Heavy Goods Vehicles (National Speed Limits)

Claire Perry Excerpts

Monday 1st September 2014 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Claire Perry)]

My noble Friend, the Minister for Transport, Baroness Kramer, made the following ministerial statement on Thursday 24 July:

The Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Devizes (Claire Perry), has today announced that the Government are proposing, following a public consultation, to increase the national speed limit for heavy goods vehicles of more than 7.5t on single carriageways from 40 mph to 50 mph.

This change will be implemented via a change in the law to be put to Parliament during the next few months, with implementation scheduled for early 2015. The existing 40 mph limit continues to apply until the change has been put into effect. The amended speed limit will cover single carriageway roads outside built-up areas in England and Wales, unless specific lower local speed limits are in effect.

The Government are also announcing:

the start of a six-week consultation closing 5 September to seek views and evidence about increasing the national speed limit for HGVs on all purpose (non-motorway) dual carriageways from 50 mph to 60 mph. The intention would be to implement this at the same time;

encouragement to English local authorities to take up the flexibility and policies contained in the speed limit circular issued last year related to local 40 mph speed limits in particular;

our intention to encourage and increase the greater use of vocational driver conduct hearings, with new guidance from the senior traffic commissioner likely for consultation later this year; and

our intention to specify and then procure a major study about rural road safety.

The change to the national speed limit on single carriageway roads will modernise an antiquated restriction, which is not matched in most other European countries, including some of the other leaders alongside the UK for road safety (e.g. the Netherlands and Norway). The current speed limit just does not work—it is broken by about three quarters of HGV drivers at any particular time when they are not constrained by other traffic or the road layout. It is implausible that it could readily be made to work without a disproportionate effort.

This package allows our roads to be used better and more effectively. It will reduce delays and congestion, particularly on busy single carriageway A roads. It will remove a 20 mph differential between the lorry and car speed limits on single carriageway roads, cutting dangerous overtaking and bringing permitted lorry speeds into line with other large vehicles like coaches and caravans. Assessed benefits to business are £11.8 million per year.

The Government are determined that any potential risks higher speeds bring will be managed effectively. This change will reduce speed differences between different types of traffic which is likely to reduce risks. The Government are also bringing forward associated measures so we continue to improve safety.

For example the change to the HGV speed limit will allow us to set up tougher procedures and sanctions for lorry drivers caught exceeding the new speed limits. It will also reinforce the credibility and importance of other safety-critical laws with similar sanctions, including the prohibition on hand held mobile phones and the 30 mph limit in towns and cities.

This change is founded on a long-standing trend of improving road safety, which we have committed to build on. So we will be introducing a new offence of driving with a drug in the body over specified limits and tightening up drink-drive enforcement early next year. Last year we increased by two thirds the fixed penalties for many traffic offences and we are consulting on changes to improve enforcement against tired HGV drivers, including those based abroad.

We will be supporting the speed limit increase by promoting the advice we updated last year to highway authorities about local speed limits. Local authorities can restrict all traffic to 30, 40 or 50 mph where this is needed because of the use of roads by pedestrians and cyclists, settlements on roads, high-air pollution or safety risks. Finally all drivers, but particularly the professional drivers of HGVs, need to be aware that the speed limit is a maximum not a guideline.

The Department for Transport is publishing the summary of single carriageway HGV speed limit consultation responses, the consultation document for dual carriageways and impact assessments for both measures.

Copies of these documents will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Parliamentary Written Answer (Correction)

Claire Perry Excerpts

Monday 1st September 2014 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Claire Perry)]

I regret to inform the House that there was an inaccuracy in the answer given by the then Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Wimbledon (Stephen Hammond) to parliamentary question 195584 on 10 April 2014, Official Report, column 338W, about spend on consultancy services by the Department for Transport. Unfortunately there were coding errors in the classification of the spend data used to identify consultancy services, resulting in Thompsons Solicitors being named as a consultant. They do not provide consultancy services to the Department. Corrections have been made to the coding and the table supplied should now read:

Rail Services (Northern Lincolnshire)

Claire Perry Excerpts

Wednesday 16th July 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Claire Perry)]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Cleethorpes (Martin Vickers) for initiating this debate. He is a northern powerhouse in his own right, and has been an ardent campaigner on this issue, as have colleagues from across the House who represent constituencies in that area. He has impressed on my predecessor, my hon. Friend the Member for Wimbledon (Stephen Hammond)—who I believe did a sterling job in this role—and on the Department, the importance that his constituents place on rail services in northern Lincolnshire. I am happy to say that the Government recognise the importance of rail services in the north of England, and also in my fine constituency which, as my hon. Friend knows, I am proud to represent.

Rail services are vital nationally. As hon. Members will be aware, since privatisation the number of passengers on our rail network has doubled, with record numbers of people choosing to travel by train. Indeed, the rail network has not been this busy since the 1920s. This is particularly obvious in the north of England, where the Northern and TransPennine Express franchises have far exceeded the original expectations of passenger growth. We are now dealing with the challenges of success, with the increase in passenger numbers meaning that we need to provide capacity where it is most needed. That is a key concern.

Capacity constraints in the whole region have driven the Government to invest a very welcome £1 billion in electrification projects and the northern hub, which my hon. Friend the Member for Cleethorpes mentioned. This programme will see improved services, increased capacity and reduced overcrowding across the north of England over the next five years, allowing for faster trains between the major northern cities and also benefiting freight, which he name-checked as being incredibly important. This investment will bring enormous benefits to the area and will complement the £104 million investment specifically for the Humber region that was announced as part of the local growth deal. In researching this today, I was particularly delighted to see that that money includes funding for a number of transport schemes, including funding for the Humber local enterprise partnership to further develop proposals for electrification between Hull and Selby.

The hon. Member for Great Grimsby (Austin Mitchell) alluded to the rolling stock transfer. My hon. Friend and hon. Members across the House will be pleased to hear that the Department has been working very closely with the train operating companies and the train leasing companies on the move of nine class 170 trains from TransPennine Express to Chiltern railways that is scheduled for April 2015. I am confident that we have developed a solution that will ensure that current capacity is maintained and that suitable and appropriate rolling stock will be provided for passengers in north Lincolnshire. I hope to make an announcement to that effect in due course.

As we heard, the lines in this area provide an incredibly important rail freight link, especially to and from the major port of Immingham. As my hon. Friend said, he estimates that 25% of all rail freight starts or ends his journey in his constituency. Recognising this, the Government have recently invested £45 million in the new Doncaster North chord. That will remove a significant bottleneck between the port and the power stations in the region, providing capacity and performance improvements for passenger and freight services and relieving pressure on the all-important east coast main line.

As we know, the Government have big ambitions for rail travel in the north. The prospectuses for the TransPennine Express and Northern franchises set out the transformation that we want to see. We are encouraging ambitious bids, and we want partners for the new franchises that have vision and the capability to deliver on that vision. They will need long-term plans for franchises that truly place passengers at the heart of their operation.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

Will the Minister give way?

--- Later in debate ---

[Claire Perry]

It would be a pleasure.

[Nic Dakin]

I fully associate myself with the comments by the hon. Member for Cleethorpes (Martin Vickers), who set out the position very well. I congratulate him on securing the debate. The Minister will have noted the consternation of businesses and domestic users across northern Lincolnshire regarding this issue. I very much congratulate her on taking on this role, which is a well-deserved promotion. She will have been listening to the debate carefully and will want to reflect on it. I ask her, after that reflection, to meet the four MPs from northern Lincolnshire to consider the matter further so that we can properly represent the concerns that have been very fully expressed tonight.

[Claire Perry]

The hon. Gentleman, who I would like to call my hon. Friend given the nights we have spent counting votes together, raises the important issue of the representation of business and passengers. It would be a pleasure to meet the hon. Members representing this important area to discuss this further.

We need to ask not just Members here but all users of rail services in the region what they need and what matters to them. The consultation document launched last month does just that by inviting MPs, councils and all rail users—indeed, all interested parties—to tell us what matters to them. The questions raised in the consultation cover a large number of areas and set out some of the options we are considering for services on the Northern and TransPennine Express franchises. It is important to remember, however, that the consultation is a genuine one. We are a Government who believe in listening. No decisions have been made and there have been no backroom dealings, so the document is what it says on the tin—a consultation document. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said in a recent interview in that estimable publication, the Grimsby Telegraph, there is nothing sinister at all about the proposals. It is important that we are able to ask all sorts of questions and listen to the answers that people provide. As he said:

“Quite often we’re accused of not asking and just acting. Now we’re asking, we’re getting into trouble for that as well.”

My hon. Friend the Member for Cleethorpes and the hon. Member for Great Grimsby asked about Rail North, which is an important partner both in the consultation process and in the long-term future of the operation of the franchises. I commend the local councils of the Members in the Chamber. The councils have been assiduous in campaigning for the rail links and will work hard throughout the consultation process. However, I emphasise that there is nothing to stop those councils, or indeed anybody, from putting their own consultation directly to the Department.

I appreciate that some of the questions we have asked, particularly those in relation to service changes from Cleethorpes to Manchester airport, have raised concerns and strong feelings from, I imagine, many of the 400,000 people who use Cleethorpes station every year, and who are represented well in the Chamber, but I believe it is a good thing to engender such reactions, because it shows the importance that people place on their rail services and that we are asking the right questions.

As we have said throughout the consultation document, we place a great deal of importance on the evidence and value the submissions. I encourage all hon. Members and their constituents, and anyone else with a strong view, to make it known before the consultation closes on 18 August.

My hon. Friend the Member for Cleethorpes asked specifically about passenger loading figures and the drop-off ratio between stations. I am happy to consider releasing such information to him. Perhaps he would be kind enough to drop me a note on specifically what he would like, and we will get to work on it.

It is clear from this evening’s debate that there is a great strength of feeling about rail services throughout the north of England and the country. I should take this opportunity to recognise again my hon. Friend’s assiduous campaign on behalf his constituents. I am sure I will discuss the subject with him on many other occasions and that I will receive many more submissions from him. I hope that strength of feeling translates into a large number of responses, which will allow the Government to deliver the improvements people want.

Question put and agreed to.

Oral Answers to Questions

Claire Perry Excerpts

Thursday 29th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Norman Baker]

Detailed evidence regarding the tendering process for the Thameslink rolling stock was given by the Transport Committee in September 2011. That confirmed that the requirements of EU procurement law had been met. The rolling stock procurement process is working towards commercial close in December and financial close early in the new year. Good progress has been made already on the infrastructure programme. Blackfriars and Farringdon stations are both operational, and enabling work at London Bridge is ongoing.

[Claire Perry (Devizes) (Con)]

15. What progress his Department is making on rail electrification.

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Mr Simon Burns)]

This Government have funded Network Rail to electrify almost 850 route miles, compared with about 10 route miles delivered by the previous Government in 13 years. The programme is on schedule. Passengers between Manchester and Scotland will be the first to benefit from electric trains by the end of 2013 and passengers on other routes will benefit soon after.

[Claire Perry]

I thank the Minister for that encouraging reply. He recently wisely decided to review a further 80 miles of electrification west of Newbury down to Westbury, which would bring enormous timetable and speed benefits to my constituents, as well as to neighbouring constituencies. Can he confirm that freight will be included in that review and indicate when it will be complete?

Oral Answers to Questions

Claire Perry Excerpts

Thursday 28th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Claire Perry (Devizes) (Con)]

The whole House recognises the difficulty of getting certain groups of people into work. Does the Minister agree that payment by results is the way to ensure that the right level of resources is targeted at those who are hardest to help?

[Lynne Featherstone]

My hon. Friend highlights exactly the right point. Work programme providers are encouraged by payment by results, which means that when a young black man comes in, the providers will not get paid unless they remove the barriers that are prohibiting him from getting work, whether through education, training, skills or whatever else.

Oral Answers to Questions

Claire Perry Excerpts

Thursday 15th September 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Mrs Theresa Villiers)]

Merseyrail is on a different fares framework from the rest of the country—I think that it is on RPI. We all fully recognise the concern about rail fares. The decision on RPI plus 3% has been taken to enable us to deliver a massive programme of rail upgrades, which is essential if we are to deal with passenger concerns and promote vital economic growth.

[Claire Perry (Devizes) (Con)]

T4. Last night I drove down to my constituency and, unusually, the motorway was very clear. However, it is often the case that there are accidents on both the M3 and the M4 and it seems to take an unfeasibly long time to get the motorway reopened afterwards. Will the Department do something about that?

[Mr Philip Hammond]

My hon. Friend raises a very topical point. She may know that in August we had one of the longest ever post-accident closures on the M25 very close to my own constituency, as it happens, when the motorway was closed for more than 24 hours following an accident. The Under-Secretary of State for Transport, the hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead (Mike Penning), has been in discussion with the Association of Chief Police Officers, the police lead on traffic services. A working group is now operating between the Highways Agency and ACPO, which will be reporting before the end of the year. We have also allocated £3 million to invest in the latest laser scanners to allow the police to record traffic accident scenes more quickly and allow the clear-up of the motorway to progress more quickly.

Oral Answers to Questions

Claire Perry Excerpts

Thursday 5th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt (Portsmouth North) (Con)]

5. What plans he has for the reform of rail franchising; and if he will make a statement.

[Claire Perry (Devizes) (Con)]

6. What plans he has for the reform of rail franchising; and if he will make a statement.

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

The Government published “Reforming Rail Franchising: response to consultation and policy statement” on 19 January this year. In it we set out, among other things, our commitment to longer franchises, less prescriptive service requirements, and the transfer of stations to train operators. The Department is now considering, within the framework, the detailed invitation to tender for the intercity west coast franchise.

[Mr Hammond]

I appreciate my hon. Friend’s campaign on that point, but the simple fact is that on many of our suburban railways, particularly those going into London, we have limited capacity. Trains are already at maximum length, and the number of train paths is already at the maximum capacity of the railway. Taking out seats to make them larger, which I think is my hon. Friend’s point, would simply mean more commuters standing, and those commuters who join the train closer to London are vehemently against that, so the Government have no plans at the moment to specify the size or configuration of seats in commuter trains.

[Claire Perry]

Will the Secretary of State expand for us on the benefits that he expects passengers to get from changed patterns of franchising? In particular, will they benefit passengers in Wiltshire, especially those who would like to travel on the proposed trans-Wilts railway, which would improve considerably our north-south travel patterns in the county?

[Mr Hammond]

As my hon. Friend will have anticipated, I specifically had passengers in Wiltshire in mind when we designed our franchising proposals. The key thing is to drive down the cost of our railways. We have to make them more efficient, and we have to close the productivity gap between them and competitive railways in Europe to relieve the pressure on both the taxpayer and the fare payer. The changed franchise specifications will give train operators incentives to drive down costs—something that, frankly, they have not been incentivised to do under the current system.

Oral Answers to Questions

Claire Perry Excerpts

Thursday 10th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Mrs Theresa Villiers)]

I refer to the comments of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State: taxation is a matter for the Chancellor. I am sure that he will bear in mind the impact of decisions on air passenger duty on regional connectivity. This Government fully recognise the importance of good regional connections between London and all parts of the United Kingdom.

[Claire Perry (Devizes) (Con)]

T5. One way to help hard-pressed rural motorists in my constituency would be to reverse some of the short-sighted Beeching decisions taken decades ago that ripped the heart out of our rural railway services. Will the Secretary of State undertake to look closely at one proposal on the table—that of the TransWilts railway, which would link Swindon, Salisbury and stops in between, and bring enormous economic benefits to the county of Wiltshire?

[Mrs Villiers]

I know that my hon. Friend has done great work on this issue, and that there is a lot of activity locally. She will appreciate that such projects, which have primarily local benefits, need to find funding locally. It is therefore important that she should engage with the local authorities, Network Rail and the train operators to see what might be logistically feasible in getting the project off the ground.