Topical Questions

Question

I thank my right hon Friend for his statement earlier on lifting over 1,000 miles of roadworks before Christmas to improve journey times for drivers. If he can confirm when the strategic objectives behind Network North will be announced and whether any projects so far are consistent with those objectives, and if any HS2 funding will come to London and south-east?

Question

I wish you, Mr Speaker, and the whole House a very merry Christmas. Why have the Government wasted £95 million on non-working bus retrofitting technology? Will they now ensure next round of zero-emissions funding targets cities with useless technology?

Question

My right hon Friend's Department has ensured many can benefit from £2 fare caps, but sadly, Red Rose buses in my constituency is not offering it because it is not compulsory. Will he help me convince all bus companies to do so for Aylesbury residents and meet with bosses who refuse?

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Earlier this year, the UK Government pledged to fund a bridge repair in Moray's constituency. Assuming strategic funding is not just available to Conservative Members, who can I speak to get that Newburgh train station re-established?

Question

I know the Minister understands that open access can provide better, cheaper and more resilient rail services. In the next few weeks or months, how much rail network capacity does he expect to make available for open-access from unused slots?

Question

Earlier this year, the Prime Minister announced the electrification of the rail line to Hull. What is the start date for that work?

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I emphasise to the Government the point made by my right hon. Friend about pressing ahead with the Ely junction and Haughley junction schemes. Network Rail has done much of the preparatory work and is poised to get on with it as quickly as possible.

Question

Over the past year, more people have been killed or seriously injured on our roads. The Government promised to set up a road safety investigation branch last year. When will that become a reality?

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Will my hon. Friend update the House on the progress of the potential return of the direct rail link from King's Cross to Grimsby and Cleethorpes?

Question

Of the 4,000 zero-emission buses promised in the national bus strategy, only 660 have been funded outside London and half of those have gone to overseas manufacturers. What are the Government doing to help UK manufacturers develop competitive zero-emission buses capable of longer distance journeys?

Question

What conversations is the Minister having with Southern and Thameslink about increasing rail capacity and running longer services from Carshalton and Wallington, addressing the dangerous gap at Hackbridge station, and installing step-free access at Carshalton Beeches station?

Question

After more than a decade, when does the Transport Secretary expect the first spade to be dug into the ground to build the No.1 infrastructure priority of the Thames Valley region?

Question

With the Pedicabs (London) Bill having reached Report stage in the Lords, can he update the House on when we can expect it to be presented in this place?

Question

One train per hour stops on the Durham coastline, usually with two carriages. This severely limits access to economic opportunities in Sunderland, Newcastle and Middlesbrough. Recently, Northern Rail confirmed a new two-hourly service, but my constituents will only be able to wave at it as it goes by, because the plan is that it will not stop at the stations at Seaham and Horden. Can the Rail Minister please use his influence with Northern to see whether he can get those trains to stop?

Question

May I encourage my right hon. Friend to cut the money given to the West of England Combined Authority, as it spends it extraordinarily badly on vanity schemes for the Mayor, on cutting bus services for my constituents and on pillorying motorists with this dreadful scheme, which is hated in Saltford, for a bus lane on the A4?

Question

Now that the blight of HS2 has been lifted from North West Leicestershire, can the Minister update the House on when work will commence on reopening the Ivanhoe line, which will offer rail access for the first time in many decades not only to my constituents, but to our neighbours in South Derbyshire?

Question

Like many, I welcomed what was going on with Network North, particularly the announcement of Ferryhill Station. When it comes to the final assessment and decisions, we need to ensure that the right question is asked, as the Green Book says. The right question is: what is the socioeconomic benefit to the towns and villages around the station, not to the GDP of the UK? May I ask for that assurance please?

Question

LNER is going to consult again on altering the timetable to increase the frequency of trains from Edinburgh and Newcastle to London, but that inherently means a reduction in services to West Yorkshire, Manchester and Merseyside. That is very sad, and it is bad for the northern economy. This is not a timetabling issue; it is a capacity issue on the east coast main line. Can we have some investment in the east coast main line, north of York, to remedy those problems?

Question

In Hyndburn and Haslingden, we are hoping to have a very happy new year, as we hope to hear the announcement that both Rishton Station and Church and Oswaldtwistle Station have been successful in the Government's Access for All scheme. Can any indication be given of when we might hear the announcement, and will the Government look favourably on them?

Question

Will the ministerial team stop briefing against hydrogen combustion engines? The fact is that hydrogen is on its way, in trucks and JCBs. Cummins in my constituency is prepared for three years. [Interruption.] When will the Secretary of State stop?

Question

I commend the work of my disabled young constituent, Nathaniel Yates from Reddish, who has assessed every single railway station in Greater Manchester. Too many of them are not step free. We have the money for Reddish North, but when can we get the money for Levenshulme?

Question

The key element of Scarborough's successful town bid is the station gateway project, but getting permission from Network Rail to knock a new entrance into the back of the station is proving slow and bureaucratic. Can the Secretary of State gently lean on Network Rail a bit, please?

Question

The latest of many improvements to Gloucester Station since 2010 includes vital work on the station underpass and forecourt; however, contractor costs have risen since the original station improvement fund award. Will the Rail Minister agree to meet me and Great Western Railways to resolve that potential issue?

Question

Inevitably, concerns about overcrowding will come up this afternoon at a Chiltern Railways drop-in at Marylebone with Buckinghamshire MPs, so can the Rail Minister assure me that the Government are doing everything possible to push Chiltern to improve?