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Stroke Unit (Hull)
Mr. Alan Johnson (Hull, West and Hessle): The petition of the members of the OK Stroke club and their supporters had 16,000 signatures when they set out from Hull to London and 16,083 by the time that they completed the journey. The petition
- Declares that the lack of a specialist stroke unit in Hull and East Yorkshire means that there are avoidable deaths and avoidable disabilities in this area as a result of strokes. Most other parts of the country now have stroke units.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Secretary of State for Health to do all in his power to ensure that a specialist stroke unit is provided for the people of Hull and East Yorkshire.
Rail Regulation (Wales)
Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.--[Mr. Mike Hall.]
8.2 pm
Mr. Elfyn Llwyd (Meirionnydd Nant Conwy): I begin by referring to the transport powers that have been transferred to the National Assembly for Wales. I am wary of what Madam Speaker had to say on Wednesday, so I shall be careful about what I say. As I understand it, there is some limited rail investment through strategic development schemes and the Assembly can fund or regulate trunk roads, bus services and integrated transport packages. Local authorities have powers to fund local road construction and maintenance, bus services and some limited rail service development.
Integrated public transport policies are among today's big ideas, and rightly so, but there is a considerable problem in ensuring an integrated, sustainable transport policy for Wales--the glaring absence of any substantial powers under present legislation for the national authority to co-ordinate rail transport with other forms of public transport.
The White Paper on devolution suggested that the Assembly should be able to monitor the performance of the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising. It said:
The financial implications of funding and its sources will be an issue. Other matters to be considered will be block grants, the transfer of current Opraf payments, investment funding for railways from the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, and so on. The addition of the railways to the National Assembly's expenditure portfolio would require a negotiated settlement estimated at between £80 million to £100 million, based on passenger miles within each franchise operating in Wales. That figure would, of course, be reduced in line with the subsidy profile.
Although there is a need to ensure that Wales is perceived as a country that is efficient and easily accessible to road-based inward investors and tourists, there is also a longer-term requirement for a sustainable transport policy that reduces both pollution and congestion. There is no doubt that Wales's road and rail network has been grossly underfunded for the past quarter of a century. To be frank, the picture is a bad one.
There is a lot of work to be done, and the Minister more than anyone will realise how important it is to put the right transport infrastructure in place. It is likely that the greening of the road building programme by the previous Government was a Treasury-led, cost-cutting exercise. The Welsh Office has published two documents that are appropriate starting points, but they must be backed by adequate funding if policies are to be turned into actions and are not to become mere platitudes.
The adequacy of the Welsh block grant--now transferred to the Assembly--will impact on road and rail expenditure, but at present no account is taken of any particular transport needs, nor of the current state of infrastructure in urban and rural Wales. Therefore, to overcome past underfunding, considerably higher amounts are required. The National Assembly has no control over expenditure in certain areas, such as major railway infrastructure. It faces the challenge of ensuring that Wales receives its fair share, and its relationship with the Strategic Rail Authority will be crucial.
The consultation process on the SRA began yesterday. I understand that the authority's main purpose will be to provide a clear strategic direction for rail transport in Britain. It will also promote--inside the Government and among the public--passenger and freight transport by rail, and it will foster a climate that encourages private investment in the railways.
The SRA will be the single body, accountable to the Secretary of State, responsible for strategic planning. It will co-ordinate and supervise the activities of the rail industry, as well as the disbursement of public funds. It will also have the clear aim of co-ordinating strategic objectives with the Government and other interested parties, which include passenger operators, consumers, freight operators and Railtrack. The SRA is also tasked to lead and promote a radical improvement in the integration of rail with other transport modes, and to maximise benefits to the rail user as far as possible, acting as an advocate of passengers and freight consumers.
The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions enumerated its concerns and aims in its recent response to the Select Committee on the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs. No one could argue with the Department's aims, but Wales is at a gross disadvantage. The National Assembly for Wales has a relative lack of power to oversee the strategic development of rail services in comparison with both the Scottish Parliament and the Greater London Authority. That is a raw deal for our railways. Creating an integrated transport policy will not be easy unless the powers are right.
The SRA will work closely with key organisations, passenger transport executives and co-signatories to several franchise agreements. The Scottish Executive will have power to instruct and guide the SRA on certain aspects of rail services that are wholly in Scotland. The GLA will be able to procure enhanced rail services from the SRA and propose changes to the pattern of services in London. The Welsh Assembly, by contrast, will be consulted only on passenger service specifications. None of those powers will compromise the SRA's duty to plan the operation and development of the rail network strategically across Great Britain.
The Welsh Assembly plainly has considerably weaker powers than the Scottish Parliament and the Greater London Authority, a distinction crucial to the economic development of Wales. A Cardiff office of the SRA could help properly to integrate rail services in Wales, which are currently poor. Back-Bench Members whinge, and Ministers get fed up of us, but I say nothing against the Minister by pointing out that rail services in Wales are probably at their lowest ebb.
Siting an office in Cardiff could help in the short term. Consultation is beginning on the proposed Railways Bill. Will the Minister convey the idea of a Cardiff office to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions? It would help our economy as well as developing a sustainable transport policy for Wales. I want a passenger transport authority for Wales--but for the time being, a Welsh SRA would be a useful step.
Last month, the Welsh Consumer Council reported on railways in "The European Connection: A report on transport connections to Europe". It found that railways in Wales were in a perilous state, never having been so poor. It observed that the system in Wales had become fragmented, failing to deliver any of the perceived benefits of privatisation. It opined that the quality of service to passengers had reached an all-time low.
Old trains are being transferred from routes in England to Wales. Recently, a relatively new set was taken off the north Wales coast railway to be replaced by a 1957 set. That is not good enough on one of the main lines in north Wales. The report also observes that the Assembly will control budget subsidies for roads, but will have no control over railways. The different administrative locations will make integration and co-operation difficult. Its firm conclusion is that the National Assembly should create a passenger transport executive so that--inter alia--the needs of passengers come first, and so that all forms of public transport are integrated and there is sufficient investment by rail operators in new rolling stock, staff and stations to provide an efficient, all-round service.
"The Assembly will also be able to invite evidence from various regulatory bodies including the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising. Government policy therefore appears to be that the National Assembly should be able to monitor the activities of these bodies and make its views known. However, these bodies will remain accountable to Parliament at Westminster."
One way forward for rail services in Wales may be through local authority funding. The Assembly has just taken over the transport powers of the Welsh Office, one of whose functions was to oversee passenger rail services in Wales. The departmental report for 1998 stated that more than £8 million was allocated to local authorities for improvements to the rail infrastructure between Cardiff and the valleys for the period 1996-97 to 1998-99. However, an all-Wales passenger transport authority would be preferable, as it would provide considerably more investment. The establishment of such a body would require primary legislation. At present, only metropolitan counties are passenger transport areas: only they, therefore, qualify for the establishment of passenger transport authorities or executives.
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