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Transport (London)
11. Ms Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to improve the transport system in London. [653]
12. Mr. Carrington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has for improving public transport in London. [654]
Mr. Norris: The Government plan a continuing high level of investment in London's transport system, with increasing benefits to passengers from greater efficiency and increased private sector involvement.
Ms Jackson: What confidence can any Londoner have in the Minister's reply? Since 1991, his Government have broken every funding promise that they have made to London Transport so that we now see in London a deterioration of services and a year-on-year rise in fares. What guarantee can he give to Londoners that they will not see yet another reduction in funding to London Transport in tomorrow's Budget?
Mr. Norris: I suppose I might offer to Londoners the fact that, at 1995-96 prices, investment in London in 1975 was £241 million. By 1979, it had grown to a staggering £257 million. It is now running at £1,085 million. That might be some reassurance even to Londoners exposed to a constant diet of misinformation from the hon. Lady.
Mr. Carrington: Will my hon. Friend review his Department's policy on funding the introduction of bus lanes? There is no doubt that, on the right roads, bus lanes are extremely beneficial, but in the wrong place they can cause serious damage to the local businesses in that road; that is particularly so in Fulham high street. Before he funds the introduction of any more bus lanes, will my hon. Friend seriously consider the cost benefits of bus lanes and in particular their impact on the local communities through which they run?
Mr. Norris: I am aware of the problem to which my hon. Friend refers. He has been assiduous in bringing it to my attention. As he rightly says, when properly installed, bus priority measures are at the heart of a more effective public transport system. However, it is essential for the local authorities, together with, in this case, the Traffic Director for London, to ensure that a proper balance is maintained between the interests of all parties, including the interests of frontagers, of shopkeepers, of those who want to walk along adjacent pavements and of the public who travel by bus.
Mr. Spearing: Does the Minister agree that there is considerable spare capacity on London's rail network inside the Greater London council area at weekends? Would it not be sensible to provide an even more economical overall ticket for adults and children on Saturdays and Sundays, thus making it possible for families who own motor cars to travel economically by public transport, which is not possible at the moment, and so to fulfil the Government's objective of reducing the amount of road traffic?
Mr. Norris: I look forward to the train operating companies recognising, when they are in the private sector, that one of the most important ways in which they will improve their profitability is to expand the number of people who use their services off peak--precisely at
weekends, when they have all the infrastructure in place and want to do everything that they can to encourage more people on to their services. As for ticketing, the hon. Gentleman knows the present system very well. The off-peak travelcard arrangement is extremely useful around London and, if one is making more than a couple of journeys, particularly in the central area, already represents extraordinarily good value for money.
Mr. John Marshall: Will my hon. Friend join me in welcoming the investment of £1 billion in the Northern line and £25 million in the Morden and Golders Green depots by GEC?
Mr. Norris: I will indeed. The bringing forward of the Northern line trains by using the private finance initiative is a major step forward for London Transport. It gives us the opportunity to give the travelling public in London who use that line reliable and modern trains many years earlier than would have been possible if the private finance initiative had not been encouraged and brought forward by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State.
Mr. Tony Banks: Is crossrail going to go ahead?
Mr. Norris: I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on a particularly attractive outfit today. Quite what the black is intended to convey I shall leave to others' imaginations. The Government remain committed to the provision of effective infrastructure for London and recognise the value of the crossrail project.
A27
14. Mr. Rathbone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to publish detailed plans for major improvements to the A27 between Lewes and Polegate and around Polegate. [656]
Mr. Watts: The statutory procedures for the Polegate bypass scheme have been completed. We are looking very carefully at how to take those two schemes forward.
Mr. Rathbone: I welcome my hon. Friend's answer, but can I impress on him the need for a proper dual carriageway along that stretch of the A27 to cope with the traffic requirements not only of today but of tomorrow? For that road, tomorrow is 10 years or so hence.
Mr. Watts: My hon. Friend is assiduous in pressing the claims of his constituents for better road transport. I shall take full account of the points that he has made.
Ministerial Transport, M6
15. Mr. Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last drove down the M6 past Birmingham in the rush hour in his official capacity; and if he will make a statement. [657]
Sir George Young: I travelled on the M6 near Birmingham on 13 October to attend the bus and coach show.
Mr. Fabricant: I am relieved to hear that and I hope that my right hon. Friend enjoyed the show, but was he caught in a traffic jam? If he was not, it was probably a rare occasion. Is he aware that people constantly come off the M6 at Stafford and drive through my constituency to get down to Coleshill? Is he also aware that the state of
traffic on the M6 is causing great deprivation to industry not only in the midlands but in the north-west? When will we get the Birmingham northern relief road and when will the widening of the M6 be completed?
Sir George Young: My hon. Friend will be interested to learn that I was not inconvenienced by any traffic on my journey to Birmingham, although I do not deny that there is congestion on the M6. As for the Birmingham northern relief road, the inquiry has just been completed, and it was quite long. The moment that we get the inspector's report, we shall process it as quickly as we can. It will be a joint decision for the Secretary of State for the Environment and myself. I cannot speculate at this stage on timing, but we shall try to decide as soon as we can.
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Does the Secretary of State know that the promoters of the Birmingham northern relief road conceded at the public inquiry that building the road would not relieve congestion on the M6 at rush hours? Is it not the case that the only way to do that is through a properly integrated public transport system that gets people in the west midlands where they want to go at rush hours? The Government do not seem to be behind the sort of policy that would deal with the problems on the M6.
Sir George Young: On the first point, the hon. Gentleman tempts me to anticipate the Government's response to the inspector's inquiry. I know that he would not want me to do that.
On the second point, it is not the case that we have neglected public transport in and around Birmingham. There were questions earlier about the west coast main line. I was in the west midlands relatively recently, turning the sod for the Midland Metro scheme. There is substantial investment in public transport in and around Birmingham, so people are not wholly dependent on the M6 to get around.
Airline Subsidies
16. Mr. Mans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to ensure that further state subsidies are not provided by EU Governments to their state airlines. [659]
Sir George Young: The UK opposes subsidies which distort competition in aviation. We shall continue to press the European Commission to take tough action in line with the treaty rules on state aid.
Mr. Mans: Does my right hon. Friend agree that it makes no economic sense for subsidies provided by the Spanish and French Governments to be used simply to cut fares on specific routes to gain turnover rather than to turn subsidised monopolies into profit-making organisations, which is the intention with Air France? Does he agree that that has to stop, in the interests of all air travellers across Europe and particularly of companies, such as British Airways, which are already in the private sector and operating profitably?
Sir George Young: My hon. Friend is right. State aid shores up the inefficient airlines. The Government have made their position clear: we oppose any further aid to Iberia. State aid to Air France amounting to £2.4 billion seriously distorts competition. The right answer for those countries is to do what we have done and privatise their airlines.
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