The comments made by Jim McMahon, the Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, on 16 December 2020.
By allowing yet another fare hike, the government will make rail travel unaffordable for many and discourage people from getting back on to the network when restrictions ease.
The government’s failure means Britain is facing the worst recession of any major economy. This will be yet another kick in the teeth for families struggling to get by.
The comments made by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport, on 12 December 2020.
We’ve already set out important measures so journeys can run as smoothly as possible this Christmas. Today’s funding announcement for the coach sector goes one step further, ensuring there are more options available for people wanting to travel to celebrate with loved ones and friends.
We remind everyone that it’s essential to plan their journey and book ahead, be considerate of other passengers and staff across our transport network, and follow the guidance, including keeping space and wearing a face covering, unless exempt, on public transport.
The comments made by Jim McMahon, the Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, on 7 December 2020.
What message does the Government feel it is sending, at a time when following Covid rules is critical, when there are one set of rules for those it considers ‘high-value’ and another for everyone else?
If the Government is serious about supporting businesses and saving jobs, it must set out a proper plan to support everyone through this crisis. Labour has been clear we must protect jobs in every part of the country and rebuild business with a support package that reflects the level of need and severity of restrictions in different areas.
The comments made by Jim McMahon, the Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, on 4 December 2020.
If this Government was serious about supporting the economy and jobs it would bring forward a proper package of financial support for businesses and the self-employed and a comprehensive plan for airport testing.
Instead we have Tory ministers announcing loopholes for those they consider ‘high-value.’
With this Government it is always one rule for some and another rule for everyone else.
The comments made by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport, on 3 December 2020.
With many people carefully considering whether to travel to see loved ones this Christmas, we’re taking steps to try to ease journeys.
Clearing 778 miles of road works and postponing rail upgrade works will ease congestion, minimise disruption and allow extra services to run.
That action is backed by scrapping the admin fees for changing advance rail tickets, ensuring a strong staff presence to help people on their way. And I’ve asked former Olympics transport boss and Chair of Network Rail Sir Peter Hendy to carry out a rigorous assessment alongside transport operators to ensure everything possible is being done to help.
We’re working with transport operators to help people see their loved ones, safely. We ask everyone to closely consider their journey, plan and book ahead, be patient, and be considerate of fellow passengers – and particularly staff who have worked so hard all year – by following the guidance carefully, including keeping space and wearing a face covering on public transport.
The comments made by Jim McMahon, the Shadow Transport Secretary, on 24 November 2020.
The Government promised support for the aviation sector in March, this is not it. The Government has again been incompetently slow to react. They’ve had months to set up airport testing and months to sort out the flaws of their quarantine proposals.
It will take a long time to recover from the impact of the virus. The Government must come up with the sector-specific plan it promised for the aviation sector and its supply chain that supports almost a quarter of a million jobs and protects the environment.
The statement made by Andrew Stephenson, the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, in the House of Commons on 17 November 2020.
High Speed Two (HS2) is at the heart of our plans to build back better from the covid-19 pandemic, creating thousands of skilled jobs, boosting connectivity between our towns and cities and helping to rebalance opportunity across the country for years to come.
However, as part of that commitment to build back better, it is crucial that we deliver HS2 in a way that is as considerate as possible of those disrupted by the project, who may face losing their homes and relocating their businesses.
In confirming HS2 would go ahead in February 2020, the Prime Minister also committed to a step change in HS2 Ltd’s performance and to drive improvements in transparency, accountability and value to the taxpayer. This included a renewed focus on placing people—the communities and individuals who will be impacted by HS2—at the heart of everything the Government do.
So following my appointment as the Minister for HS2, I initiated a review of the HS2 land and property acquisition programme, to ensure that those most directly affected were placed at its heart.
The review examined HS2 Ltd’s operational acquisition processes and, where the evidence demonstrated it, associated wider-Government policies. It focused on four areas:
How to deliver a step change in community engagement on the land and property acquisition programme;
How to protect the interests of those impacted;
How to improve process efficiency and delivery by HS2 Ltd;
And how to drive a better tone, showing conspicuous respect, courtesy and understanding.
Today, I am pleased to publish the findings of this review. Copies of the report have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
The Government are grateful for the contributions made by Members of the House and their constituents, external stakeholders, the HS2 Residents’ Commissioner and the HS2 Construction Commissioner. The review also considered lessons from Phase One of HS2 and examined compensation regimes employed on other UK infrastructure projects and abroad.
The review generated a number of proposals that are designed to speed up property valuations and disturbance payments, settle cases and disputes more quickly and build on the improvements HS2 Ltd have been introducing to engage more effectively with people.
The focus now will be on how the Government and HS2 Ltd turn these proposals into long-lasting changes that improve not only the delivery of HS2, but also the experience and wellbeing of individuals, businesses and communities impacted by them.
The Government want to ensure that those living near the route receive the right support at all stages of the project. Importantly, they remain committed to ensuring that those affected are properly compensated and treated with compassion, dignity and respect.
Attachments can be viewed online at: http://www. parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questionsanswers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2020-11-17/HCWS583/.
The article by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, in the Financial Times on 18 November 2020.
Slowly but surely humanity is taking the upper hand in the fight against the virus. We have not won yet. There are still hard weeks and months to come. But with better drugs, testing and a range of vaccines, we know in our hearts that next year we will succeed.
We will use science to rout the virus, and we must use the same extraordinary powers of invention to repair the economic damage from Covid-19, and to build back better.
Now is the time to plan for a green recovery with high-skilled jobs that give people the satisfaction of knowing they are helping make the country cleaner, greener and more beautiful.
Imagine Britain, when a Green Industrial Revolution has helped to level up the country. You cook breakfast using hydrogen power before getting in your electric car, having charged it overnight from batteries made in the Midlands. Around you the air is cleaner; trucks, trains, ships and planes run on hydrogen or synthetic fuel.
British towns and regions — Teeside, Port Talbot, Merseyside and Mansfield — are now synonymous with green technology and jobs. This is where Britain’s ability to make hydrogen and capture carbon pioneered the decarbonisation of transport, industry and power.
My 10 point plan to get there will mobilise £12bn of government investment, and potentially three times as much from the private sector, to create and support up to 250,000 green jobs.
There will be electric vehicle technicians in the Midlands, construction and installation workers in the North East and Wales, specialists in advanced fuels in the North West, agroforestry practitioners in Scotland, and grid system installers everywhere. And we will help people train for these new green jobs through our Lifetime Skills Guarantee.
This 10 point plan will turn the UK into the world’s number one centre for green technology and finance, creating the foundations for decades of economic growth.
One — we will make the UK the Saudi Arabia of wind with enough offshore capacity to power every home by 2030.
Two — we will turn water into energy with up to £500m of investment in hydrogen.
Three — we will take forward our plans for new nuclear power, from large scale to small and advanced modular reactors.
Four — we’ll invest more than £2.8bn in electric vehicles, lacing the land with charging points and creating long-lasting batteries in UK gigafactories. This will allow us to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans in 2030. However, we will allow the sale of hybrid cars and vans that can drive a significant distance with no carbon coming out of the tailpipe until 2035.
Five — we will have cleaner public transport, including thousands of green buses and hundreds of miles of new cycle lanes.
Six — we will strive to repeat the feat of Jack Alcock and Teddie Brown, who achieved the first nonstop transatlantic flight a century ago, with a zero emission plane. And we will do the same with ships.
Seven — we will invest £1bn next year to make homes, schools and hospitals greener, and energy bills lower.
Eight — we will establish a new world-leading industry in carbon capture and storage, backed by £1bn of government investment for clusters across the North, Wales and Scotland.
Nine — we will harness nature’s ability to absorb carbon by planting 30,000 hectares of trees every year by 2025 and rewilding 30,000 football pitches worth of countryside.
And ten, our £1bn energy innovation fund will help commercialise new low-carbon technologies, like the world’s first liquid air battery being developed in Trafford, and we will make the City of London the global centre for green finance through our sovereign bond, carbon offsets markets and disclosure requirements.
This plan can be a global template for delivering net zero emissions in ways that creates jobs and preserve our lifestyles.
On Wednesday I will meet UK businesses to discuss their contribution. We plan to provide clear timetables for the clean energy we will procure, details of the regulations we will change, and the carbon prices that we will put on emissions.
I will establish Task Force Net Zero committed to reaching net zero by 2050, and through next year’s COP26 summit we will urge countries and companies around the world to join us in delivering net zero globally.
Green and growth can go hand-in-hand. So let us meet the most enduring threat to our planet with one of the most innovative and ambitious programmes of job-creation we have known.
The comments made by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport, on 17 November 2020.
The Air Services Agreement will allow us to continue to travel and trade with one of our closest friends and allies, working together to mutually boost our economies, either side of the Atlantic. This is just one of many steps we’re taking as we move towards a bright new future at the end of the transition period.
The statement made by Andrew Stephenson, the Minister of State at the Department for Transport, in the House of Commons on 12 November 2020.
I have been asked by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to make this written ministerial statement. This statement concerns two applications made under the Planning Act 2008 relating to the A303.
The first application concerns the proposed construction by Highways England of a new two-lane dual carriageway for the A303 between Amesbury and Berwick Down in Wiltshire (also known as the “A303 Stonehenge” application), which the Secretary of State has today approved.
The second application concerns the proposed construction by Highways England of a continuous dual carriageway on the A303 linking the Podimore roundabout and the Sparkford bypass.
Under section 107(1) of the Planning Act 2008, the Secretary of State must make his decision within three months of receipt of the examining authority’s report unless exercising the power under section 107(3) to extend the deadline and make a statement to the House of Parliament announcing the new deadline. The Secretary of State received the examining authority’s report on the A303 Sparkford to Ilchester Development Consent Order application on 12 September 2019 and the deadline for a decision was previously extended from 12 December 2019 to 17 July 2020, and then further extended until 20 November 2020 to allow for further work to be carried out.
The deadline for the decision is to be further extended to 29 January 2021 (an extension of just over two months) to enable further information to be provided by the applicant and the defence infrastructure organisation regarding outstanding concerns pertaining to the issue of bird strike.
The decision to set a new deadline is without prejudice to the decision on whether to give development consent.