle Registration and Licensing (Northern Ireland)

Stephen Hammond Excerpts

Thursday 13th March 2014 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Stephen Hammond)]

Motorists in Northern Ireland have not had access to the same range and level of vehicle registration and licensing services as their counterparts in the rest of the UK. In previous statements we have announced the Department’s intention to address this issue. This led to a consultation on the future of vehicle registration and licensing services in Northern Ireland being carried out between July and September 2013.

I am today announcing that following a review of the responses to the consultation, I have decided in consultation with my ministerial colleagues that the full range of vehicle registration and licensing services will be available to motorists in Northern Ireland from July 2014. This will entail the centralisation of transactions at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) in Swansea. The changes will for the first time allow motorists in Northern Ireland to take advantage of automated vehicle licensing, either online or by telephone. Northern Ireland motorists will also have access to additional face-to-face services at around 175 Post Office branches. The changes will also ensure that Northern Ireland motorists can immediately access new services, including direct debits for vehicle excise duty and enhanced online services, which will be introduced later this year. As well as improving services to Northern Ireland motorists, the changes will save £12 million every year.

These changes mean that the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) will no longer deliver vehicle registration and licensing services to Northern Ireland motorists. We recognise the potential impact of this change. We have considered carefully the responses we received as a result of consultation and this proposal includes additional support both for customers and for staff. The DVA’s local offices will now remain open to support vehicle registration and licensing services until the end of 2014 while the new services bed in. The DVA’s office in Coleraine will provide a similar service. While I recognise that the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland has said that it will try to avoid redundancies and where these are unavoidable, to aim to minimise the amount of compulsory redundancies as a result of this decision, my Department will work with officials there to support any staff who need to learn new skills to secure alternative employment.

I am publishing a package of documents to accompany this statement which assess the impacts of the changes being made and summarise the responses to the consultation. These documents provide more detail of the future services that will be available to Northern Ireland motorists and will be published on gov.uk and in the Libraries of both Houses.

I am committed to improving the services motorists in Northern Ireland receive, and supporting customers and staff through these changes. The DVLA will work with customers, stakeholders and staff to support the transition to the new service channels. Finally, I would like to place on record my thanks to DVA staff for their hard work in delivering vehicle registration and licensing services to Northern Ireland motorists over the years.

Driving Tests

Stephen Hammond Excerpts

Wednesday 12th March 2014 Ministerial Corrections

[Mary Creagh]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many new drivers passed their first driving test in each of the last five years.

[Official Report, 3 March 2014, Vol. 576, c. 710W.]

Letter of correction from Stephen Hammond:

An error has been identified in the written answer given to the hon. Member for Wakefield (Mary Creagh) on 3 March 2014.

The full answer given was as follows:

[Stephen Hammond]

The information requested is in the following table:

[Stephen Hammond]

The information requested is in the following table: