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West to East Midlands Modal Study
4. Mr. Mark Todd (South Derbyshire): What assessment he has made of the conclusions of the West to East Midlands Multi-Modal Study. [132962]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mr. Tony McNulty): The study to which my hon. Friend refers reported at the end of July 2003, and we are now awaiting views from the respective regional assemblies, which are likely to be given in November this year. We will then consider those, as well as the views of other interested parties, alongside the study recommendations, and we will make an announcement in due course.
Mr. Todd: I thank my hon. Friend for that answer, but must tell him that the initial assessment from the residents of South Derbyshire, which is in the heart of the study area, was one of disappointment that rail schemes that have been proposed to improve access to the rail network in the area, such as the national forest line, have been sidelined completely, and that others, such as the opening of the Donnington loop, have been put at a distant point. Some schemes, such as one to provide proper access to East Midlands airport, have been completely ignored. Will he ask his Department to look further at such matters when he considers the study in more detail?
Mr. McNulty: We shall look further as and when we receive the assessment and views of the respective
regional assemblies and others. I say to my hon. Friend that the package included the introduction of a new bus service along much of the national forest line, which was done precisely because the benefit-cost ratio of running rail on the line was not justified.
David Taylor (North-West Leicestershire): I attended the launch of the multi-modal study to which the Minister referred in Derby in late July, and the sense of disappointment among those present was palpable, as my hon. Friend the Member for South Derbyshire (Mr. Todd) suggested. Will the Minister confirm that he or his Department will take submissions from east midlands Members so that the balance may be re-established in favour of greater investment in public transport, which is far more likely to produce sustainable solutions to the chronic congestion that affects east midlands roads than other measures?
Mr. McNulty: As I have said, the regional assemblies should report by mid-November. I am certain that between now and then, further submissions from interested hon. Members, not least my hon. Friends, will be welcomed by the Department and assessed in due course with the assemblies' views.
Mr. Christopher Chope (Christchurch): Does the Minister find it embarrassing that the conclusion of the study—and that of so many other studies—is that the best way to reduce congestion on the roads is to increase capacity? Is it not the case that if the study's recommendations on the A42-M42 corridor were implemented, there could be a 30 per cent. reduction in journey times and the benefit-to-cost ratio would be 3.5:1? Why do the Government not invest more in roads?
Mr. McNulty: The hon. Gentleman was clearly out of the country when we announced £7 billion of roads expenditure only a few months ago. I say to him, in all kindness, that the only embarrassing thing thus far this morning has been his fake hysteria.
Airports White Paper
5. Mr. John Taylor (Solihull): When he expects to publish his White Paper on airports. [132964]
The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr. Alistair Darling): We plan to publish the White Paper before the end of the year.
Mr. Taylor : Will the Secretary of State hasten the relief from blight that has afflicted people in the east of my constituency by virtue of uncertainty and hasten the day on which I may reassure them that there will be no second runway at Birmingham airport?
Mr. Darling: I can only repeat what I said: we intend to publish the White Paper before the end of the year. I appreciate that hon. Members on both sides of the House want the Government's views as quickly as
possible. The consultation has been completed, we are evaluating the responses and, as I said, we shall publish our conclusions.
Mr. Kelvin Hopkins (Luton, North): My right hon. Friend will be aware that there is considerable enthusiasm for expanding Luton, which contrasts with resistance to expanding other airports, especially those in the south-east. I am sure that he knows that there is the possibility of developing a rail link between Luton and Heathrow—I call it the Luton-Heathrow flyer service—which would mean that Luton could become a satellite feeder airport for Heathrow and take some pressure off it. Will he take that into account when making decisions about future airports in the south-east?
Mr. Darling: I indeed know that there is enthusiasm in Luton to extend the airport. I am also aware of the plan to build the rail link—it is one of many in different parts of the country. However, hon. Members will have to wait until we publish our conclusions, which we intend to do before the end of the year. Of course, the conclusions will cover Luton as well as other airports.
Sir Patrick Cormack (South Staffordshire): I warmly endorse what has just been said about Luton. Will the Secretary of State assure me that my 11,500 constituents who wrote to him to protest about Halfpenny Green becoming an international airport and the 12,500 letters on the same subject that have been forwarded to him by my parliamentary colleagues will all be taken most carefully into account?
Mr. Darling: Yes, all the views will be taken into account.
Mr. Bill O'Brien (Normanton): When my right hon. Friend considers the White Paper on future airport provision, will he give serious consideration to the contribution that regional airports can make? Local companies are investing substantial sums in them to improve services. I am sure that my right hon. Friend will agree that those regional airports can make a valuable contribution to air transport across the United Kingdom and will extend services to areas around the world. We should consider further the development and work of regional airports. Will he assure the House that that will be part of the White Paper?
Mr. Darling: The importance of regional airports will figure prominently in the White Paper. It is not just low-cost flights that have experienced an increase in patronage at local airports. About 7 million people travelled on low-cost airlines in 1998; this year, the figure will be 45 million. That has contributed to much of the growth in regional airports, with more direct flights. Regional airports will not, however, provide the network that can be found at a hub airport such as Heathrow. Although regional airports can and will play
a part not just in the development of air travel but in economic development in the areas they serve, they will not be the whole answer.
Mr. John Randall (Uxbridge): The consultation on the White Paper mentions sustainable aviation. What does the Secretary of State understand sustainable aviation to mean?
Mr. Darling: That will be spelt out in the White Paper, which we will publish later in the year.
John Robertson (Glasgow, Anniesland): Will there be anything in my right hon. Friend's aviation report on the monopoly of large airports and the variation in landing fees?
Mr. Darling: All matters raised with us, and they have been many and varied, will be dealt with in the White Paper. I understand hon. Members' anxiety and their enthusiasm for getting me to anticipate what will be in the White Paper, but as its publication is in the not-too-distant future, I can only provide a general assurance that it will deal with all the points raised.
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York): Before the Secretary of State publishes the White Paper, will he find time in his very busy diary to see for himself all those blighted communities near airports where the runways may be expanded as a result of his proposals, which have invited him and his ministerial team to visit, as my hon. Friend the Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Mr. Collins) has done with my humble support? Will he also assure the House that he will publish in full all responses to the consultation before he publishes the White Paper?
Mr. Darling: On the latter point, no. The logic is that the White Paper should be published and, at the same time, the report on the consultation exercise will also be made available, as we made clear. That is what has happened before.
I have visited a large number of airport sites over the past few months. To repeat what I said earlier, it will not be long before the Government publish their conclusions, which will set out a framework for development over the next 30 years.
Road Congestion
6. Mr. David Cameron (Witney): What recent representations he has received about congestion on the A34 and A40 in Oxfordshire; and if he will make a statement. [132965]
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Dr. Kim Howells): The Highways Agency and my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, the hon. Member for Plymouth, Devonport (Mr. Jamieson), who is responsible for roads, have received a number of representations about congestion on the A34 in Oxfordshire, including letters from the hon. Member for Banbury (Tony Baldry) about the junction of the
A34 with the M40.The A40 in Oxfordshire is, as the hon. Member for Witney (Mr. Cameron) knows, the responsibility of Oxfordshire county council.
Mr. Cameron : I thank the Minister for that reply, but is he aware that although there will not be a full multi-modal study of the A34, a review is going ahead? Can he assure me that that review will also consider the A40 between Whitney and Oxford? It has some of the worst congestion in south-east England and it takes many of my constituents who travel to work in Oxford more than an hour to cover 12 miles. It is a foot on the windpipe of the local economy. Does he share my view that the long-term answer is dualling that road?
Dr. Howells: I can certainly give the hon. Gentleman an assurance that I will speak to the Highways Agency to find out if its remit extends that far. I understand that there were long-standing proposals to dual that part of the A40, but for some reason—I certainly do not know the details—they were cancelled by the Conservative Government in 1994.
Mr. Martin Salter (Reading, West): Does my hon. Friend agree that if the hon. Member for Witney (Mr. Cameron) is concerned about road congestion in Oxfordshire, he would be well advised to put pressure on his Conservative colleagues on the county council to co-operate more fully with councillors in Reading and Berkshire to advance plans for a third Thames bridge linking the two counties?
Dr. Howells: I am sure that that is excellent advice from my hon. Friend. I am sure that the hon. Member for Witney will do everything that he can to bring that pressure to bear on his Conservative colleagues.
Sir Michael Spicer (West Worcestershire): The Minister is right to say that the A40 problem has been going on for 20 years. For a short time, I had ministerial responsibility for roads—[Hon. Members: "Oh!"] Well, perhaps I should have spent longer as Minister for roads. However, it is now 20 years on and the Minister has been in government for a long time. What is he going to do? He really must do something about that piece of road in Oxfordshire, which is a desperately serious problem for travellers.
Dr. Howells: As I said, I will certainly ask the Highways Agency if its study on the A34 includes that road. I quite agree that it has been an appalling stretch of road for as long as I can remember. It is one of my routes home from London, so I can fully imagine the frustration felt by the hon. Gentleman.
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