Oral Answers to Questions

Huw Merriman Excerpts

Thursday 13th July 2023 Commons Chamber

[Adam Afriyie (Windsor) (Con)]

19. What plans he has to reform ticketing for railway services.

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Huw Merriman)]

We are delivering on the plan for rail commitments to improve railway ticketing. We recently announced that contactless pay-as-you-go will be extended to another 53 stations in the south-east, and we are working with Greater Manchester and the West Midlands on pay-as-you-go trailblazer devolution deal commitments. Some 99% of all tickets can be purchased online or through ticket machines.

[Mr Mohindra]

May I wish the Minister of State a happy big birthday? Sarah from my office thinks he looks no older than 25; I may not always agree with her on that one.

One of my constituents, who works at a local station, reached out to me last week with concerns about the Department’s plans. In the email, my constituent said:

“By closing the ticket office, you take away a focal point of contact. How is someone in need going to find me on a station that is as big and spread-out as ours?”

Can the Minister reassure us both that those who need assistance will be able to locate staff easily?

[Huw Merriman]

There is no better place to celebrate my half century than this place, with friends and even greater colleagues.

I thank my hon. Friend—and I thank his constituent—for the work he performs at Berkhamsted and Tring stations. These stations, along with another 51 stations, will be getting pay-as-you-go by the end of the year. We know that 90% of transactions are completed outside ticket offices, and this shift tends to increase for stations that operate pay-as-you-go. He asked about ensuring that staff at ticket barriers are easily identifiable. I believe that is the case, and we will certainly make sure, as these reforms are rolled out by train operators, that it continues to be the case. The proposals from train operators are aimed at redeploying ticket office staff to parts of the station where all passengers will access them and see them.

[Stephen Metcalfe]

Will my hon. Friend confirm when my constituents will be able to access the tap-in and tap-out service from the stations in my constituency at Laindon, Basildon, East Tilbury, Pitsea and Stanford-le-Hope?

[Huw Merriman]

Yes, I can. I thank my hon. Friend for the work he has done in ensuring that part of the roll-out of the 53 includes four of his stations. I can confirm that we are on track to get those delivered by the end of the year. Across the rail network, that will take us to more than 400 stations with pay-as-you-go.

[Adam Afriyie]

I thank the Government for expanding the pay-as-you-go scheme to stations in the Windsor constituency, which means that people can quickly tap in and tap out when they commute. It strikes me that people are under increasing financial pressure during these difficult times, so will the Minister confirm that it is the Government’s intention to roll the scheme out further afield, and that people travelling in that way will get the best available fare?

[Huw Merriman]

Yes, and I thank my hon. Friend for the work he put into ensuring that his constituency station at Windsor is part of that. I can give him that assurance. As well as providing seamless tap-in, tap-out payments, fares will be simplified so that most adult passengers can be confident that pay-as-you-go will be the best price for them on the day of travel.

[Marsha De Cordova (Battersea) (Lab)]

Many of my constituents in Battersea are concerned about the Government’s plans to close ticket offices at Wandsworth Town and Clapham Junction. Those closures will have a severe negative impact on disabled people, including blind and partially sighted people, and their ability to book assistance, buy tickets, or use the rail network. Only 3% of those with sight loss said that they can use a ticket machine, and nearly two-thirds said that it would be impossible. Will the Minister set out what assessment has been made on the impact of those closures, and will he publish it?

[Huw Merriman]

The hon. Lady is a London MP, and she will be aware that when London Underground did exactly the same thing for the underground it was deemed a success. That is why the current Labour Mayor has no plans to reverse it. The first group I met was that representing disability and access issues, because I wanted to ensure that the reforms best help those individuals. The aim is to redeploy staff away from the ticket office, where not so many people are seen, to the front of the station where all passengers can access them. That will particularly benefit those who have accessibility and disability challenges.

[Grahame Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

I wish the Minister a happy birthday, but may I respectfully bring to his attention the experience shared by Stephen Anderson, who provided evidence to the Transport Committee recently? He highlighted this issue, and said that if he requires assistance he needs a designated point to approach, rather than having to call out for help on the platform. In essence, Stephen believes that ticket office closures are merely a means to cut staff. As a disabled passenger impacted by previous Government policy, Stephen expressed a view echoed by other witnesses, including Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson. Does the Minister share their concerns?

[Huw Merriman]

I thank my hon. Friend—I enjoy all the work that I do with him. I take the point that he makes with regard to Stephen, but I passionately believe that the best help that anyone can give in a rail station is through personal interaction. That is difficult when somebody is behind a glass screen, because they are not able to exit that point and go and help. It was striking that the recent report on accessibility by the Office of Rail and Road showed that demand for passenger assist at stations had increased by 68%. On that basis, and because fewer people are now purchasing tickets from the ticket office—only one in 10—it surely makes sense to put the staff out on the platforms where they can be accessed, and where they can help and reassure people and give them more assistance.

[Holly Lynch (Halifax) (Lab)]

Halifax ticket office is facing closure. We know that one in six journeys on Northern are purchased at a ticket office, which is higher than the national average. There might be more of a case for closing ticket offices if there was not near constant chaos on rail networks in the north. Pretty relentless cancelled and delayed services are not uncommon, with the fragmentation of the tickets on offer resulting in everybody having questions about what service they can get on and when. Why on earth are the Government allowing the closure of the ticket offices?

[Huw Merriman]

This is ultimately a matter for the train operators, but they have taken the view that their staff can be better redeployed across the station concourse platform and barrier, accessing 100% of passengers, rather than the 10% nationally who purchase their tickets from a ticket office. Effectively, this is the railway catching up with the change in passenger behaviour and demand. I very much hope that in Halifax there will be a better service as a result. Some train operators are looking to turn currently unstaffed stations into staffed stations by redeploying, and I again give the commitment from the train operators that no currently staffed station will become unstaffed as a result of these changes.

[Mr Speaker]

I gently say to the Minister that Chorley matters to me; its ticket office is open all day, but the proposal is to have somebody available from nine to four, which is half the time. Please do take this up for people with disabilities, rightly, but don’t forget that what you are being told is not the case.

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[Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab)]

9. What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of ticket office closures on rail users.

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Huw Merriman)]

As I set out to the House last week, these industry-led reforms are about modernising the passenger experience. When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of all passengers, and to include that in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups.

[Dr Huq]

Mr Speaker, you yourself said that this news has been most unwelcome for the elderly, disabled and blind. Was an impact equality assessment carried out? I am lucky that Sadiq Khan is keeping all my Transport for London stations open, but rail workers risked their lives for us all. They were not watching box sets of Bridgerton during covid. Can the Minister commit to saying there will be no redundancies?

[Huw Merriman]

Mr Speaker, I will come back to you with regards to Chorley station. I repeat: the aim of the train operators is to redeploy staff to where they can interact with all passengers, rather than just the one in 10 who purchase tickets from ticket offices. Some 99% of all transactions can now be completed online or at ticket machines. I will just repeat the point that the Labour Mayor of London seems to think that getting more staff out and helping more passengers is a good way to operate, because that is exactly how London Underground continues to operate, as well as other operators across the country, including the Tyne and Wear Metro.

[Jeff Smith]

I have a lot of respect for the Minister, who I believe wants to do the right thing, but the rosy picture he portrays is not borne out by the reality. In my constituency, at Burnage station, the ticket office opening from 6.30 am to 1 pm is being replaced by a person from midday to 2 pm, at East Didsbury, where the ticket office has the same six-and-a-half hour opening, it is being replaced by a person for two hours from 9.30 am, and at Mauldeth Road, the ticket office that opens from 7 am to 1.50 pm is replaced by a person from 9.30 am to 11 am. All three stations have massively reduced hours—by over two thirds—and, importantly, will no longer be covered by a member of staff at rush hour. How can the proposals result in anything other than a much worse service for my constituents and other passengers? Will he ask Northern to rethink?

[Huw Merriman]

The train operators’ proposals, as I have stated, are to ensure that ticket office staff can be with members of the public and passengers where they best need them. It is also undoubtedly the case that some ticket offices are selling just one ticket per hour, so it may well be that train operators are looking at exactly which hours are best attainable. As I mentioned, there is one particular train operator that is currently looking to staff 18 currently unstaffed stations by spreading and redeploying staff across its network. I will be having conversations with the train operators as the proposals move along. I will certainly take forward the hon. Member’s point and I thank him for his engagement earlier this week on High Speed 2.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

[Huw Merriman]

The consultation is under the ticketing and settlement agreement, which I believe was put in place under the last Labour Government, so I very much believe it is a good and robust process. It allows for a period of time for members of the public and hon. Members in this place to give their views on individual stations. There is then a 35-day period for passenger groups to take them into account, work with the train operators to try to reach an agreement, and ensure that all current accessibility and opportunity requirements are taken into account and maintained. I fundamentally believe that rather than the railway being stuck in the past, it needs to adapt and change in the manner that its passengers are. If one in 10 passengers are operating the booking office purchase system, that means that 90% of passengers are not seeing a member of staff. That member of staff can look after them, give them information, make them feel more reassured and assist them on to the train. That is a modern railway in action.

[Jane Hunt (Loughborough) (Con)]

8. What steps he is taking to decarbonise transport infrastructure.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Huw Merriman)]

We continue to invest in upgrading the railways across England and Wales, with a budget of about £2 billion a year, including opening five new stations and two new lines in the past three years. In the north-east, the Government are investing in Darlington station, the Northumberland line and the east coast main line upgrade.

[Paul Howell]

I thank the Minister for his answer, but the most critical rail infrastructure needed in the north-east by far is the Leamside line project, starting with Ferryhill station. Its importance cannot be overstated; it is about resilience, capacity and levelling up. Can he tell us when we will get spades in the ground to show our commitment to constituents in Ferryhill and let them see the economic benefit that these stations will bring?

[Huw Merriman]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend, who is a champion of rail in the north-east. I thank him for his long-standing support for this scheme and for sponsoring the bid for restoring your railway ideas funding to reopen a station at Ferryhill. The updated strategic outline business case for the Ferryhill-Middlesbrough proposal is with the Department and we will be looking at it shortly.

[Luke Pollard (Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport) (Lab/Co-op)]

Railway ticket offices are essential railway infrastructure. The Minister has said that his hope is that staff will be redeployed on to the concourse, so can he comment on the fact that the planning assumption for Great Western Railway, once it closes the ticket office in Plymouth, is that it will cut the number of roles at Plymouth station by 42%, as part of a 40% cut in the workforce across the network in the south-west? Is that his actual plan? Can he also publish the letter of instruction sent by his Department to train operating companies requiring them to start the consultation on ticket office closures?

[Huw Merriman]

I certainly intend to be as transparent as you would expect in this regard, Mr Speaker, so I will look into the hon. Member’s request. I re-emphasise that this is a consultation by the train operators. His own train operator will no doubt take his comments about the station in his constituency on board. That will then be assessed by the passenger body and, if matters need to be worked upon, I would expect those two bodies to do that. If that cannot occur, it moves to an ultimate determination in the Department for Transport.

[Dr Luke Evans (Bosworth) (Con)]

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

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[Dan Jarvis (Barnsley Central) (Lab)]

T4. The Government’s response to the Transport Committee’s report on the integrated rail plan was published at midnight, and the terms of reference for the study on the high-speed rail link to Leeds are expected imminently. Will the rail Minister tell us what this will mean for the railways in Yorkshire?

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Huw Merriman)]

I thank the hon. Member for all his work in this regard, and he is absolutely right. With regard to Bradford, the Transport Committee’s report made a recommendation that better station options should be considered under the integrated rail plan. That work with Bradford will now commence to try to find a better station option and to improve transport links for the city. With regard to Leeds, the station capacity can be looked at and potentially unlocked, and the HS2 route options all the way up from Sheffield to Leeds will also be part of that study.

[Robbie Moore (Keighley) (Con)]

After much lobbying, I too am very pleased to hear that the Government have announced that the integrated rail plan will be reviewed and a new station could be considered in Bradford. Will the Minister meet me to discuss this important issue, and will he prioritise the project so that we can move at speed, because it will bring better connectivity and economic prosperity to not only Bradford but Keighley?

[Huw Merriman]

I certainly will meet my hon. Friend. I thank him for his involvement in the project for the last couple of years and for making the case for Bradford. Bradford is our youngest city in terms of population age and our fifth largest in terms of regional authority area. We firmly believe that levelling up means delivering for Bradford, so I am happy to meet him and I am delighted that this Government are willing to look at and give that partnership working to Bradford.

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

T5. Now that social distancing is over, will the Secretary of State look into restarting the pilot of demand responsive buses that Ealing and one other London borough—a Conservative-run borough—were undertaking before covid pulled the plug on them, as his predecessor, the right hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps), said he would do before being shuffled off?

[Scott Benton (Blackpool South) (Ind)]

A passing loop on the South Fylde rail line would double the number of trains coming into my constituency every hour, facilitating the millions of people who come to Blackpool every year. Following the award of feasibility moneys to look at the project, will the Minister meet me to appraise the options?

[Huw Merriman]

I would be delighted to meet the hon. Member. He is right that the Government have committed half a billion pounds to deliver more railways under the restoring your railway projects. The strategic outline business case on the project that he has worked so hard for is with the Department, and I am happy to meet him to discuss it.

[Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP)]

T6. There has been remarkably little progress in rolling out streetside chargers for electric vehicles outside buildings with multiple residents. What action are the Government taking to promote this scheme and to ensure we have the correct regulatory framework in place?