Asked by Lord Greaves To ask Her Majesty's Government what support
they are providing in relation to Transport for the North’s draft
Strategic Transport Plan, published on 16 January. The
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport
(Baroness Sugg) (Con) My Lords,...Request free trial
Asked by
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To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they are
providing in relation to Transport for the North’s draft
Strategic Transport Plan, published on 16 January.
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My Lords, Transport for the North’s draft strategic
transport plan is an important step forward towards the
north setting out its vision and priorities for transport
with one voice. We have committed up to £260 million for
TfN to establish itself as England’s first statutory
sub-national transport body, to develop the business case
for Northern Powerhouse Rail, and to implement smart
ticketing across the north of England. We are providing
substantial technical support at official level.
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My Lords, the strategic transport plan for the north
covers the whole of the north of England, and that is a
good thing. However, it is based on the seven or eight
largest cities in the north of England and has very
little to say about what I would call the areas at the
edges and the places in between, particularly smaller
towns and rural areas. Does the Minister agree that if
all the proposals that are put forward and implied in
this document were to be carried out, the cost at today’s
prices would certainly be more than £100 billion? Does
the Government’s enthusiasm for this imply that their
previous policy that such schemes were really considered
only if they were in London or the south-east has now
been changed?
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My Lords, I am not sure that that was the previous
government policy. The strategy which has been set out is
out for consultation, and Transport for the North will be
speaking to people across the north to develop and
finalise it. We will see the final plan in the summer and
respond to it then. On the noble Lord’s point about it
focusing on specific cities, it actually suggests
strategic development corridors that cover the whole of
the north and the central Pennines area, which I know
will interest the noble Lord. I encourage everybody to
contribute to that consultation.
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Will my noble friend update the House on the progress
being made on the improvements to the A1 between
Newcastle and Berwick?
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My Lords, the strategic road between London and Newcastle
will be upgraded to a full motorway by the end of the
year, but I am aware that there are still issues north of
Newcastle on the way up to Scotland. As I mentioned
before, one of the strategic development corridors
includes the east coast of Scotland and will be looking
at exactly this project. I am aware that it may be some
months before we see the final plan, and I will certainly
see if we can take action quicker.
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My Lords, I have no intention of storming out of your
Lordships’ House, but I share my noble friend ’s concern that
strategic plans that have no chance of being implemented
mislead people in the north of England into believing
that something is about to happen. If the linked rail and
road across the Pennines linking Hull, Sheffield, Leeds,
Bradford and Newcastle is to become a reality, it will
take real government investment. Will the Minister speak
to the beleaguered Transport Secretary about turning
mythology into reality?
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I am grateful to the noble Lord for his continued
presence, unlike the noble Lord, , who was not able to
stay for the full launch of the plan. We have worked
carefully with people from across the north on ensuring
that we get the right balance of powers here, and we are
looking forward to seeing the plan. The Secretary of
State has ultimate accountability to Parliament, and with
his statutory role, it is right that he makes the final
decisions. We will be considering that project carefully,
and we will be ready to make the investment.
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My Lords, the Midlands is the largest economic area
outside London. It attracts more inward investment and
creates more start-up businesses than anywhere in the
United Kingdom outside the capital. Its companies export
to 178 countries worldwide, and it is still the only
region in the United Kingdom with a trading surplus with
China. In order to capitalise on and build on this robust
achievement and complement the Government’s growth
agenda, will Minister say whether Midlands Connect can
benefit from devolution arrangements similar to those of
Transport for the North?
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Yes, my Lords. We fully intend to create more statutory
transport bodies, and I welcome the work of Midlands
Connect in bringing together local authorities and
partners, including Highways England, HS2 and Network
Rail. My noble friend rightly points out the potential of
the Midlands. We look forward to seeing the proposal for
Midlands Connect, and we hope that it will become
England’s second statutory transport body.
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My Lords, this document is very ambitious and there are
some very expensive proposals. However, within it,
Transport for the North talks about some of the
precursors, including the Great North Rail Project—the
trans-Pennine route upgrade—and indicates that it would
like to see a firm commitment about that upgrade and
electrification in early 2018. That is where we have now
arrived. Can the Minister give that commitment?
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My Lords, we are absolutely committed to improving
journeys on the trans-Pennine route, bringing in the
state-of-the-art trains, longer carriages and more
frequent services that the passengers would like. We want
to go further and are planning to spend £3 billion to
upgrade the key routes between Manchester, Leeds and York
to give passengers those better, faster and more reliable
journeys.
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My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, for this
Question because it has caused me to look at the
document. You have to get to page 86 before it says
anything about money:
“TfN’s status as a pan-regional organisation, with a
range of stakeholders but limited fiscal powers, means
that a bespoke but credible funding and financing
framework will be required. A substantial element of
funding will come from central Government budgets.”
Is the Secretary of State going to buy into this plan and
that substantial element of funding?
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My Lords, absolutely—we are waiting to see the final plan
which we will then of course consider. If the initial
funding settlement for TfN does not include the funding
for transport projects, it will be allocated separately
from central government funds.
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