Oral Answers to Questions

Rob Wilson Excerpts

Thursday 8th May 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

I agree entirely. Some councils have shown excellent ways of doing that through a holistic approach, and I commend them for that. I was in Northampton recently to see what the local council has done there. It has taken on board the point the hon. Gentleman makes. I hope that other authorities will do likewise.

[Mr Rob Wilson (Reading East) (Con)]

15. What recent assessment he has made of progress on Crossrail.

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Patrick McLoughlin)]

The Crossrail project is progressing well. Over 20 miles of tunnels under London have now been completed, which is 78% of all the tunnelling. While focus is being maintained on delivering the infrastructure, work is now well under way on the operational phases, making Crossrail a fully operational railway. Crossrail is on course to be delivered by the scheduled opening date of December 2018 for the central section, with full services commencing in 2019.

[Mr Wilson]

I am grateful to the Government for recently correcting the terrible error of the previous Government, who would have stopped Crossrail at Maidenhead, rather than Reading. The local enterprise partnership and local businesses support my view that unlocking Crossrail’s full potential will require some semi-fast services, rather than the slow metro service currently proposed from Reading into London. Will my right hon. Friend support Thames Valley Berkshire LEP, local businesses and me by doing everything he can to deliver the economic boost that the right Crossrail will bring to Reading and the Thames valley region?

[Mr McLoughlin]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his comments on this massive project, which is important both for London and for the outlying areas. I will be more than happy to discuss it with him as we develop the programme and the timetables.

Transport Infrastructure

Rob Wilson Excerpts

Tuesday 17th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

Coming from somebody who was 13 years in a Government who refused to make—[Interruption.] The hon. Gentleman was 13 years in Parliament supporting a Government—avidly, on every occasion—who continually failed to take any decisions about major infrastructure projects, yet he now complains that this Government, who have made more progress on the railways and on aviation, are somehow slacking in making their decision.

[Mr Rob Wilson (Reading East) (Con)]

Heathrow is crucial to the continued economic vibrancy of towns such as Reading and to foreign inward investment into the Thames Valley region. Airport capacity does need to expand, but so, too, does surface access to Heathrow. Will my right hon. Friend ensure that the Heathrow rail link to Reading and from the west is immediately brought forward from the 2021 timeline currently in progress?

[Mr McLoughlin]

My hon. Friend is a very big advocate of more infrastructure investment in Reading, where we are currently spending some £880 million on a major refurbishment of Reading station, which will greatly enhance the capabilities for surface access to Reading. However, I note his early applications for even more investment in his area.

Cycling

Rob Wilson Excerpts

Monday 2nd September 2013 Commons Chamber

[John Stevenson (Carlisle) (Con)]

First, I should like to congratulate the all-party parliamentary cycling group on its report. I have to acknowledge a slight sense of guilt, as I should be a fully paid-up member of the group. I shall try to rectify that afterwards. I fully support its broad aims and the ambitions of the recommendations set out in the report. It is good to see cycling being debated and very much on the agenda.

Cycling has many virtues. It has health benefits, it is sustainable and environmentally friendly, it has many economic benefits and it is a wonderful social activity. Quite simply, it is an effective means of transport. It is encouraging to see the Government taking a greater interest in cycling, getting involved in the debate and putting some funding into cycling.

[Mr Rob Wilson (Reading East) (Con)]

I support what my hon. Friend is saying. The Government have put funds into a cycling bridge over the River Thames in my constituency, but the big problem is that the local authority does not join up the cycle networks. It thinks that simply putting white paint on the roads is enough to create safe cycleways, but that is not good enough.

[John Stevenson]

Indeed. We should remember that this is not just about funding coming from the centre; we should not always be looking to central Government to take the lead. Local government also has a critical role to play, as my hon. Friend has just pointed out. Its activities can encourage or discourage cyclists, and the resources that it is willing to provide are important. Local authorities can provide innovation and leadership in their own communities to improve the opportunities for cycling.

Rail Franchising

Rob Wilson Excerpts

Tuesday 26th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

I think I pointed out clearly in the statement the vast growth we have seen in the railways. I do not think that that would have happened without privatisation. We have seen levels of investment that were not seen beforehand. I point out to the hon. lady the simple fact that I inherited the system of franchising that operated under the previous Government.

[Mr Rob Wilson (Reading East) (Con)]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement. Can he give a bit more detail on how he will increase competition and improve efficiency on the railways?

[Mr McLoughlin]

Reading station, in my hon. Friend’s constituency, has seen a major refurbishment. That will make a huge difference. There will be closures over Easter, but more platforms will open and the work at the station will conclude in two years. About £800 million has been invested. We would not be investing that kind of money if we were not getting a good return for the passenger, his constituents and those who are served further along that line by First Great Western.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rob Wilson Excerpts

Thursday 28th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[George Eustice (Camborne and Redruth) (Con)]

4. What steps his Department is taking to secure an operator for the Great Western rail franchise.

[Mr Rob Wilson (Reading East) (Con)]

6. What steps his Department is taking to secure an operator for the Great Western rail franchise.

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

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State recently announced that we would not continue with the paused Great Western competition. He also confirmed that the Department would enter negotiations with First Great Western to secure arrangements for a further two and a half years, to September 2015. These negotiations are now in progress.

[Mr Burns]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question and I am delighted to be able to tell him that during the period of the extension we will maintain today’s number of daily through services from London to Cornwall. The Truro to Falmouth service will remain at today’s levels and will no longer have to be funded by Cornwall county council, but through the high-level output specification intervention. The option for additional services on the St Ives to Penzance branch from May 2014, subject to rolling stock availability, will be carried forward in this period.

[Mr Wilson]

My Reading East constituents, many of whom commute into London using the Great Western route, continually raise issues of service and cost of travel. Will my right hon. Friend assure me that the voices of the regular passengers will be listened to during the franchising process and that the interests and service needs of passengers will be fully reflected in the final franchising contract?

[Mr Burns]

Again, I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for that question. As the House will know, he has done tremendous work fighting for his constituents through the work he did securing funding for the improvements to Reading station and the London-Heathrow spur for the Great Western line. I reassure him that when the Secretary of State makes his announcement in the spring about the future progress of the franchising programme, all franchises will be extremely mindful of the needs of passengers, including those on the Reading line, as we approach any successor franchise arrangements, and we are committed to working with the industry to reduce costs and to take into account the needs and requirements of passengers.

Rail Investment

Rob Wilson Excerpts

Monday 16th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

The hon. Gentleman raised the question with me only last week in a meeting that I had with him on High Speed 2. As I said to him then, there are some challenges in doing as he suggests, but one of the most important aspects of the High Speed 2 business case is to ensure that as many communities as possible are connected up with it, and that we do that as soon as possible. I have no doubt that we will continue to look at whether those options are available to us and we can progress them. In the meantime the great news for him is that we will see High Speed coming up to his part of the country and it will hugely benefit his community when it gets there.

[Mr Rob Wilson (Reading East) (Con)]

May I thank my right hon. Friend and the Chancellor for backing the campaign that I led for western access to Heathrow, which will connect Reading directly to the nation’s hub airport? Does she agree that the £500 million investment offers the opportunity for further private sector involvement and investment to ease pressure on the taxpayer and also on ticket prices?

[Justine Greening]

I think that it does. In the Department for Transport we are keen to look at how we can more efficiently and effectively leverage in private sector investment. We were able to do that recently on the local authorities’ major road schemes and we should look to do it also on rail schemes where we can. Interestingly, on the £500 million project that we are taking ahead for that western rail access to Heathrow, more than 90% of the benefits will go directly to businesses, so it is a real catalyst for growth in the Thames valley area.

Cycling

Rob Wilson Excerpts

Thursday 23rd February 2012 Westminster Hall

[Dr Huppert]

There are a lot of greenways such as that one that can be used. In some parts of the country, they are used extensively and they are very good things, whether they run along a canal or an old railway line, unless, of course, it is planned to turn an old railway line into a new railway line; that might be happening. But there are certainly great opportunities, such as the one that my hon. Friend describes.

The small scale matters, but the Government need to encourage a much broader and long-term shift towards cycling. Some of that work costs money, but not a vast amount. To get to European-standard cycling towns would cost about £10 per person per year, which is not a huge or unthinkable sum.

In 2010, my hon. Friend the Minister announced a new local sustainable transport fund that is worth more than £500 million. Every local authority applied for money from that fund, and 38 out of the 39 successful bids included cycling aspects. That was a huge step forward, which I am delighted to endorse.

[Mr Rob Wilson (Reading East) (Con)]

I thank my hon. Friend for giving way, and I must say that I also support the campaign by The Sunday Times. The main thing that will increase the number of cyclists in our towns and cities is better safety. As a keen cyclist myself, I often find when I cycle in Reading that it is an extremely risky business. Does he agree, therefore, that local authorities need to do a lot more, and that simply painting some white lines on the road is just not good enough? We need much more action from local authorities, as well as from Government.

[Dr Huppert]

Local authorities at their best have some fantastic schemes. At their worst they paint a few white lines, which then stop suddenly and do not go anywhere, so we need the right infrastructure. More can be done with a local sustainable transport fund. I want to see that fund grow and I want a clear message from the Minister that schemes with lots of cycling in them are more likely to be successful. We need to increase substantially our national spend on cycling infrastructure, and that would be one way to do it. Local authorities are investing in some of these schemes, but they need to do more. They should also look at other options to increase permeability using things such as contraflow cycle lanes, which we have used safely in Cambridge for many years.

Network Rail

Rob Wilson Excerpts

Thursday 2nd February 2012 Westminster Hall

[Mr Rob Wilson (Reading East) (Con)]

I join other hon. Members in congratulating my hon. Friends the Members for St Albans (Mrs Main), for Suffolk Coastal (Dr Coffey) and for Ipswich (Ben Gummer) on securing this important debate. I apologise, Mr Amess, that I must leave the Chamber slightly early due to some child care issues that have arisen today.

Thus far, we have heard some valid criticisms of Network Rail’s performance on punctuality, delivery of long-distance and freight services through its operators, value for money and inefficiency, to name but a few issues. First Great Western, which serves my constituency, reports that 60.4% of delays are due to factors within Network Rail’s control. That figure includes 18 incidents of overrunning engineering work causing 1,053 minutes of delay, and 347 incidents of infrastructure failure causing 21,270 minutes of delay. The result is passenger inconvenience and frustration. Specifically in the Thames valley, which covers my constituency, Network Rail has caused a total of 2,976 hours of delay. That is not very good, to say the least, and considerably adrift of the targets that it was set.

The Office of Rail Regulation has said that Network Rail must improve on that, and two enforcement orders have been issued, which is highly embarrassing for such a company. I have spoken to First Great Western, and it is keen to emphasise that this is not a blame game, but a plea to work better with Network Rail to address problems that cause so much grief for so many of its passengers and our constituents. This is a long-standing plea and I had hoped that matters were improving, but it seems that I was far too optimistic about the moves that have been made to try to deal with some of the problems. Network Rail can and must improve on the terrible figures, but no organisation is perfect and we must see what can be done, and what improvements can be made.

As an organisation responsible for operating 20,000 miles of track and infrastructure, 40,000 bridges and tunnels, 18 major stations, 2,500 leased stations and 8,200 commercial properties, Network Rail has a huge responsibility. At this time of economic challenge, we need a railway infrastructure fit for purpose to keep Britain moving.

The McNulty report recommends a number of improvements, some of which have been covered in the debate and some of which will perhaps be covered later. I would like to draw from my experience of working with Network Rail on a range of issues on behalf of my constituents. That experience should not detract at all from anything in the powerful speech made by my hon. Friend the Member for St Albans, but all I can say at the outset is that my experience has been very positive.

Reading is a major transport hub in the south-east and Reading station is among the busiest stations on the country’s rail network. Every day, 700 trains pass through the station, which handles 14 million passengers each year. An £851 million redevelopment of the station is well under way, and its express aim is to provide more trains, to reduce delays and to provide a much better station overall for passengers.

In my first term in Parliament after 2005, I brought key stakeholders together to breathe life into a project that was drifting and even failing. It could not get off the ground, but I am pleased to say that Network Rail got onboard—if you will pardon the pun—and was very responsive to my requests, always positive and keen to get the job done. I am also pleased to report that to date the work has been delivered on time and on budget—although I take my hon. Friend’s point about “Panorama”. For such a large and complex project, that is welcome indeed, but it is also impressive considering that it must fit around a busy operating schedule. The Reading station redevelopment thus far stands as an example of Network Rail’s ability to deliver on ambitious plans for major rail improvements. Network Rail has shown me and my constituents that it employs good project management in this case, and has some very good people working for it.

In Reading, Network Rail is changing the track layout and building new platforms and entrances to the station to tackle congestion and to improve passenger journeys. Given the price my constituents pay for tickets—I am led to believe that it is the most expensive railway line in Europe—any work to improve passenger experience must be welcomed. New tracks and platforms mean that incoming trains will no longer need to queue outside the station, as they do now, which I am sure anybody who lives in the west country and further afield will welcome. Sitting delayed outside Reading station almost every day of the year is very frustrating, and a particular problem for passengers to the west of Reading. Network Rail engineers are building a new viaduct to the west of Reading, which is designed to take fast main lines over freight and relief lines. That work will enable the railway to cope as demand for train services increases in the years to come—a point well covered in the debate and a necessity that we cannot afford not to address.

Since 2008, I have been impressed by the emphasis that Network Rail has put on dealing with local stakeholders, ranging from myself as a local MP to Reading council and community groups. Its engagement strategies have helped stakeholders to shape the designs, not only for the station, but for the layout of the platforms and so on, and its work to keep local people updated has minimised disruption ahead of works. Thanks to its careful preplanning, a 10-day closure during the 2010 Christmas period meant that it was able to reduce—yes, reduce; I can see that there is surprise at that—the overall timetable for the project by a year. It was originally planned to be a six-year project and it will come in a year earlier than that, which is a big achievement.

The rail performance watchdog, Passenger Focus, has given positive feedback on the works to date. To Network Rail’s credit, in this instance an acceptable balance was struck between short-term disruption and a long-term reduction in the overall disruption caused by the project. Of course, there is huge room for improvement, but those efforts have been thorough and deserve a fair mention—credit where credit is due, after all. More recently, Christmas 2011 saw the completion of another major new bridge and new platforms to serve electrified southern lines. There too, Passenger Focus has given positive feedback on the works.

I am also pleased to say that all that work was completed to Network Rail’s published timetables, and I hope that that continues through to the project’s completion in 2015. If the project management at Reading station to date is anything to go by, I am confident that that can and will happen. My constituents in Reading East are ambitious for public transport services, and so am I. I am therefore pleased that, in my experience of the Reading station redevelopment, Network Rail has helped to deliver on that ambition.

I would like briefly to cite another example of my positive experience of working with Network Rail. Last month, I chaired another meeting of an ambitious group I have put together with Network Rail, BAA, London Heathrow airport, the Department for Transport and First Great Western. Our aim is to provide extended western rail access to Heathrow airport for Reading and beyond. In these tough economic times, such a link will improve business conditions in Reading and further afield, providing much needed connectivity with Europe’s busiest airport. That is important because Reading is home to many large employers and first-rate firms, such as Microsoft and Oracle, and the lack of a direct link leaves little alternative to lengthy and costly car and taxi journeys from Reading to Heathrow, which are estimated to cost local businesses £10 million a year in transport.

Reading, like other business centres, faces stiff competition regionally, nationally and internationally. We need to remain competitive, and in doing so, we must address the lack of a speedy link to Heathrow. A direct rail link is essential to our local economy over the next 20 years, and I am grateful to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport and her predecessor, now Secretary of State for Defence, for their critical support in getting such efforts off the ground. Network Rail deserves our thanks too, because following my bringing together key stakeholders and establishing the group to drive the project forward, Network Rail has proved to be an enthusiastic team player and, again, has shown itself to be a good project manager. I commend it for that.

I hope that Network Rail’s chief executive, Sir David Higgins, and his directors will take some positives from the debate, despite the many criticisms that they must hear and take onboard. I, for one, can give the Network Rail projects and people with whom I have dealt a thumbs up, and I hope that proposed improvement changes will mean that right hon. and hon. Members can give Network Rail a thumbs up in future.

[Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North) (Lab)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for St Albans (Mrs Main) on a first-class speech. I agreed with almost every word she said, but I am afraid that I do not share the rosy view of Network Rail that the hon. Member for Reading East (Mr Wilson) expressed.

[Mr Wilson]

It was my experience.

[Kelvin Hopkins]

It is not my experience. I have had many contacts with those who have worked in the rail industry over the past 15 years and before, and I have heard a stream of criticism from people fearful of being exposed because they would be victimised if their names leaked out. To illustrate that point, I deliberately forget their names, but I have heard a lot of very disturbing details.

I have a passionate interest in railways and have supported them since I serviced the TUC transport committee in the 1970s. I have been a rail commuter on Thameslink for 43 years, and have travelled through St Albans in that time. I have always believed that railways are the transport of the future, which was not the view of the Department for Transport until recently—quite unexpectedly as far as it is concerned, there has been an enormous surge in rail passengers in recent years. Despite higher fares and travel problems, people have chosen to use the railways, which confirms my view that they are the transport mode of the future. There has been much investment over the past 15 years, which has been expensive, but we need a lot more of it.

Privatisation has been a hugely expensive mistake. Indeed, a Department for Transport official was heard to say privately at the time that privatisation was intended to facilitate the decline of the railways. That was the Department’s view then. It was thought that the railways were a diminishing form of transport and that eventually we would all move to our cars. The great mistake, of course, was to divide the railways between Network Rail and the train operators—to separate track and train. No other country in Europe has chosen to privatise their railways. They have seen the mistake that we made, and the problems that that caused. There have been accidents and there are serious safety problems, even now, and of course there has been a massive increase in costs.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Mrs Ellman), the Select Committee Chair, said, Railtrack was an appalling organisation. In the foyer of its headquarters it had an electronic indicator showing its share price. That is what it was concerned about—not serving the public, or safety. Eventually, of course, the previous Government were forced to abolish it and to come up with another solution. I understand that a private conversation took place in Downing street for several hours, between Stephen Byers, Tony Blair and the then Chancellor of the Exchequer. Tony Blair got bored after a certain time and walked out, saying “Well do what you have to do, but no nationalisation.” So they came up with the strange beast called Network Rail, which is neither nationalised nor privatised, and has no effective accountability at all. We have had not just privatisation but fragmentation—but that fragmentation was based on some economic theory, which was once explained to me by an economist. I said, “Costs were supposed to go down, but they went up massively.” “Yes,” he said, “our theory didn’t work.” Well, why do they not just reverse what they did and reintegrate and renationalise the railways?

There has been a massive increase in costs, in both public subsidy and fares, and, as Sir Roy McNulty concluded, at one point, our railways were up to 40% more expensive than continental railways. I have said in the Chamber, and to Sir Roy, whom I have met twice with my hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell), that the big difference between continental railways and ours is that the continental ones are publicly owned and integrated, while ours are privately owned and fragmented. I do not think that he was listening to me, because he clearly had his card marked, “Whatever you do, no public ownership: find another solution.” One of the things that he has done, which I completely disagree with—the railway unions have made the point—is to consider staffing cuts. The staff on the front line have apparently been judged very efficient. They are not the problem, or the ones who cause the costs, but they are the ones who will have to pay the price, because in place of a challenge to what Network Rail does, there will be cuts to staff in stations at night.

Network Rail is a dysfunctional organisation. It is expensive and bloated, and is a law unto itself. I have met David Higgins a couple of times, and I have a high regard for him. He is a decent person, but he has taken over an organisation that is out of control. He has had great difficulty in penetrating that appalling organisation. Network Rail is a rogue organisation, and impenetrable. I have described it as an entrenched management mafia. I understand that within the organisation David Higgins suffers a degree of hostility, because every time he tries to change anything he is resisted. That is not just within the management structures; even at board level he suffers from those problems. It is down to the Government to back him up when he wants to do things, and to break the stranglehold of the corrupt management that has been there so long.

The vice-like grip of the old guard stems back to Railtrack days, and even though it was abolished some of the same people—and the same practices and culture—carried on. As I have said, I have had dozens of conversations over 15 years with staff and former staff, and they are all fearful of being whistleblowers, and I can understand why.

Aviation Industry

Rob Wilson Excerpts

Tuesday 15th November 2011 Westminster Hall

[Mr Rob Wilson (Reading East) (Con)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for Central Ayrshire (Mr Donohoe) on securing this debate and on the birth of his new family member, Rosie.

I want specifically to discuss my strong support for much-needed improved ground access to Heathrow. In my view, there is a specific and strong case for improving railway connectivity to London Heathrow via a western extension of services. The case is not based solely on improved accessibility for passengers, because it is also driven by a strong national economic imperative.

This is a debate about the future of the industry. Often, when talking about the future, we try to be optimistic. Optimism is definitely required when discussing aviation, due to the financial challenges facing the nation. Given the financial crisis and the need for economic growth to stimulate recovery, we must be mindful of the contribution made by the industry. Simply put, we all acknowledge that a strong aviation industry is good for the British economy.

In that light, I am keen to secure the multiple benefits of improved rail access to Heathrow airport for my constituency of Reading East. However, it is worth noting that the benefits of access reach far wider than individual constituencies. I have been working closely with key figures in government and the railway and aviation industries to make extended western access to Heathrow a reality. As we debate the future of this important industry, I am pleased to report that the project is making progress, which is important.

Estimates from the Treasury put the aviation industry’s contribution to the UK economy at £18 billion, which cannot be ignored in the current economic climate. The aviation sector employs 250,000 people directly and an estimated 200,000 more in the supply chain. Again, that contribution should not be taken lightly. Heathrow airport has 65.7 million terminal passengers each year, and Department for Transport forecasts estimate that that figure will have risen to 85 million by 2030.

Looking to the future, as air travel grows, so will the industry’s contribution to the wider economy. We cannot afford to ignore it or fail to make the right investment to exploit it. After all, there are plenty of other airports across Europe willing to challenge Heathrow’s position. We must defend Heathrow’s pre-eminence on the European and worldwide stage. There is, of course, a balance to be struck between aviation expansion and its negative impacts, such as the environmental considerations that hon. Members have discussed.

[Mary Macleod]

Does my hon. Friend agree that we must also take account of local residents? What we really want is to make Heathrow better, not bigger, and to ensure that the noise impact on local residents is minimised.

[Mr Wilson]

Of course. I think that the hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) would totally agree. The Government have said that expansion should not come at any price. As we know, they have cancelled the planned third runway at Heathrow. There is, by and large, cross-party consensus on the issue. However, that is not to say that we cannot make improvements to the system that we already have, as my hon. Friend has said, and Heathrow is a prime example. Improved western railway access to Heathrow would help to maximise the benefits that the airport provides.

For my constituency, that means strengthening Reading’s standing as the commercial centre of the Thames valley. Direct railway access to Heathrow would entrench and extend Reading’s position as a place to do business. Leading technology companies such as Microsoft and Oracle have established headquarters in Reading East, along with many other companies too numerous to name with a global outlook and an international reach.

The lack of direct rail access has rightly been described by the president of the Reading chamber of commerce as bringing “huge frustrations”. Big businesses based in Reading pay an estimated £10 million a year in taxi fares to send executives and business people to and from Heathrow, which is not particularly business-friendly. Money is not the only cost to businesses resulting from inadequate connectivity to the airport. The absence of a link also costs them precious time that could be spent with clients and customers. Lengthy journeys on the M4 to Heathrow, with their inherent risk of traffic jams and other delays, are not acceptable for international businesses.

The easier transport to an airport is, the more people and businesses will use it, in which case the economic benefit will then flow into the wider economy. I have been working with key figures at BAA, Network Rail and First Great Western and officials from the Department for Transport. All have come together to breathe new life into the project. As a result, £119,000 in funds was recently allocated to Network Rail, and design consultants have been appointed. A feasibility study is under way and is due to be completed in December. I look forward to the report’s publication.

As I have outlined, the exciting benefits for Reading East are clear, but the project also has the potential to open up direct rail access to parts of the country that are poorly served. For the first time, Heathrow would become directly accessible to Wales, Herefordshire, Devon, Dorset, Cornwall and many other areas by means other than car or coach. I have no doubt that hon. Members representing constituencies in those areas would also benefit, and that they look forward to the report’s publication. Additionally, I hope that they will attend a parliamentary reception that I am hosting on Thursday 24 November to give the project further traction. I am delighted that my right hon. Friend the Transport Secretary will speak at the event.

I am passionate and serious when I say that this project is part of the future of the aviation industry. The implications of this important expansion in accessibility are vast, as millions of people would find themselves with a new route to Europe’s busiest airport. As the world shrinks and our outlook becomes ever more global, why should some parts of Britain be disjointed in their access to our premier airport?

I am optimistic about the future, despite the gloomy economic outlook. Aviation will play an important role in delivering growth for the UK economy. We cannot afford to endanger that future prosperity by not constantly seeking improvements to the industry—in this case, through better connectivity to Heathrow airport.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rob Wilson Excerpts

Thursday 10th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Norman Baker]

The right hon. Lady is right to raise that issue, which is a serious problem for the railway network, as well as for the energy network and the telecoms industry. We are taking it seriously. A cross-departmental group of Ministers, on which I sit for the Department for Transport, has met twice to consider what we can do within existing powers and what further steps might be necessary in regulations or legislation to deal with this serious problem, which is having a big impact on the economy and on passengers.

[Mr Rob Wilson (Reading East) (Con)]

May I welcome the Government investment in Reading station, which will make a massive difference to punctuality across the whole network? Will the Minister express his support for a western link into Heathrow, which would offer major economic benefits for the south-west, Wales and Reading, and improved punctuality?

[Norman Baker]

I recognise the strong case for better access on the rail network to our major airports, including of course Heathrow, and my right hon. Friend the Minister of State has been particularly concerned about that. We want to improve access to Heathrow, and of course we have to ensure that any plans tie in with anything that might be done with high-speed rail.