Written evidence from Robert H Parker
(HSR 185)
HIGH SPEED
RAIL AND
ALTERNATIVES TO
TRAVEL: CONTRADICTORY
POLICY AGENDAS
The Department for Transport is, of course, the recognized
driving force behind the scheme to build a High Speed Rail network
in the U.K., in particular HS2. Less well known is the Department's
pursuit of an objective that, if successful, would undermine much
of the present case for HS2, radically reducing the need for such
an immense project, and this objective is made explicit in the
Department's Alternatives to Travel agenda (details of
which can be found on its website). It might be supposed that
in such a large department, the left hand does not always realise
what the right is doing; indeed, in the ongoing HS2 Public Consultation
roadshow, no adviser (all confirmed as DfT officials) could be
found who had even heard of the Department's Alternatives to
Travel agenda. But at the top there is no such ignorance,
for both the Secretary of State for Transport and one of his two
Parliamentary Under Secretaries, Mr Norman Baker, have spoken
out in enthusiastic support of first one and then the other of
these opposed initiatives, each in calls or speeches of his that
have sometimes been less than weeks apart—or less than minutes
apart in Philip Hammond's case.
However, neither minister has, it seems, been publicly
challenged to reconcile the contradictory objectives inherent
in HS2 and Alternatives to Travel, each having so far managed
to avoid the discomfort of being required to wear his two departmental
hats at the same time. It is true that Mr Hammond (IBM START Conference,
20 Oct. 2010), in noting his Department's adoption of Alternatives
to Travel, at least recognized that his audience might detect
in it something odd, for as he said: "… you might be
surprised to know that the most innovative change we have made
in the Department for Transport in the last four months is to
introduce a portfolio responsibility for 'non-travel'."
Yet even so astute a politician as Mr Hammond failed
to see that this portfolio he had assigned to Mr Baker—perhaps
originally conceived in the context of local transport problems—concerned
a technology that could and would affect transport on much more
than a local scale, and, if implemented with determination, would
almost certainly have adverse consequences for national transport
schemes of supposed alleviation like HS2, dependent as much of
the case for it is on continuing high demand. Said Mr Hammond:
"Promoting alternatives to travel is a key part of the sustainability
agenda … So my colleague, Norman Baker, is working with colleagues
at DCMS, in BIS and in other Departments to look at reducing the
demand for travel, particularly for business. Encouraging home
working; promoting the use of high-speed broadband for both business
and leisure purposes and encouraging the uptake of video conferencing
as an alternative to long-distance travel." [My italics]
Reducing the demand for travel, particularly for business? But
this is the very custom usually deemed essential to the HS2 business
case by Mr Hammond himself. It is not as though Mr Hammond had
failed to mention HS2 in that same IBM speech, or failed to extol
its merits as usual, but in the space of ten minutes or so he
managed to treat Alternatives to Travel and HS2 as if the one
had not the least bearing on the other.
Mr Hammond revealed a similar failure of joined-up
thinking at the "Age of Energy" debate in Victoria on
1 March 2011 (see below), where he seemed to forget for a moment
that he even had an HS2 hat to wear, and in referring mainly to
motorways he admitted a rare truth that applies equally to railways.
He said: "…our roads aren't congested most of the day,
our railways aren't actually congested most of the day ... we're
spending billions of pounds to build something that is only used
for a couple of hours in each day …" and the "challenge
is … to get much better value for money as a nation out of
the infrastructure we've already invested in, whether it's trains,
train tracks or … motorways".
In view of the above evidence, it is hard to conclude
that High Speed Rail fits easily and without contradiction into
the Government's transport policy objectives—or, at least,
into a significant part of them—and I submit that owing
to the apparent lack of both ministerial and departmental awareness
that such a disjunction exists, the Committee's own examination
would be welcome and to the public good.
MR HAMMOND
AND MR
BAKER AS
ADVOCATES OF
ALTERNATIVES TO
TRAVEL
"Don't Travel, says Transport Minister"
(Parliamentary Under Secretary for Transport, Norman Baker's
own website, 12 July 2010)
Transport Minister Norman Baker has launched an initiative
to reduce travel. He says this will benefit the economy, the environment,
and the individual. The plans include more working from home,
and greater use of video conferencing facilities.
— Economic
benefits, resulting from reduced congestion on the roads and on
public transport, as well as reduced demand for office space.
— Environmental
benefits, as carbon emissions will decrease as demand for transport
falls.
— Benefits
to quality of living, as people will be able to balance their
work and home lives more effectively.
— Mr
Baker has also asked his own Department, and the rest of government,
to set an example by making greater use of videoconferencing to
cut back on their own travel.
— "Reducing
demand for travel will reduce congestion, pollution and stress
in our daily lives."
— Twenty-first
century transport choices should fit a twenty-first century world
where we shouldn't just use smart cards to travel, we should be
smarter about when we travel and when we use office technology
for virtual travel instead.
— The
results will be tangible—reduced congestion, reduced carbon
emissions, improved quality of life.
"Indeed, I am the first Transport Minister to
say 'don't travel'!" Transport Minister, Norman Baker, in
a 14 July 2010 conference speech (Dept for Transport website)
"We currently think of transport in terms of
four different modes—road, rail, air, and water," he
said. "I want us all to start recognising that 'communication'
can be the 5th mode … and that communications technology
can provide an alternative to travel in the first place."
"So I'm looking into ideas and measures that
enable people to do business without having to leave their homes
or offices, for instance through the use of broadband-enabled
technologies."
Working from Home (BBC
Radio 4, Costing the Earth, 15 September 2010). On this
programme, Transport Minister Norman Baker spoke enthusiastically
for home-working and against the over-use of transport:
It was, he said "… a development that would
benefit both the economy and business. Take video-conferencing,
for instance: if you can have a business meeting without the need
to travel, then that is not only more efficient for business but
could reduce carbon emissions significantly, 'a plus for the environment
and a plus for business'."
"I am working today with colleagues … at
reducing the demand for travel, particularly for business."
Norman Baker: Speech to the Fleet News Green Summit, Hurlingham
Club, 12 October 2010. (from Dept of Transport website)
"In the current economic climate, it is more
important than ever to minimise driving costs—and if possible
consider whether journeys are necessary in the first place.
"It is for this last reason that I have become
the first ever Transport Minister to have official responsibilities
for alternatives to travel.
"When this new brief was announced in the summer,
I was rather pleased when it was welcomed by the Campaign for
Better Transport as a 'huge step forward', and by the CBI.
"But to be perfectly honest, it is something
that should have been done long before now.
"Just like the fleet manager's job, the job
of a transport minister has changed.
"Today, you and I are not only responsible for getting people
and goods from A to B … We are also responsible for the impact
of transport. On budgets. On the effectiveness of business. On
the environment. And on people.
"Within your organisations, you are absolutely
pivotal.
"You keep your businesses mobile. But increasingly,
you can also help identify alternatives to travel that can significantly
reduce the costs of transport.
"That's why in the months and years ahead I
want to work with the fleet sector to support initiatives that
can reduce employee travel.
"… And why I am working today with colleagues
at the Department for Culture Media and Sport, Department for
Business Innovation and Skills and in other Departments to look
at reducing the demand for travel, particularly for business.
"That might mean encouraging home working; staggering
people's working days so roads and trains are less congested at
peak times; promoting the use of high-speed broadband for both
business and leisure purposes; and encouraging the uptake of video
conferencing as an alternative to long-distance travel.
"Of course it is not the mission of the Department
for Transport to stop people travelling, but unnecessary travel
is expensive in environmental and financial terms and, if we can
help businesses to operate more efficiently with a need for less
travel, we will be advancing both their agenda and our own."
"…encouraging the uptake of video-conferencing
as an alternative to long-distance travel." Philip Hammond
repeating Norman Baker's own words in his speech entitled Sustainable
Transport, delivered on 10 September 2010 at the IBM START Conference:
Business Summit, Day 3. (DfT website: "Sustainable Transport")
"… But you might be surprised to know that
the most innovative change we have made in the Department for
Transport in the last four months is to introduce a portfolio
responsibility for "non-travel".
"Promoting alternatives to travel is a key part
of the sustainability agenda. And although it has not traditionally
been thought of as a transport responsibility, I have decided
that we should integrate it into our transport agenda. So my colleague,
Norman Baker, is working with colleagues at DCMS, in BIS and in
other Departments to look at reducing the demand for travel, particularly
for business.
"Encouraging home working; promoting the use
of high-speed broadband for both business and leisure purposes
and encouraging the uptake of video conferencing as an alternative
to long-distance travel."
MR HAMMOND
AS ADVOCATE
OF HIGH
SPEED RAIL
Since the election and his appointment as Secretary
of State for Transport, Mr Hammond has made many speeches, taken
part in many interviews and written many replies in support of
High Speed Rail, and of HS2 in particular, and they are too numerous
and well known to need repeating.
MR BAKER
AS ADVOCATE
OF HIGH
SPEED RAIL
"I congratulate HS2 on producing a route that,
I think, minimises environmental damage while maximising the usefulness
of the line." (Shadow Secretary of State for Transport,
Norman Baker MPin the House of Commons debate on the Labour Government's
official announcement of its intention to build HS2, 11 Mar 2010:
(Hansard, Column 453).
"Protests won't stop High Speed Rail link …"
(Birmingham Post, 14 January, 2011)
It reported the Transport Minister Norman Baker in
Birmingham urging local supporters of High Speed 2 not to be put
off by protests against the link, and gave his enthusiastic support
for the HS2 plans. He said that the economy of the West Midlands
would benefit enormously from the new line, and added enthusiastically:
"You must make sure your voice is heard."
"Scots asked to back UK's high speed rail plan",
(as reported by Damien Henderson in 18 March 2011 edition of
the Scottish newpaper, the Evening Times:
"Scotland has been asked to back UK plans for
a high-speed rail network—that won't extend north of the
Border for at least 20 years … Speaking in Glasgow, UK Transport
Minister Norman Baker said Scotland's voice was vital in supporting
the initial phase of a 250mph new route from London to Birmingham,
as local campaign groups in England mobilise against it.
"Norman Baker issued the rallying cry whilst
visiting Glasgow to highlight the benefits high speed rail could
bring to Scotland." (from the DfT website, 17 March 2011)
Scottish politicians and business leaders were today
urged to support proposals for a new high speed rail network or
risk missing out. Transport Minister Norman Baker issued the rallying
cry whilst visiting Glasgow to highlight the benefits high speed
rail could bring to Scotland.
Transport Minister Norman Baker said: "High
speed rail has the potential to shrink the UK and bring our great
cities closer together in a way that has never been possible before.
"HS2 would deliver significant benefits for
Scotland, which must not be ignored. Our proposed line runs from
London to Leeds and Manchester, but experience in Europe has taught
us that high speed rail networks are built in stages. If this
network is to be built and if Scotland is to link up to it, it
is vital that we hear vocal support now and that everybody understands
the transformational impact it would have on the economy."
MR HAMMOND
CONSIDERS THE
NETWORK AS
IT IS
Mr Hammond speaking on 1st March this year at a debate
in Victoria organized jointly by Shell and the Daily Telegraph
with the title "The Age of Energy" (transcribed from
a sound recording.)
"… our roads aren't congested most of the
day, our railways aren't actually congested most of the day...
we're spending billions of pounds to build something that is only
used for a couple of hours in each day …" and the "challenge
is … to get much better value for money as a nation out of
the infrastructure we've already invested in, whether it's trains,
train tracks or … motorways".
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