Road Freight (Hansard, 25 November 1996)

§ 1. Mr. Spring
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he is taking to encourage alternatives to road freight. [4002]

§ The Secretary of State for Transport (Sir George Young)
Privatisation is helping rail to win new freight traffic, and we have created the economic conditions in which the shipping and ports industries can grasp business opportunities. We continue to make available grants to encourage the shift of freight from road to rail and water.

§ Mr. Spring
Given the congestion on the roads, may I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend's initiatives to move freight off the roads and on to rail, especially his initiative in establishing the freight facilities grant to give further incentive to that desirable trend?

§ Sir George Young
I entirely agree with what my hon. Friend says about the importance of freight grants. He will be pleased to learn that grant expenditure has increased every year since 1991–92 and that my Department's 2 spending in the current financial year is likely to be the highest for 10 years, even before the recent award to Freightliner, which is worth up to £75 million over five years.

§ Mr. Chidgey
Does the Secretary of State agree that the tripling by Railtrack of the costs for enlarging the loading gauge on the west coast main line, which is essential to the success of the piggyback freight consortium, is a positive discouragement to alternatives to road freight? What action will he take to make Railtrack accountable and ensure that it provides more freight on the rails rather than merely maximising profits?

§ Sir George Young
The hon. Gentleman slightly jumped the gun in his initial conclusion. Railtrack has been examining the cost of upgrading the west coast main line to take piggyback freight, and consultants appointed by my Department have kept abreast of the work to ensure that any grant application can be dealt with expeditiously. We must wait for Railtrack to finish its analysis before arriving at any firm conclusions. I confirm that it is indeed Government policy to secure any useful transfer that we can of freight from road to rail.

§ Mr. Gale
I applaud my right hon. Friend's endeavours to move freight from road to rail, but he will recognise that, for the moment at least, much freight travels by road and by sea. Those of us who represent channel ports are extremely concerned about the damaging effects of the illegal strikes and blockades in France on the employment of our constituents. The European Commissioner who is responsible for such matters, Mr. Kinnock, is uncharacteristically silent on the subject. What endeavours are the Government making to have the blockades lifted and the illegal strike ended?

§ Sir George Young
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this most important subject. Before the weekend, I made strong representations to the French Transport Minister about the plight of British lorries and the innocent drivers who have been detained. I received a 3 response this morning regretting what has happened, confirming that some British lorries were released over the weekend and enabled to proceed and giving details about claims for compensation. However, if the matter is not resolved soon, I may need to write again.

§ Mr. Andrew Smith
With 1,000 British lorry drivers stranded in France, at considerable inconvenience, cost and risk to their personal safety, does the Secretary of State agree that the House will expect the French authorities to afford every protection to British lorry drivers?
On compensation, does the Secretary of State agree that the confusion about documentation and what is necessary to register a valid claim must be sorted out without further delay? The matter should be taken up with the French authorities by the Prime Minister, to ensure that our lorry drivers get a fair deal.

§ Sir George Young
On compensation, which is important, the letter from the French Transport Minister has some useful information. The hon. Gentleman's concern about industrial disputes in France would have more credibility if occasionally he condemned those in this country.

§ Mr. David Shaw
Is my right hon. Friend aware that ferries from Dover are having great difficulty in taking any lorries at all, because of the blockade of Calais? Is not it unreasonable that Dover ferry companies and haulage companies should lose vast amounts of money in the current circumstances? Many of my constituents are stranded in France with lorries and are unable to come back home to their families. French police are forcing British lorry drivers to join blockades to help the French lorry drivers' strike.
Can my right hon. Friend confirm the serious allegations, which may turn out to be true, that the channel tunnel was sabotaged by a striking French lorry driver? Is this not an appalling state of affairs? What will happen about compensation, because, the last time the French promised it, they never paid up?

§ Sir George Young
I know that the French inquiry, headed by an investigating magistrate, is under way. That inquiry will want to consider the cause of the fire, and will certainly want to investigate the allegations that my hon. Friend mentioned.
I take the issue of compensation extremely seriously. Many owner lorry drivers' futures are threatened by the dispute and many of the smaller haulage companies also face an extremely difficult financial future. We propose to take further action to ensure that the compensation claims are promptly processed by the French authorities.