Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on proposals for new stations within the greenbelt.
Answered by Andrew Jones
We would expect any proposal for a new station to follow the same process as any other development in the greenbelt. This would include call-in to the Secretary of State for Planning for a decision on whether to grant or refuse the application.
Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on dealing with proposals from transport authorities for new stations which do not fall within that authority's area.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Department will become involved with proposals for new stations if Government funding is sought to support the new station or if franchised train services are planned to call. By that stage we would expect to see evidence of a strong business case, value for money and support from relevant stakeholders, including all affected local authorities.
Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what comparative assessment he has made of the potential economic benefits for the North of England of (a) electrifying the Trans-Pennine line and (b) upgrading but not electrifying that line.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The department has undertaken an assessment of the benefits of a range of potential investments in the route. Within the £2.9bn available in this control period, this work has enabled us to direct funding to the interventions where
it will deliver the best value to customers including the provision of more capacity and greater reliability. It is planned that electrification will take place on the busiest sections into Leeds and Manchester.
Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people in the North-West have (a) applied for and (b) received compensation from Northern Rail for (i) delays and (ii) cancellations to services.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Department does not hold this information. However, in January the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) published rail passenger compensation figures by train operating company (TOC) for the first time, which included the number of claims received and number of claims approved in each period for each TOC.
The figures can be found at: https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/displayreport/report/html/efefea78-e211-48b1-9f5e-2b9de8792b0c
Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to site any new railway station for Leigh in Wigan borough.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Government’s policy is that it is for local authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) to determine the best way to meet local transport needs and take the first step in evaluating benefits and prioritising available resources. It would be for Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) to develop such plans and secure funding.
TfGM is currently carrying out work to evaluate the feasibility of potential new rail stations and Metrolink stops in Greater Manchester, with a view to developing more detailed plans for a small number of stations that are likely to deliver the greatest value for money. Further details can be found at https://tfgm.com/2040/delivery-plan-2020-2025
Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding (a) in total and (b) per head of population has been allocated to transport infrastructure in each region in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Figures on public sector expenditure at a regional level are part of the Government’s Country and Regional Analysis (CRA) statistics.
The latest CRA statistics, published by HM Treasury on 20th November 2018, include total public expenditure on transport per capita on a regional basis from 2013-14 up to 2017-18, and are published at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/country-and-regional-analysis.
The statistics include spend on transport by all public sector organisations including the Department for Transport, Local Authorities, Public Corporations (in the case of transport, this is mainly spend by London Underground) and other Government Departments including devolved administrations.
When comparing expenditure across regions a number of factors should be considered. For example, when expenditure is presented on a “per head of population”(or “per capita”) basis, it does not account for the pressure that large numbers of commuters and visitors from outside of a region can add to the transport networks. In addition, larger built-up areas tend to make greater use of mass public transport systems, though these will generate fares income which contributes to their operating costs.
Statistics for public sector capital expenditure by region are given in Table 1 below. Table 2 provides the equivalent statistics per capita. Capital expenditure has been used as a proxy for spending on infrastructure specifically, but may include some capital investment beyond transport infrastructure projects.
Table 1: Capital spending on all transport, by all public sector bodies (£millions nominal)
Region | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-161 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 |
East of England | 1,034 | 1,176 | 1,410 | 1,427 | 1,842 |
East Midlands | 597 | 746 | 795 | 664 | 743 |
London | 4,022 | 4,549 | 5,335 | 5,770 | 6,519 |
North East | 323 | 406 | 521 | 512 | 512 |
North West | 1,136 | 1,393 | 1,824 | 1,807 | 2,930 |
South East | 1,432 | 1,542 | 1,968 | 2,121 | 2,188 |
South West | 662 | 803 | 1,011 | 1,169 | 1,110 |
West Midlands | 804 | 1,087 | 1,329 | 1,311 | 1,783 |
Yorkshire and the Humber | 874 | 1,084 | 1,335 | 1,129 | 1,009 |
Northern Ireland | 242 | 261 | 162 | 310 | 295 |
Scotland | 1,345 | 1,459 | 1,473 | 1,717 | 1,986 |
Wales | 556 | 578 | 657 | 617 | 687 |
Table 2: Capital spending, on all transport, by all public sector bodies, per capita (£s nominal)
Region | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-161 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 |
East of England | 174 | 195 | 232 | 233 | 299 |
East Midlands | 130 | 161 | 170 | 140 | 156 |
London | 478 | 533 | 616 | 658 | 739 |
North East | 124 | 155 | 198 | 194 | 194 |
North West | 160 | 195 | 254 | 250 | 404 |
South East | 163 | 174 | 220 | 235 | 241 |
South West | 123 | 148 | 185 | 212 | 200 |
West Midlands | 142 | 190 | 231 | 226 | 304 |
Yorkshire and the Humber | 164 | 202 | 248 | 208 | 185 |
Northern Ireland | 132 | 142 | 87 | 166 | 158 |
Scotland | 253 | 273 | 274 | 318 | 366 |
Wales | 180 | 187 | 212 | 198 | 220 |
1Due to the reclassification of Network Rail into the public sector from 2015-16, care should be taken when making historical comparisons.
Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/country-and-regional-analysis-2017
Total capital expenditure is prone to large year-on-year fluctuations as major projects are completed and funding to new projects begins. Large transport projects tend to require large sums of capital expenditure during construction, but deliver benefits for many years into the future. Consideration of this must be given when making year-on-year comparisons.
Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many trains (a) to and (b) from Warrington have been cancelled as a result of the recent disruption on the trans-Pennine line.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The Department does not hold Train Operator performance information at this level of detail. We acknowledge that the delays and cancellations experienced following the introduction of the new timetable have been unacceptable. We are working with Transport for the North, the Train Operators, and Network Rail to resolve the problems as quickly as possible, to compensate passengers appropriately, and to learn the lessons that will prevent this happening again in the future.
Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the number of people in Warrington North constituency who will be eligible to claim compensation for delays since the new timetable was introduced on Northern Rail.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
A special compensation scheme for inconvenienced passengers is being established and details will be announced by Transport for the North.
Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the effect of Northern Rail disruption on the North West's economy.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
An estimate on the effect of Northern Rail disruption on the North West economy has not been made. It is the Department’s top priority to make sure that the industry restores reliability for passengers to an acceptable level as soon as possible.
Asked by: Helen Jones (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much money was spent from the public purse on subsidised bus routes in Warrington in each year since 2010.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
Up until 31 December 2013 Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) was paid directly to bus operators and wasn’t split between commercially run or subsidised bus services. We are therefore unable to provide figures for this period. From 1 January 2014 local authorities have received funding equivalent to the level of BSOG which would otherwise have been paid to operators for running subsidised services. Details of the amounts paid to local authorities each year can be found on the “Payments to Local Authorities” tab on the relevant spreadsheets published on the .gov website.