§ 10. Mrs. Ann Cryer (Keighley)What the criteria are for awarding railway franchises; and what plans he has to allow the Strategic Rail Authority to run franchises under section 212 (30) of the Transport Act 2000. [132969]
§ The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Dr. Kim Howells)Our directions and guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority list the factors that it should take into account when assessing bids. A copy is available in the Library of the House of Commons. Ultimately, the authority is looking to secure the best value for money for passengers and taxpayers. Apart from the interim arrangements necessitated by the termination of the Connex South Eastern franchise, we do not currently anticipate any other circumstances in which section 30 will apply.
§ Mrs. CryerWhat future circumstances may prompt the Department to use section 212(30) to invite the Strategic Rail Authority to take over a franchise on a more permanent basis? After all, I understand that even Mr. Gladstone believed that the nation's railways were better run through public ownership. He must not have sat on the fence.
§ Dr. HowellsI am not sitting on the fence, either—I do not believe that we should nationalise the railways.
We cannot predict all future events and the use of section 30 will depend on the merits of specific circumstances. However, the SRA has made it clear that it intends to run the franchise that I have mentioned for as long as it takes to re-tender it to the private sector.
§ Mr. Simon Thomas (Ceredigion)In welcoming the late arrival of the all-Wales and Borders franchise this week, I ask the Minister to confirm that the criteria for it include the long-awaited projects, which have been in the pipeline for more than two years, of the link to Cardiff Wales international airport, the hourly service on the Cambrian line and the new service to Ebbw Vale. Will he confirm that the new franchisees will work on those new services for Wales?
§ Dr. HowellsI expect that the new franchisees will consider a range of projects that various people throughout the Principality favour. I have such a project: part of the busiest railway line in Wales, from the central valleys to Cardiff, is in my constituency. I am glad that many improvements have been made to it. However, I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will draw improvements to the service on the important central Wales line to the attention of Arriva Trains when it takes over the franchise.
§ Ian Lucas (Wrexham)Does my hon. Friend agree that safety is one of the most important criteria for the railways? Safety in stations is an important issue in north Wales and Arriva should consider that seriously when determining its allocation of resources in the next few months.
§ Dr. HowellsYes, safety in railway stations is extremely important. If we are to persuade more people 502 to use the railways—last year, they carried more passengers than in any year since 1947, and we want to improve on that again—and companies want to win new business, they must all take safety and security at railway stations seriously.
§ Alistair Burt (North-East Bedfordshire)When the Minister offers advice to the SRA about franchises, will he ask it to pay special attention to the way in which it intends to deal with increased pressure from commuters from the hundreds of thousands of new houses that are being forced on the south of England, thus putting more pressure on rail capacity that is already at its maximum? Evidence of delays on the sadly misnamed Thameslink 2000 project means that hard-pressed commuters on both sides of Bedfordshire are finding that they have only hope and expectation instead of genuine delivery of proper improvements to services. That can only get worse, with many new commuters adding to the pressures on the current inadequate infrastructure.
§ Dr. HowellsI know the hon. Gentleman well and I respect his views, but I am sure that he agrees that the new communities are not being forced on south-east England in a Stalinist way. Many people want to live there. He knows as well as me that London could do with an equivalent of Queens in New York where its teachers, public service workers and many others who run the capital can afford housing. Such people also want to know how they will get in and out of London, and we must try to ensure that they make those trips easily.
I am sure that the hon. Gentleman also agrees that the new communities should be sustainable. We must ensure that jobs exist there. We have a duty not only to haul tens of thousands of new householders back and forth to London but to ensure that there are jobs in the communities so that not everybody has to make those journeys. That partly answers the earlier question of how we define sustainable transport and communities.