Contributions
2,622 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDRailways: Trans-Pennine ExpressObviously, there are many strands to what is a broad levelling-up ambition, but I agree that we must focus on investing in our railways in the north. That is why HS2 is proceeding…23 May 2023HANSARDRailways: Trans-Pennine ExpressI am sure that the Prime Minister is well aware of what is going on on our railways, because one of the key priorities of the Department for Transport is to make sure that they…23 May 2023HANSARDRailways: Trans-Pennine ExpressMy Lords, I hope to take a trip to Japan soon to go and see those fantastic railways. Of course, they are incredible, but they were not built quite at the time that our railways…23 May 2023HANSARDRailways: Trans-Pennine ExpressMy noble friend has hit the nail on the head. It is likely that any noble Lord will get there and get back on time, unless there is a strike.23 May 2023HANSARDRailways: Trans-Pennine ExpressMy Lords, for many months we have made it clear to TPE’s management that its services have been unacceptable. Passengers have faced significant disruption and the northern economy…23 May 2023HANSARDRailways: Trans-Pennine ExpressI absolutely agree with my noble friend. The railways are in a very poor financial place at the moment, with revenues between £50 million and £130 million less than they were…23 May 2023HANSARDRailways: Trans-Pennine ExpressI am not aware of the reasons for those cancellations, but I remind all noble Lords that sometimes cancellations have to happen that are not the fault of the train operating…23 May 2023HANSARDRailways: Trans-Pennine ExpressI am not wholly sure where the noble Lord gets that evidence from. Certainly, if he goes back to look at the period before industrial action really took hold, he will see that…23 May 2023HANSARDSouth West Rail Resilience ProgrammeAs I mentioned in my opening Answer, Network Rail is working on the fifth phase of the works in some detail; we need to establish detailed proposals for this mile-long stretch of…22 May 2023HANSARDHGVs: Charging and RefuellingThe Freight Energy Forum feeds into the Department for Transport and, indeed, across government. While I accept that HGV depots will have significantly high demand for renewable…22 May 2023HANSARDHGVs: Charging and RefuellingThe Government are taking a two-phased approach to this, and those phases are happening concurrently. The first is that we need to discuss with industry stakeholders exactly how…22 May 2023HANSARDHGVs: Charging and RefuellingMy noble friend is right that working with stakeholders is key. The Government cannot solve the industry’s issues in this regard by centralising the decision-making for them, and…22 May 2023HANSARDHGVs: Charging and RefuellingThe Government are working at pace on electric vehicle chargers, for both commercial and private use. We are focusing on Project Rapid and the rapid charging fund, which looks at…22 May 2023HANSARDPublic Service Vehicles (Accessible Information) Regulations 2023That the draft Regulations laid before the House on 30 March be approved. Considered in Grand Committee on 16 May.22 May 2023HANSARDHGVs: Charging and RefuellingMy Lords, the Government recognise that charging and refuelling sites required to support zero-emission HGV uptake will need to increase before 2040. Last year’s future of freight…22 May 2023HANSARDSouth West Rail Resilience ProgrammeI welcome my noble friend’s interest in this Question; I know that he raised this issue in the other place many times. I assure him that delays on the line as it currently stands…22 May 2023HANSARDHGVs: Charging and RefuellingI will certainly ensure that my colleagues are aware of the noble Baroness’s interest. The price controls being used by Ofgem are very helpful in encouraging investment. There is…22 May 2023HANSARDSouth West Rail Resilience ProgrammeI say, absolutely, that one should not believe everything one reads in the newspaper. It is the case that Network Rail has to work within its funding envelope for CP7, which goes…22 May 2023HANSARDSouth West Rail Resilience ProgrammeI do not accept the latter point. We have invested £165 million to date, and of course some of that was to ensure the resilience of the seawall itself. Other elements of that…22 May 2023HANSARDSouth West Rail Resilience ProgrammeThe Government are always cognisant that we must provide value for money to the taxpayer. As I outlined in a previous answer, the amount of funding going into our railways is…22 May 2023