Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made on the (a) tender and (b) delivery of pay as you go rail ticketing across the North and Midlands; and if he will publish a timeline for that rollout.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Last year’s spending review set aside £360 million investment to modernise industry ticketing and retailing systems. Accordingly, we announced alongside the Integrated Rail Plan, an expansion of pay-as-you-go travel on rail to more than 700 stations in urban areas across the country including more than 400 in the north, exceeding our manifesto commitment.
We are working with the newly formed Great British Railways Transition Team to develop proposals to deliver this modernisation programme and PAYG and will announce further details in due course.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of whether the Welsh Government’s comparability factor for the Department for Transport should be updated in light of the changes to HS2 outlined in the Integrated Rail Plan to recognise that (a) Northern Powerhouse Rail Core Network, (b) Transpennine Route Upgrade and (c) the smaller rail schemes in the North and Midlands are England-only projects.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Government is responsible for much of the rail infrastructure in Wales and therefore spends money on this infrastructure rather than providing Barnett-based funding for the Welsh Government to do so. This is consistent with funding arrangements for all other reserved responsibilities in Wales. For example, the UK Government spends money on policing in Wales rather than providing the Welsh Government with Barnett-based funding in relation to spending on police forces in England.
In line with this responsibility, the UK Government is currently delivering an ambitious programme to upgrade Welsh railways, including through the electrification of the Severn Tunnel and building a new station at Bow Street.
The Welsh Government’s comparability factors will be revisited at the next Spending Review. However, they will not be significantly affected by changes in rail infrastructure spending across England and Wales given this is a reserved responsibility as set out above.
Full details of how comparability factors work are set out in the Statement of Funding Policy.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Integrated Rail Plan, if he will publish a delivery plan that contains (a) details of next steps, (b) a full list of schemes and (c) planned timescales for delivery.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) sets out the Government’s delivery plan for a core pipeline of rail investment in the North and Midlands and outlines the potential delivery timescales and sequencing for the rail schemes contained within the IRP.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the economic benefits for the Midlands from the roll-out of smart ticketing as outlined in the Integrated Rail Plan.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
This year’s spending review set aside £360 million investment to modernise industry ticketing and retailing systems. This includes an expansion of
pay-as-you-go travel on rail to more than 700 stations in urban areas across the country.
This investment will deliver significant benefits to passengers in the Midlands and other areas by making the process of paying for travel convenient and simple, removing the uncertainty from having to select a ticket in advance. It also frees up staff to support passengers, unlocking economic benefits as people have more flexibility in how they travel. Our assessment will be developed and refined as the project progresses to ensure that the full economic potential to the Midlands is realised.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reducing investment in road transport infrastructure and increasing investment in improving rail routes in Yorkshire.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ensuring our infrastructure remains fit for purpose and adapts to the country’s changing needs remains vital for our society and the economy to flourish. Our road and rail networks unlock a host of social and economic benefits, including access to education, jobs, healthcare, retail and leisure. The second Road Investment Strategy is investing £24 billion in the operation, maintenance, renewal and enhancement of England’s strategic road network to secure safer and more reliable journeys that have less impact on communities and places. This is a substantial package, which will benefit all strategic roads including those in Yorkshire such as the A63 Castle Street in Hull and the M621 near Leeds.
We are investing more than £35 billion in rail over the current Spending Review period, including rail enhancements and vital renewals to improve passenger journeys and connectivity across the country, focusing on the Midlands and the North. Furthermore, we have recently published our Integrated Rail Plan, a £96 billion programme to transform services in the Midlands and the North and which included £100 million development funding to look at the best way to take HS2 trains to Leeds including capacity at Leeds Station, and to start work on the West Yorkshire Mass Transit System.
We are also providing up to £50,000 each from the third round of the Restoring Your Railways Ideas Fund to develop three early-stage proposals to reinstate passenger rail links between Beverley & York, Stocksbridge & Sheffield Victoria (Don Valley Line) and on the Askern Branch Line; £137 million for the Hope Valley line to deliver more capacity and improve connectivity between Sheffield and Manchester and; a share of £15 million from the New Stations Fund to build new stations at White Rose and Thorpe Park in Leeds.
Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much of the £10 billion investment in the Midlands within the Integrated Rail Plan is reallocated funding from other departments.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Leicester will benefit from the £12.8 billion investment in the HS2 East Core Network which includes a new high-speed line from West Midlands to the East Midlands, Midland Main Line electrification, and upgrades to the East Coast Main Line. This investment is all newly committed funding, and none of it is reallocated from other departments.
Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much of the £10 billion investment in the Midlands within the Integrated Rail Plan is reallocated funding from prior commitments.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Leicester will benefit from the £12.8 billion investment in the HS2 East Core Network which includes a new high-speed line from West Midlands to the East Midlands, Midland Main Line electrification, and upgrades to the East Coast Main Line. This investment is all newly committed funding, and none of it is reallocated from other departments.
Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with local authority leaders in Coventry, Leicester and Nottingham on the potential restoration of a rail link between those cities.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Secretary of State regularly meets with local authority leaders to discuss transport issues in their areas.
Midlands Connect has prepared an Outline Strategic Business Case for the Coventry, Leicester, Nottingham scheme, and I contributed to the launch event for this proposal by video early this year.
The recently published Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) sets out the long-term plan for rail investment in the North of England and the Midlands, the Coventry, Leicester, Nottingham proposal will need to be considered with reference to the recommendations set out in the IRP.
Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits for (a) housing supply and (b) the Government's levelling up agenda of introducing a Coventry, Leicester, Nottingham rail link.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Midlands Connect has developed a strategic outline business case for reinstating direct rail links between Coventry and Leicester/Nottingham. This includes consideration of the benefits regarding housing supply and contribution to the levelling up agenda.
Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with local leaders on the (a) contribution to the economy of building the Midlands Rail Hub and (b) the impact of that matter on local communities.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Secretary of State regularly meets with local leaders to discuss transport issues in their areas.