Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve transport connectivity between the north east and the rest of England.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government is committed to improving connectivity within the North of England, and between the North and the rest of England. Once the £380m scheme to upgrade the A1 between Leeming and Barton is completed in spring 2018, there will be a continuous motorway link between London and Tyne and Wear. The £61m Coal House to Metro Centre improvement scheme has already improved journey times on the A1 Newcastle Gateshead Western Bypass, and further phases are under development, along with a scheme to dual more of the A1 in Northumberland. East to west connectivity will be improved by the commitment to complete the dualling of the A66 and improve junctions on the A69 around Hexham.
Rail connectivity will be improved by the new Northern and TransPennine Express franchises, which will provide new trains, more than 500 new carriages, room for 40,000 extra passengers and more than 2,000 extra services a week, by 2020. As part of this, the frequency of Transpennine trains between Newcastle and York/Leeds/Manchester will increase from one to two trains per hour. Services on the East Coast Main Line will be improved in 2018 when the introduction of new Azuma trains will provide over 12,000 extra seats.
The Department awaits Transport for the North’s draft Strategic Transport Plan which will set out their aims for further improving transport connectivity in the North.
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much was spent on improving (a) road networks and (b) other transport infrastructure in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside and (iii) the North East in each of the last five years.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Figures on public sector spend at a regional and national level are part of the Government’s Country and Regional Analysis (CRA) statistics. These statistics attempt to allocate the spending according to where the benefits of that spend are accrued. Inevitably however allocations are not always precise.
Statistics for total public expenditure for the North East of England are given for roads and other transport in table 1 below. Table 2 provides the equivalent statistics for public capital expenditure, which could be considered a better proxy for spending on improvements specifically.
It should be noted however that the Department’s focus is on delivering outcomes for people rather than how much is spent. Investment decisions are made based on a rigorous and fair appraisal process that ensures spending goes to the projects and programmes where it is most needed and will have the most benefit.
Table 1.
Total public sector expenditure on transport: North East, from 2011-12 | |||||||||
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| 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | ||||
Roads1,2 | 316.8 | 246.7 | 278.1 | 349.3 | 396.6 | ||||
Other transport2 | 262.4 | 279.4 | 276.0 | 267.2 | 387.1 | ||||
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1. Includes expenditure on locally managed roads as well as national trunk roads. |
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2. Includes spend on transport by all public sector organisations (including Local Authorities and Public Corporations) |
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Table 2.
Public sector capital expenditure on transport : North East, from 2011-12 | |||||||||
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| £millions | ||||
| 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | ||||
Roads1,2 | 178.4 | 120.1 | 164.4 | 244.5 | 281.2 | ||||
Other transport2 | 157.3 | 169.1 | 163.5 | 171.5 | 197.8 | ||||
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1. Includes expenditure on locally managed roads as well as national trunk roads. |
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2. Includes spend on transport by all public sector organisations (including Local Authorities and Public Corporations) |
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This information is available for government office regions only, and therefore is unavailable for (i) Jarrow constituency and (ii) South Tyneside.
There is also an element of private investment into transport that is not captured by the CRA statistics. Information on private investment is not held by the Department.
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to tackle funding disparities in transport infrastructure between North and South England.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government is carrying out the biggest investment in transport in the North for a generation, and remains committed to ensuring that the whole country gets the transport infrastructure that it needs. Most recently, on 2 October, the Government announced an additional £100m for local road schemes in the North to tackle congestion pinch-points and speed up journeys, while an extra £300m will help push forward plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail to bolster links between Northern towns and cities with more frequent and faster services.
The Government is already providing better rail journeys through the Great North Rail Project, new Northern and TransPennine franchises, and High Speed 2, the first new North-South railway in this country for over a century. This will greatly increase capacity and connections for millions of people, with high speed stations in Manchester, Leeds, Crewe and Sheffield.
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding from the public purse his Department has allocated to transport per head of population in (a) the North East, (b) Greater London and (c) the South East.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department for Transport does not allocate funding to transport on a per head of population basis.
Investment decisions are made based on a rigorous and fair appraisal process that ensures spending goes to the projects and programmes where it is most needed. As the Department emphasised in the Transport Investment Strategy, investment decisions should reflect a clear understanding of the particular needs of the country. The Department would value more involvement from regional transport bodies, such as Transport for the North, in deciding how best to invest in transport in their region.
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve the provision of rail services in (a) Tyne and Wear and (b) the North East of England.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Rail journeys across the north east will undergo the biggest transformation in decades, with an unprecedented package of improvements. By 2020 all the trains will be brand new or completely refurbished, and all the Pacer trains will be gone. Similarly, across the whole of the North there will be more than 500 brand-new train carriages, with room for 40,000 more passengers and 2,000 extra services a week.
The 2nd Round of New Station Fund is providing £3.3 million towards a new station on the Durham Coast Line at Horden. The Government supports the Metro system with £317million for its reinvigoration and renewal programme and £230 million towards its running costs. The Transport Secretary last week unveiled the latest stage in the government’s record investment in Britain’s railways setting out the next round of rail funding, announcing that around £48 billion will be spent on the network over a 5 year period, from 2019 to 2024, including more maintenance and a huge uplift in renewals to increase reliability and punctuality for passengers.
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what comparative assessment he has made of public spending per capita on transport infrastructure in (a) Tyne and Wear, (b) the North East, (c) London and (d) the South East.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Figures on public sector spend per head of population at a regional level are part of the government’s Country and Regional Analysis (CRA) statistics. However, there are significant caveats around the interpretation of these figures for transport spending.
The CRA attempts to allocate expenditure on the basis of which region benefits from the spend, rather than where it is made. However, this can be challenging as expenditure in one part of the country may actually benefit a different area, and this is particularly a problem for spending on the motorway, trunk roads, and the railway. For example, whilst spending on a local hospital is likely to predominantly benefit those who live in that area, spending on a motorway or railway line will benefit not just those living nearby but also those travelling from and to other areas across the country. Whilst the Department does try to record rail funding across the regions based on which passengers benefit, allocations are inevitably fairly imprecise.
In terms of the calculation of this regional spending on a per capita basis (i.e. per head of resident population), the calculation for London doesn’t account for the substantial number of daily commuters and visitors, both domestically and internationally, who will be using and benefitting from the roads and public transport networks but who aren’t London residents. In particular, as the main international gateway into the country, London will be the location for transport investments which look to serve passengers well beyond the local resident population.
The above caveats should be taken into account when looking at the CRA figures for regional Government expenditure on transport. The figures for 2015-16 relating to locations (b), (c) and (d) from the above request are shown in the table below. This information is published for government office regions only, and therefore is unavailable for (a) Tyne & Wear.
Table 1. Government expenditure on transport per head of population by region
| Total transport spend per capita |
North East | £299 |
London | £973 |
South East | £365 |
Source:
HM Treasury Country and Regional Analysis (CRA) 2016
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding his Department plans to make available to support the improvement and expansion of the Tyne and Wear Metro after the current funding arrangement ends in 2021.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department for Transport is currently in discussions with Nexus about funding options for the renewal of the Metro fleet. These discussions include consideration of revenue and capital support for the existing network beyond the current funding arrangement.
The Department is also aware that Nexus has identified several possible extensions to the Metro. It will be up to Nexus to develop a business case for any such investment. All funding will be subject to normal tests of affordability and value for money.
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions his Department has had with Nexus on its proposal for new rolling stock on the Tyne and Wear Metro.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department for Transport is currently in discussions with Nexus regarding their proposals for new rolling stock on the Metro, including exploring various funding options.
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 4.22 of the Spring Budget 2017, how much of the £690 million fund to support local transport projects will be allocated to projects in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside local authority and (c) the North East.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF) allocates £690 million to local authorities in England for local transport networks. £490 million of this is available through a competition which was launched on 6 April and bids close on 30 June. Local authorities have an opportunity to bid for a share of the funding. In the North East, funding could be allocated to either or both of the two Combined Authorities (CAs), Tees Valley CA and North East CA, with the latter including both the Jarrow Parliamentary constituency and South Tyneside local authority. CAs are encouraged to coordinate the submission of NPIF bids for improvements to roads that are the responsibility of local authorities in their areas. At this stage it is not known which local authority areas will submit projects through the competition, or which will be endorsed by the relevant CAs.
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 4.22 of the Spring Budget 2017, how much of the £220 million to address pinch points on the strategic road network will be allocated to schemes in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside local authority area and (c) the North East.
Answered by John Hayes
In November 2016, the Chancellor announced the Government’s commitment to allocate an extra £220 million to relieve congestion on the Strategic Road Network. The schemes in this Congestion Relief Programme will be delivered quickly to relieve congestion, improve safety and help facilitate local development.
There are no schemes within the Congestion Relief Programme for the Jarrow constituency or the South Tyneside local authority area, however there are four proposed improvement schemes in the North East estimated to cost a total of £31.3 million.
There is also £18.2 million allocated to Yorkshire & North East for some smaller schemes though these are not developed to a stage where they can be announced.