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Category: Transportation

  • Kwasi Kwarteng – 2021 Comments on Liquid Hydrogen Aircraft

    Kwasi Kwarteng – 2021 Comments on Liquid Hydrogen Aircraft

    The comments made by Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, on 6 December 2021.

    These designs could define the future of aerospace and aviation. By working with industry, we are showing that truly carbon-free flight could be possible with hydrogen a front-runner to replace conventional fossil fuels.

    Fuelling planes sustainably will enable the public to travel as we do now, but in a way that doesn’t damage the planet. It will not only help us to end our contribution to climate change, but also represents a huge industrial opportunity for the UK.

  • Grant Shapps – 2021 Comments on Liquid Hydrogen Aircraft

    Grant Shapps – 2021 Comments on Liquid Hydrogen Aircraft

    The comments made by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport, on 6 December 2021.

    As we build back greener, it’s crucial that we place sustainability at the heart of the aviation industry’s recovery from COVID-19.

    This pioneering design for a liquid hydrogen powered aircraft, led by a British organisation, brings us one step closer to a future where people can continue to travel and connect but without the carbon footprint.

    I will continue to work closely with the Jet Zero Council to support the UK’s world-leading research in this sector, which will create green jobs, help us meet our ambitious net zero targets and lead the global transition to net zero aviation.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2021 Comments on TFL Funding

    Sadiq Khan – 2021 Comments on TFL Funding

    The comments made by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, on 30 November 2021.

    I agree with the Government and Mayors across the country when they say other regions should have “London-style” transport services.

    But the irony is that a failure to provide enough operational and capital funding for TfL means that it won’t be long before London itself will no longer have “London-style” transport services.

    Instead, we’ll be forced to move into managed decline – leading to run-down services reminiscent of the 1970s and 80s.

    This is no exaggeration.

    If the Government continues to starve TfL of funding, bus services would have to be reduced by almost a fifth, and Tube services would need to be cut by nearly 10 per cent.

    In practice, this could mean more than 100 bus routes being withdrawn and less frequent Tube timetables on a number of lines and branches. TfL is even having to look at potentially closing a whole Tube line to achieve the savings it may need to make.

    And that’s not all.

    There would also be an increase in road and tunnel closures due to a lack of money to maintain London’s key transport infrastructure.

    This combination of deteriorating public transport services and an increase in road and tunnel closures would cause wide-spread disruption and gridlock across the capital.

    Not only would this have a devastating effect on passengers, but it would put the national economic recovery at risk.

    Because there can be no national economic recovery without a London recovery, and there can no London recovery without a properly funded public transport network in the capital.

    On 11 December, the existing temporary funding deal between TfL and the Government comes to an end.

    So it’s time to remove short-term political thinking and to come together to call on the Government to provide the long-term funding TfL urgently needs.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2021 Speech on Portishead Railway

    Andrew Stephenson – 2021 Speech on Portishead Railway

    The speech made by Andrew Stephenson, the Minister of State at the Department for Transport, in the House of Commons on 26 November 2021.

    I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox) on securing this debate on an issue that I am very aware is of great importance to both him and his constituents. I also congratulate him on his Down Syndrome Bill earlier today, which I was delighted secured Government support.

    My right hon. Friend has been a passionate advocate for the restoration of the rail link to Portishead for many years, frequently championing the case in this House, and outside the House directly to Ministers. The restoration of the railway is part of MetroWest, which is a third-party scheme promoted by the West of England Combined Authority and North Somerset Council. The Government have committed to funding the scheme, with £31.9 million of support to close the funding gap on this project. This is dependent on the success of the development consent order that my right hon. Friend mentioned, alongside the endorsement of a full business case through the rail network enhancement pipeline.

    The application for a development consent order for the Portishead branch line MetroWest phase 1 scheme includes works and powers to enable the reinstatement of the railway line between Pill and Portishead, an upgrade to an existing freight line and two new stations. The section to be reinstated has significantly overgrown since the railway stopped running to Portishead in 1964 and would require some clearance work. The scheme also involves proposals for clearing vegetation along the existing freight line through the Avon gorge woodlands special area of conservation, which is home to a number of rare species of plants including the Bristol whitebeam.

    The examination into this application for a development consent order began on 19 October 2020 and concluded on 19 April 2021. Following this, the Secretary of State received the examining authority’s report on 19 July, with a statutory deadline for a decision by 19 October. As with all nationally significant infrastructure projects such as this, this is a complex scheme and there can be detailed matters that need to be worked through even after an examination has closed.

    My right hon. Friend will be aware that, following the written ministerial statement laid on 19 October by the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Robert Courts)—the Minister for Aviation, Maritime and Security—the decision on this development consent order application has been extended to 19 April 2022 to allow for further consideration of environmental matters. Since then, the Secretary of State has requested additional information from North Somerset Council, as the applicant for the DCO, and comments have been invited from interested parties on this response.

    Dr Fox

    I hope it is not pointing out the blindingly obvious that when people look at projects like HS2, which are able to tunnel under the entire area of the Cotswolds, they find it a touch hard to swallow that we have significant delay because there is some overgrowth on a line that last ran in the 1960s. I hope the Government will understand that.

    Andrew Stephenson

    My right hon. Friend makes a valid point, although I am sure he will remember that phase 1 of HS2, taking the line from London to the west midlands, took four years to get through the House and the detailed examination of tens of thousands of pages of an environmental statement. I, like him, want to see us moving forward projects at pace, but however we legislate for nationally significant infrastructure projects—whether by hybrid Bill, DCO or other means—there is a process we have to follow and it is, unfortunately, quite bureaucratic. But I think we also share a view that we must protect the environment and do everything we can to mitigate the impacts of all such schemes.

    This is still a live planning application and it will now be for the Secretary of State to consider his decision in the light of the original report and the recommendations from the examining authority and all other relevant information, including the responses to the most recent consultations. As the Secretary of State is the decision maker for all applications for transport DCOs and the competent authority for any habitat regulation assessment, this is required to be undertaken to assess the impact of a scheme on a European-protected site, such as the Avon gorge woodlands special area of conservation. It is important that he, or any other Minister delegated to undertake a planning decision on behalf of the Secretary of State, brings an unbiased, properly directed and independent mind to his consideration of that application. Decisions on applications need to be based on planning matters only and all decisions need to comply with all necessary processes and legislation regardless of the risk or otherwise of potential legal challenge.

    I am not involved in the decision on this DCO, but my right hon. Friend will understand that, as the decision on the application is under consideration in the Department, I cannot take part in any discussion of the pros or cons of the proposal. That is to ensure the process is correctly followed and remains fair for all parties.

    I recognise that extending decision deadlines for DCOs has implications for the scheme’s delivery and the Government’s commitment to levelling up. It is therefore only used where it is absolutely required to take further necessary steps to ensure a legally robust decision. While a new deadline for a decision on the DCO has been set for 19 April 2022, the Department is working hard to enable a decision to be made ahead of that deadline.

    I recognise that all transport schemes have an environmental footprint. It is right that we fully understand them and any other impacts resulting in such schemes, and ensure that they are mitigated appropriately, whether that is in relation to the planning decision or the funding decision.

    With regard to funding for the scheme, I can assure my right hon. Friend that the Department will continue to work closely with the West of England Combined Authority, North Somerset Council and Network Rail counterparts on the approval process of the scheme’s full business case. I understand that the West of England Combined Authority and North Somerset Council sent a letter to the Secretary of State on 12 November that set out concerns about the extension to the DCO deadline and ongoing costs. A reply to that letter will be sent shortly.

    In conclusion, the Government are committed to improving rail services in the wider Bristol area. I understand my right hon. Friend’s impatience for the scheme to progress, following his years of campaigning. As I have set out, the application for any development consent order needs to follow appropriate processes and any decision must be made in line with the relevant legislation to ensure that it is robust. We are aware of how important the scheme is to my right hon. Friend’s local area. Although I am unable to comment directly on the merits of the individual DCO application in respect of funding from my Department, we will continue to provide support to the West of England Combined Authority and North Somerset Council to help them to develop their business case.

    I hope that my right hon. Friend is reassured that my Department fully appreciates the importance of the proposal to his constituency, and we heard that message loud and clear again today. I thank him for raising this important issue.

    Dr Fox

    With the leave of the House, Madam Deputy Speaker, I wish briefly to respond.

    We have all become used to reading between the lines in these debates. I take it from my hon. Friend’s speech that the Government are not ruling out a decision earlier than April, which would be a good thing. If I am correct in that interpretation, let us get on with it.

    My hon. Friend mentioned the environmental sensitivities in respect of Avon gorge; I should point out that the railway already runs through the gorge to get to Royal Portbury dock, so that is something of a red herring.

    For many of us, with this recurrent delay, the pantomime season has come early. There is a very thin line between frustration and farce. I know that my hon. Friend sympathises with my points—I can tell from his tone—and wish him well in persuading his Department to see that, although it is something of an oxymoron, common sense is still the best way forward.

  • Liam Fox – 2021 Speech on Portishead Railway

    Liam Fox – 2021 Speech on Portishead Railway

    The speech made by Liam Fox, the Conservative MP for North Somerset, in the House of Commons on 26 November 2021.

    Earlier today, I had the great pleasure of introducing my Down Syndrome private Member’s Bill, on which I was extremely grateful for the support of the Government. Let us hope that we can repeat that exercise now and make it two in a row.

    This is the third time I have raised the issue of the railway extension to Portishead on the Adjournment in this House. Let us be very clear: we are not talking about HS2. We are not talking about major infrastructure or billions of pounds from the public purse. We are not talking about massive environmental impact or huge public dissent about the route. We are, as I have repeatedly said, seeking only around 1.3 miles of additional track. Although that is only a tiny fraction of the extra railway lines that are currently being planned, it has proved a gargantuan challenge to get through the bureaucracy required to provide a growing and affluent town with improved public transport—public transport that will improve quality of life for many, take traffic off our overcrowded roads and provide a public transport route into Portishead that may help to alleviate our current labour shortage.

    On 20 October 2021, the decision was issued from the Secretary of State for Transport’s office to extend the statutory deadline to determine the application for the proposed rail “Portishead branch line—MetroWest phase 1” development consent order by up to six months to April 2022. That extension has significant financial, reputational and programme implications for North Somerset Council and comes as a great disappointment to all of us who have looked forward to the opening of the railway line, particularly given the Government’s support for the expansion of the railway network. When I requested further information from Ministers, I was informed that there was a fear that a judicial review might be granted to environmental groups opposed to the reopening of the line. I will return to that point later on.

    On 10 November 2021, North Somerset received initial feedback requesting further information on carbon budgets. Understandably, the council has been seeking urgent clarification as to whether that information will address the so-called environmental matters that have been cited as the delay to the granting of the DCO. What might seem like precautionary legal moves to a large Department are having significant costs at a local level, and we are all at a loss to fully understand the situation, which is why I am grateful to Mr Speaker for granting this debate today. If the Government want to see improvements in the rail network, including the opening of new lines such as that to Portishead, we need predictability, not surprises.

    I fully understand the Government’s disappointment that several DCOs, such as that at Stonehenge, have been thwarted by judicial reviews, and I also understand the fear that those groups that have been involved in lawbreaking in recent times, such as Extinction Rebellion and Insulate Britain, might seek such a review on the Portishead line, but I have to tell my hon. Friend the Minister that our local scheme has the full support of all our mainstream environmental groups, which can fully see the advantage of taking traffic off our congested roads and on to the railways. In these circumstances, I wonder whether any judge would be likely to grant a judicial review to some of these more extreme organisations.

    The issues that may have arisen with some of these other DCOs are not present in our case. There has already been a very detailed examination of the environmental and wider considerations of the merits of the scheme, including examination of the environmental statement and habitats regulations assessment. That also included a report into the implications for European sites. The information requested by the Department on carbon budgets should be easily resolved, and North Somerset will make it available as quickly as possible, but it is essential that we all understand whether there will be further issues that may result in a delay.

    Let me be very clear with the House: delays of the nature suggested in October can have a hugely detrimental impact on the ability to deliver this project within costs and on time. Following an initial review with Network Rail, it has been assessed that the scheme may accommodate a maximum delay of three months, albeit importing additional cost and risk to the programme. A six-month delay, as suggested by the Secretary of State’s office, would have a potentially devastating impact. It is important that we understand whether this six-month figure was simply plucked out of the air and whether a shorter delay would deal with any reservations from the Department.

    For example, at a practical level, delays beyond 14 January would result in key ecology windows being missed, with a net programme impact of at least 12 months. We can control a lot of things in North Somerset, but the calendar is not one of them. It has been assessed that the impact on cost beyond 14 January 2022 will be in the order of an additional £13 million at minimum—an unacceptable figure for the project to bear. The loss of £13 million may be a rounding error on a weekly basis to big Government Departments, but on local government projects of this nature, it is a very large sum indeed.

    Today I am asking the Minister to ensure that we receive a positive DCO decision by 14 January 2022 to facilitate the continuation of the project. Failing that, it is unavoidable that we will incur significant extra cost on further legal and consultancy support, and difficulties with practical issues such as the manual clearance of vegetation over the winter—again, something over which we have no control. Although it is clear that the Government have some flexibility in the timetable that they impose on the project, there is, I am afraid, no flexibility in nature’s season.

    This scheme fits into every aspect of current Government policy, from environmental benefits to improved public transport and increased economic opportunity. Although we are tantalisingly close to finally getting delivery of a scheme that is supported across the whole community and from every aspect of political opinion, we are still not quite there. I understand that this is a live planning decision and that the Minister may be limited in what he can legally tell us today, but knowing him as I do, I trust that he will sense the frustration that many of us feel—very much including myself—and will undertake to get us full and rapid answers to the reasonable questions that we are currently asking.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2021 Statement on Cutting Transport for the North Responsibilities

    Andrew Stephenson – 2021 Statement on Cutting Transport for the North Responsibilities

    The statement made by Andrew Stephenson, the Minister of State at the Department for Transport, in the House of Commons on 24 November 2021.

    Transport for the North is a sub-national transport body. Its statutory role, as set out in legislation, is to provide a strategic transport plan for the region and to provide advice to the Secretary of State.

    Since 2016, in addition to these statutory responsibilities, Transport for the North has co-cliented the development of Northern Powerhouse Rail alongside the Department for Transport. As this important programme moves into its next, more complex, delivery stage, it is right that we have a single, clear line of accountability to the Secretary of State. This has been an important lesson learned from the delivery of other major infrastructure projects. Therefore, Transport for the North will transition from co-client to co-sponsor, continuing to provide statutory advice and to input on the strategic direction of the programme. The details of this arrangement are currently being worked out between my Department and Transport for the North.

    Transport for the North’s advice was carefully considered, alongside a range of other evidence, when developing the integrated rail plan. Any changes to Northern Powerhouse Rail’s delivery does not impact Transport for the North’s statutory function, nor the level of core funding it will receive this financial year to carry out those functions. Nor does it alter the Government’s commitment to levelling up the north or the fact that the integrated rail plan commits £96 billion to improving rail infrastructure across the midlands and the north—the largest single Government investment in the history of British railways.

  • Grant Shapps – 2021 Statement on Draft Legislation on Driving Licences

    Grant Shapps – 2021 Statement on Draft Legislation on Driving Licences

    The statement made by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport, in the House of Commons on 23 November 2021.

    A statutory instrument was laid on 16 September 2021 titled the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2021 (the “No. 2 regulations”) and was due to come into force on 15 November 2021. The substantive legislative changes proposed in the No. 2 regulations would have removed the need for a person to pass the “B+E” car and trailer test before they could pull a heavy trailer behind their car. This would have meant people with licences awarded after 1997 also no longer needed to pass a separate test to tow a heavy trailer.

    This statutory instrument was not approved in time for the No. 2 regulations to come into force on 15 November 2021. Since such affirmative statutory instruments cannot be amended once laid in draft, we have taken action to lay the regulations afresh as the draft Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No. 5) Regulations 2021 (the “No. 5 regulations”).

    To make rapid progress on this, we are seeking to make use of the urgency procedure under paragraph 14(6) of schedule 8 to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. I am of the opinion that, by reason of urgency, the requirements for this affirmative statutory instrument (by virtue of paragraph 13(1) of schedule 8 to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018) to be made after being published in draft for 28 days, together with a scrutiny statement, should not apply.

    Forgoing the 28-day publication period will allow earlier laying of the No. 5 regulations than would have otherwise been possible and strengthen the steps we have already taken to increase HGV testing capacity and ease supply chain issues as quickly as possible. Arrangements will be in place to ensure that the changes made by the No. 5 regulations are operationally effective as soon as they come into force.

  • Nigel Harris – 2021 Comments on Grant Shapps

    Nigel Harris – 2021 Comments on Grant Shapps

    The comments made by Nigel Harris, the Editor of Rail Magazine, on 19 November 2021.

    This really took me aback….a lashing out act of vengeance which shows how angry they are, beneath the veneer of Grant Shapps air of smug condescension this last 24 hours, about the strong rejection of the IRP and scrapping of HS2E.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2021 Comments on TFL Funding

    Sadiq Khan – 2021 Comments on TFL Funding

    The comments made by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, on 19 November 2021.

    Transport for London is dealing with an unprecedented financial crisis caused by the pandemic. We are now less than a month away from TfL’s emergency funding deal expiring on 11 December. Unless the Government provides the long-term funding needed to maintain our public transport network, there will be no choice but to make significant cuts to services just as demand is growing again.

    This would mean fewer, less frequent and more run-down bus and tube services for Londoners, making it more difficult to travel around the city. It would also mean more road and tunnel closures due to a lack of funding to maintain key transport infrastructure. The widespread disruption and gridlock all these changes would cause would not only unfairly punish millions of Londoners for the impact of the pandemic on TfL’s finances, but would put the national economic recovery at risk.

    I support greater transport investment in regions across the country, but levelling up Britain must not come at the expense of levelling down London. There can be no London recovery without a properly funded public transport network in the capital, and there can be no national recovery without a London recovery. Our city contributes £36.1bn net to the Treasury each year. TfL contracts contribute around £7bn to the UK economy, and its supply chain supports 43,000 jobs around the country, which could be at risk.

    If the Government fails to work with us to protect London’s transport network, the capital and the whole country will pay the price for decades to come.

  • Boris Johnson – 2021 Comments on Scrapping HS2 East Link

    Boris Johnson – 2021 Comments on Scrapping HS2 East Link

    The comments made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 18 November 2021.

    We’re trebling capacity between Liverpool and Manchester. And, of course, there are going to be people who, you know, always want everything at once. And there are lots of people who’ll say, ‘look, what we should do is carve huge new railways through virgin territory, smashing through unspoilt countryside and villages, and do it all at once’.

    The problem with that is those extra high-speed lines take decades and they don’t deliver the commuter benefits that I’m talking about. We will eventually do them.

    ….

    This is the biggest investment in rail, at least for 100 years, and it’s a fantastic thing. What it does is it delivers the types of commuter service that people have been expecting, people have got entitled to, in the south-east of the country. And it will deliver that. And it will deliver better services for places that weren’t on the original plan. Huddersfield, Wakefield, Leicester – all sorts of places will benefit from what we’re doing in ways that hadn’t been foreseen. In virtually every case you will find that journey times are shorter and capacity is going up. This is a much, much better plan.