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1 July 2009 : Column 88WH—continued
I realise that this is a difficult day for the Minister, but I wish to ask him about electrification. On Monday, the Prime Minister said that there will at some stage be a full programme of rail electrification. Will the Minister confirm that, since 1997, only 46 route miles, or less than 0.5 per cent. of the national rail network, has been electrified? Will he clarify how that electrification is to
happen? I agree that it is an important way of driving operational and carbon efficiencies on the railways, but it will cost millions of pounds, if not billions.
Rail budgets have been set until 2014, yet on Monday Lord Mandelson announced sweeping cuts to the transport budget. How can electrification become a reality? I look forward to the Minister’s response to that point. Network Rail has identified its priorities and has made some case for its spending. If the Government want to identify electrification as a priority, they should be clear about it and say how they intend to spend the money.
There is good news for the constituents of the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough, given the policies that we have outlined in our rail review. They would deal directly with some of the elements raised. For instance, we will allow third parties to bid against Network Rail for small-scale capacity enhancement projects, which will be the key to some of the overcrowding problems mentioned.
Like the Liberal Democrats, we have seen the failure of the Government’s franchising system and we, too, will give longer franchises to train operators. As a result, there will be more investment, which will give us the improvements that we need in stations and trains. We will build a new high-speed link from Leeds to Birmingham and London, which will free capacity in other parts of the network. The rationale for that is not totemic: as a number of hon. Members said, the economic and cost benefits for the north of England will indeed be substantial.
Mr. Clelland: The hon. Gentleman mentioned his party’s policy of extending High Speed 2 to Leeds, but he missed out Newcastle. Will he explain why?
Stephen Hammond: All transport networks have to start somewhere, and we hope that it will be the first phase in the roll-out of the high-speed network. The Minister will of course want to confirm that the Government plan to take high-speed rail only to Rugby. Our policy is to take it further; we see it as part of a network strategy.
Ms Angela C. Smith: It appears that the Conservative party is committing itself to substantial spending on transport. Does that indicate that the transport budget under a Conservative Government would be protected, and that cuts would therefore be concentrated elsewhere?
Stephen Hammond: The hon. Lady will know from our feasibility study—she has clearly read it—that the cost in 2008 prices of a high-speed rail line is about £20.5 billion. We have committed ourselves to control period 5, which will be the first part of an element of Government money; it will probably be about £16 billion, or £1.3 billion per annum for the build time of that project. The money is ring-fenced and it will be committed to that project.
I understand that a statement will be made in the House this afternoon on the collapse of the National Express rail franchise. I shall therefore not be asking a number of substantive questions that I would have wished to put to the Minister. I am sure that the Government will answer some of them today. Although
they have taken the National Express franchise back into public ownership, many people will want to know whether it was the most effective decision for the taxpayer. The Minister may want to talk about the other options and the possible cost to the taxpayer. We would be interested, but I am sure that we shall hear about it this afternoon.
As the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough reminded me, the debate is principally about how much money there will be for the railways, perhaps over the next 10 or 20 years, but certainly over the next five to 10 years.
Mrs. Cryer: Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Stephen Hammond: No, I am sorry. I promised that I would speak for only another two minutes, and I have already given way several times.
Despite what the Prime Minister said, capital expenditure under the Red Book will decline after 2010, and it will not rise until the Olympics. Will the Minister confirm that? I look forward to a yes or no answer. On 29 June, Lord Mandelson said in an interview that Building Britain’s Future, the great new project, reflected a “switch in spending” from the Department for Transport to other Departments. Will the Minister confirm that Building Britain’s Future reflects such a switch?
The Budget put in position a squeeze on public spending between 2011 and 2014. Will the Minister confirm that he has read the Red Book, and that his Department understands its implications? Will he say whether and by how much the contraction in spending outlined in the Red Book will hit rail services in the north and across the United Kingdom? Will he also outline the effect of the announced £6 billion efficiency savings, which are estimated to represent 6 per cent. of current expenditure on top of what is outlined in the Red Book?
I should be grateful if the Minister were to outline exactly which services he expects not to be delivered, which carriages he expects not to be delivered and which part of the electrification project he expects not to be delivered as a direct result of what is stated in the Red Book, of what is stated in Building Britain’s Future, and what is expected from efficiency savings. Under those circumstances, the Government cannot contend that spending will continue to rise; indeed, the Red Book states that it will decline. Will the Minister tell us today how the announced spending reductions will hit the nation’s transport infrastructure?
10.49 am
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Chris Mole): I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough (Ms Smith), who is a distinguished member of the Select Committee on Transport, on securing this important debate. She has expressed concerns about a range of issues relating to rail investment in the north of England, as have other Members. I shall endeavour to respond to the issues raised, but if I cannot, I promise that they will all be considered elsewhere. If I am to cover all the ground, I fear I shall have to go at the speed of a bullet train.
I turn first to some recent successes. Railways in the north of England are a success story. We have seen great improvements in the things that matter most to passengers,
including punctuality and reliability. I would rather be facing the challenges of rising train use than the consequences of numbers having fallen by the same amount as they have risen. In the last full year, reliability reached an all-time high for both Northern Rail and TransPennine Express, with more than 90 per cent. of trains arriving within five minutes of right time. I congratulate Northern Rail, TransPennine Express and Network Rail, which have to work together, on that excellent result.
Passenger satisfaction is also high with more than 80 per cent. of passengers saying they were happy with their journey. The outcome of that is a 34 per cent. growth in passengers travelling on Northern Rail services since 2004 and a 67 per cent. increase on TransPennine services.
Let us consider what else has been achieved in recent years, starting in the north-west, which has benefited considerably from the £8.9 billion investment in the west coast main line. There are now more frequent and faster journeys between Manchester and London, with a train every 20 minutes during the day and average journey times of about two hours eight minutes.
Mr. Edward Timpson (Crewe and Nantwich) (Con): Does the Minister accept that one part of the north-west that has not been a success story over the past 11 years is the state of Crewe railway station and the lack of investment there? None of the £35 billion set aside by Network Rail over the next five years is going to that station. Will he look at the state of Crewe station and ensure that investment is made in that important part of our rail network? I asked the Minister of State, the right hon. Member for Tooting (Mr. Khan), the same question just the other day.
Chris Mole: The hon. Gentleman will have heard my colleague’s response during Transport questions last week. I have nothing to add today.
The journey from Liverpool and Preston to London takes just a few minutes more than two hours, and Warrington and Wigan are less than two hours away. Chester is one of the big winners having a regular hourly service for the first time, with a journey time of just two hours.
Mark Hunter: The increasing frequency of inter-city services is a double-sided coin. As hon. Members said, it has had a negative impact on local commuter services in and out of cities such as Manchester, because the same services criss-cross the same track. Three trains an hour between Manchester and London is great, but does the Minister recognise that has had a negative impact on our local commuter services in and out of Manchester?
Chris Mole: That point is clearly acknowledged, and to an extent is an inevitable side effect of competing for line capacity.
Services between the north-west and Scotland have also been improved, as have those to the west midlands. Neither have we neglected local services. Northern Rail services on the Calder valley route between Manchester and west Yorkshire have been improved with a fast service between Bradford and Manchester. There are more trains between Preston and Manchester via Bolton.
The Cumbrian coast line has seen the biggest improvements in 25 years. Thanks to the opening of a third platform at Manchester airport, we now have better services to the airport and greater reliability as a whole around Manchester.
I turn to the Yorkshire and Humber region. Back in 2007 the frequency of the service between Leeds and London was improved to every half hour. Last December we provided a new hourly direct service between Leeds, Sheffield and Nottingham, opening up new opportunities for business and leisure. In the north-east, the Newcastle to London journey time is one of the fastest in the country. There are five fast trains per hour between Newcastle and York, giving the area excellent connectivity with the rest of the country. Across the north of England, TransPennine Express introduced new trains in 2005 and 2006. Northern Rail has increased its fleet by 30 units, providing 8 million extra seats every year for passengers. CrossCountry has increased the number of carriages on key journeys by reintroducing and refurbishing many high-speed diesel train sets for use on the busiest services.
Community rail has been a big success, and there are about 20 routes with active community rail partnerships and many station partnership groups. These partnerships bring energy and focus to developing lines. For example, the Penistone line now carries more than 1 million passengers per year.
Ms Angela C. Smith: The Huddersfield to Sheffield line is one of the most overcrowded in the south Yorkshire region.
Chris Mole: But we are not stopping with what I have mentioned so far. Over the next five years, we are determined to address the problems of crowding on many peak commuter services. That will be done mainly by lengthening trains and platforms.
The Oldham loop rolling stock has been mentioned. The Department is not planning to provide additional funding for the redeployment of the rolling stock displaced through the conversion of the Oldham loop from heavy rail to Manchester metro light rail. However, the Department is providing £244.3 million towards the expansion of Metrolink to Oldham, Rochdale and Chorlton. That decision does not preclude Greater Manchester passenger transport executive from funding the redeployment of the rolling stock, or Northern Rail from utilising the stock on a commercial basis. The Department is currently calculating the change in franchise subsidy payments to Northern Rail, but a figure has not yet been finalised. The change in subsidy profile to Northern Rail reflects the changes in the Department’s budget resulting from the conversion of the Oldham loop.
Graham Stringer: I want to address one of the key issues. If the integrated transport authority and the PTE decide not to invest extra money in the system, what do the Government intend to do with the trains? Will they go into the south-east system, or will they go into cold storage?
Chris Mole: The Government’s intention is to increase capacity across the network, so we shall see in due course where the trains end up.
We are determined to tackle the worst excesses of crowding and to give passengers a more comfortable journey. In addition, we want to see even further improvements in reliability over the next five years. An urgent priority is to bring the west coast main line up to the standard of the rest of the network, and I share many Members’ concerns about recent performance on the route. I am pleased that Network Rail has responded to those concerns and pledged to spend £50 million to address them.
Nor shall we neglect safety. I respect the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Keighley (Mrs. Cryer). The safety record of the railway is excellent, but we must not be complacent, and there is a requirement further to reduce risks that have an impact on passenger and employee safety. Although over the next five years we are focusing on improving safety, performance and capacity, we are not neglecting journey times either. They are excellent on the west coast and east coast main lines, but I admit that those on the midland main line are less so. That is partly a result of the history and geography of the route, but despite that—I hope this answers the question put by my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough—we are determined to bring down journey times between Sheffield and London to as close to two hours as possible. East Midlands Trains is also planning to increase the frequency of services to Sheffield with pump-priming funding from South Yorkshire PTE. The trans-Pennine route has seen great improvements in rolling stock and frequency in recent years, although I accept that journey times are relatively slow.
Although I have focused so far on train services, we must not neglect other matters important to passengers. We are determined to improve the quality of stations and have allocated £150 million over five years to spend on improving many medium-sized stations. Many stations in the north of England will benefit. For example, improvements at Ormskirk will be completed later this
month. This builds on funding allocated to improve facilities at stations through the “access for all” programme, which assists disabled passengers.
The north of England has seen important investment in freight schemes in recent years. For example, in the north-west, access to the Port of Liverpool has been improved by the reopening of the Olive Mount chord. Across the country, a priority is to enable key freight routes to accommodate 9 ft 6 in containers. The west coast main line can accommodate the large containers on standard wagons, but investment is being made on two routes into Liverpool to provide access to the port. On the east side, improvements have been made to the Hull docks branch line to enable more trains to reach the port, and south of the Humber. Some £10 million has been invested in the Brigg line to enable heavy-freight trains to use the route to reach Immingham.
Over the next five years, we shall work with Network Rail and the rail freight industry to develop a network of routes that can accommodate high containers. One priority is the route from the midlands to south Yorkshire via the east midlands, to complement funding already secured for the east coast main line. This will be followed by converting the whole of the east coast main line into Scotland.
The subject of this debate is spending on railways in the north of England. By and large, the railway network is a national one serving a wide range of different markets—long distance, regional passenger, local passenger and a wide variety of freight—all of which contribute individually and together to the benefits that our railways bring to our regions. In particular, capital expenditure in one region often benefits another. For example, the huge investment in widening the Trent Valley line in the west midlands primarily benefits passengers travelling to the north-west of Scotland.
Mr. Jim Hood (in the Chair): Order. We now come to the next debate.
Diversity in Public Appointments
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Meg Munn (Sheffield, Heeley) (Lab/Co-op): I am delighted to have secured the opportunity to discuss this important issue. Public bodies are important. They carry out a wide range of vital activities that affect the lives of people up and down the country. Some supply funding, benefiting sectors such as the arts, sports and sciences. Others provide health care, safeguard the environment, promote human rights and protect the rights and interests of consumers. Many have a role in shaping policy and decision making at national level. They undertake vital work on behalf of us all.
Public bodies are created by the Government but are at arm’s length from the Government. Around 1,200 public bodies are accountable to the British Government, and some 18,500 appointments are made to the boards of those regional and national organisations.
The important word is “appointments”. People are identified, invited and even enticed into undertaking such work on our behalf, with the time commitment varying from a few days each year to between two and three days a week. The requirement for each board is different because of the wide range of activities engaged in by public bodies. Selection should always be on the basis of merit, with fair, open and transparent recruitment processes. Also essential is the requirement that appointments should broadly reflect the make-up of society. That is because we need not just fairness and equity—although such traits are important—but the best people with the right mix of skills, experience and background, who do not come from just one section of society. We have to accept that the current situation, in which the majority of appointments are white men, is not meeting that objective.
Women represent 51 per cent. of our population, but make up only 33.3 per cent. of public appointees. About 14 per cent. of the working-age population have a disability, but disabled people make up only 5 per cent. of public appointees. Fewer than 6 per cent. of public appointees are from an ethnic minority background, despite the fact that the overall ethnic minority population is nearer 11 per cent.
The Commissioner for Public Appointments said in her 2007-08 report that she was disappointed by the fall in the overall number of female appointees and re-appointees in England and Wales, and also by the numbers of appointees from an ethnic minority and those who have a disability. There was also a significant fall in the number of female chairs of boards, and those with disabilities appointed to health boards compared with previous years.
Over a 10-year period, female appointments have generally remained at around 33 per cent., with only slightly higher levels between 2003 and 2007. Ethnic minority appointments increased from 3.7 per cent. in 1998 to 6.5 per cent. in 2004. However, they then dropped back to 5.7 per cent. in 2007 and 2008. By contrast, appointments of people with disabilities have continued to rise from a very low base of 1.5 per cent. in 2001 to around 5 per cent. in 2008.
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