Heidi Alexander
MP for Swindon South · Labour · United Kingdom
“I regularly produce a letter for the CAA setting out my priorities, and I would be happy to write to my right hon. Friend in detail about the timeline, as he requests. The Bill is also about improving safety. The Government are determined that UK airspace should remain among the safest in the world.”
“Robust systems that support our national infrastructure are the bedrock of the measures contained in this Bill, from better rights for disabled passengers and modernised airspace to slot reform and quicker enforcement of passenger rights.”
“It is not the case that noise above 5,000 feet will not be considered in airspace design changes. This is about the relative balance between noise considerations and greenhouse gas emissions.”
“Questions about airport expansion will continue to be considered separately, outside the Bill process. Despite a bad day yesterday, aviation has refused to stand still for over 100 years. The industry remains at the forefront of innovation and progress, taking every challenge and every opportunity in its stride.”
“This morning I spoke to the chief executive of the National Air Traffic Services, Martin Rolfe, who informed me that this outage was due to a technical issue at their Swanwick site. While my understanding from that is that we can rule out a cyber-attack on this occasion, I do not believe this issue was unavoidable.”
“The Bill also reinstates the Government’s ability to update or create aviation safety-related criminal offences in assimilated legislation, which was lost after our exit from the EU. That will allow safety rules to keep up with international standards while ensuring that they are enforced consistently, now and in the future.”
The complete record
Every one of 608 lines we hold for Heidi Alexander, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 6 of 13.
“My hon. Friend and I have been speaking about the issue of tram-trains in recent months, and I have also had more recent conversations with the Mayor of South Yorkshire about his aspirations in that regard. I look forward to working closely with him to ensure that we integrate properly the benefits that will be brought through Northern Powerhouse Rail, including schemes that my hon. Friend wants to be promoted in the South Yorkshire combined authority area.”
“My hon. Friend is entirely right. A reliable, affordable, frequent public transport service, including the new rail line between Liverpool and Manchester, will enable and encourage more people to leave the car at home and make their journeys in a more sustainable way. It strikes me as ludicrous that at the moment it takes an hour and 25 minutes to travel on a direct train from Liverpool to Manchester airport—a journey of less than 30 miles—when it is possible to travel from Paddington to Reading, a journey of similar length, in 22 minutes.”
“The improvements for Leeds and the surrounding area that we have announced today are in addition to the existing improvement plans for Leeds station. The Government are considering Leeds South Bank as a potential location for a new town in an existing city, and I am very aware that Leeds is now known as the northern square mile because its attractiveness to financial services. I am working closely with Mayor Tracy Brabin to ensure that we deliver the mass transit system. I believe that Leeds is the largest city in western Europe without such a system, and we have to put that right.”
“Very much so, and if we were able to bring productivity in the north up to the average level, the UK economy would grow by about £40 billion a year. This is not just about trains or tracks; it is about leveraging in private investment, new jobs, new homes, city centre regeneration and breathing life back into our town centres. I look forward to working further with my hon. Friend on that.”
“I work closely with Claire Ward, and I have enormous respect her work in the east midlands. I recognise my hon. Friend’s point about Reform’s position on rail investment in the north of England. She had to deal with some chuntering from the other side, and I would just observe that the hon. Member for Runcorn and Helsby (Sarah Pochin) may like to google what one of her colleagues said back in September, when he was absolutely unequivocal that he would not back Northern Powerhouse Rail and that he would not back better public transport in the north. This Labour Government have exactly the opposite ambition.”
“One of the things we have to achieve through Northern Powerhouse Rail is making sure that young people growing up in towns and smaller cities around the big conurbations can easily access the high-quality jobs in places such as Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle. I assure my hon. Friend that this Government’s approach is about investing in skills, investing in transport and investing in opportunities for the future.”
“I would be very happy to meet my hon. Friend and other Members to discuss this matter further. I would also like to pay tribute to Mayor Richard Parker for working collaboratively with us in the west midlands, alongside Claire Ward in the east midlands, to make sure that we can improve not only inter-city connections, but the connections within big cities that are so important.”
“We are committed to giving everyone in Yorkshire the transport networks they deserve. As I said in response to my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield South East (Mr Betts), we want to work with Mayor Oliver Coppard to explore further the potential of tram-train. I know she has been a fearsome advocate for the Penistone line in her constituency, and further engagement is going on with Kirklees council on that issue.”
“I will certainly ask the Rail Minister to meet my hon. Friend and her colleagues. I do think that two fast services an hour between the key cities of Leeds and Sheffield is simply not good enough. We are committed to improving those services and to providing the capacity that is required at Sheffield station, and I look forward to discussing that further.”
“I agree with my hon. Friend about the importance of accessibility at rail stations, and I note the case he makes about Manchester airport. I would point out that, in addition to the new line between Liverpool and Manchester via the airport, which I have announced today, over £100 million of funding is going into Manchester airport station at the moment to lengthen the platform, so longer trains and more frequent services can call there. That investment is happening now.”
“We are going to give the public the confidence that when it comes to rail infrastructure, we are spending taxpayers’ money wisely. We will learn from the mistakes of HS2 and make sure we do the work properly to start off with, so we are not wasting taxpayers’ money in the way that the previous Government did with their oversight of HS2.”
“I am not entirely sure how to answer that question, Madam Deputy Speaker. My hon. Friend has been a fearsome advocate for his constituents, and for improving public transport in York and the surrounding areas. I was delighted that we could confirm at the spending review that we were going to progress Haxby station in his constituency. I look forward to working with him further to unlock the potential in the city and region as a result of today’s proposals.”
“I could not have put it better myself. My hon. Friend is right that the public want us to be ambitious for the north and to make sure that the benefits of economic growth are spread fairly across the country. That is precisely what our announcements today on Northern Powerhouse Rail will do.”
“I will ensure that the Rail Minister meets my hon. Friend and regional colleagues. In taking the right long-term strategic decision about providing more capacity on the west coast main line, I recognise that some people will be dealing with more uncertainty today. I want to work with him and HS2 to make sure that we treat those people with the respect they deserve and that we seek to minimise the disruption to people’s lives as far as possible.”
“I would be very happy to organise a meeting between my hon. Friend and the Rail Minister. He refers to some of the congestion challenges on the west coast main line with regard to train paths and putting on new services. That is why we have taken this long-term strategic decision today, recognising that we will have to address congestion and capacity challenges in that part of the rail network. As I say, I will be happy to organise that meeting for him.”
“Phase 3 of the plans we have announced today will deliver improvements above and beyond the work that is happening at the moment with the trans-Pennine route upgrade. My hon. Friend is right to highlight the success of that programme in being on time and on budget—very different from the mega-project of HS2. I am very keen that we emulate the successes of the trans-Pennine route upgrade through Northern Powerhouse Rail. Of course, it also provides great opportunities to the thousands of people who are currently employed on the trans-Pennine route upgrade, who can get jobs working on the Northern Powerhouse Rail programme in future.”
“I do agree with my hon. Friend. I have a very close working relationship with Ken Skates, the Welsh Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales. He and I are working on how best to prioritise the record £445 million the Government committed at the spending review to improve Welsh rail infrastructure. I am always happy to talk to my hon. Friend about her ideas on what more we can do to improve the experience of the travelling public in Wales.”
“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising the Calder Valley line and the importance of further electrification of the network. If I may, and in the interests of time, I will ask the Rail Minister to write to my hon. Friend with further information on that, but I appreciate that it will be important for his constituency.”
“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that contribution and appreciate how important it is to improve the quality of rail services to all the destinations she mentioned. Some benefits of the plans we are proposing today are, for example, that in parts of Yorkshire—I appreciate that that is a different part of the country—we could see enhanced services to London. I would be happy to have a meeting with regional colleagues to discuss the specific issues she has raised.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for her question and for the measured way she has put it. I know that the issue is close to the heart of her constituents, and I know that the Rail Minister is very keen to engage further with her and other affected Members on this issue. I can assure her that he will be in touch shortly to discuss the issues and a way forward.”
“I would be very happy to join the meeting I have already committed to on behalf of the Rail Minister; I think that would be appropriate, given the breadth of issues that have been raised today. On the issue of a direct service from Stoke to Manchester airport, I know that West Midlands Railway is considering the feasibility of amending its Stafford to Crewe service.”
“I know that we need to improve the performance on both the Avanti West Coast and Northern routes; the Rail Minister and I are seized of the importance of doing that. I assure my hon. Friend that I will continue to work with the Mayor of Greater Manchester to ensure that the inter-city improvements we have announced today are properly integrated with the local mass transit improvements that she is advocating.”
“We had to take some difficult decisions on electrification as part of the spending review this year, but we continue to keep the potential of full electrification of the midland main line under review as part of our plans to decarbonise the railways.”
“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising the issue of the Yarnfield compound; I am not sure that she and I have actually spoken about it directly before. If she could write to me with more detail, I would be happy to come back to her to let her and her constituents know what more we can do to provide certainty on the way forward.”
“I understand the importance of these issues to my hon. Friend and his constituents. I have instructed officials today to resume work on the adapted hybrid Bill. If I may, given the detailed nature of his question, I will respond to him in writing to ensure that I get the information correct.”
“I am left under no illusions that my hon. Friend is from the north and will fight for the north. Having enjoyed a very hospitable evening with her in Darlington at the Hitachi rail manufacturing plant, I know how critical that employer is to her region. I am pleased that today’s announcement is not only an investment in rail infrastructure, but a downpayment on that manufacturing base and its future in order to realise the full economic potential of the region.”
“As I said to my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Derbyshire (Jonathan Davies), we are keeping this matter under review. We had to take the difficult decision not to fund it in the spending review. That is not to say that the constituents of my hon. Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) are not benefiting from improvements on the railway—I know that the Minister for Local Transport is particularly excited about the new fleet of East Midlands Railway trains, which are providing a much better passenger experience for my hon. Friend’s constituents. We are determined to keep building on those sorts of improvements.”
“This Government are committed to bringing the cost of living down, while supporting opportunity and aspiration across the whole of the UK. From March, regulated rail fares will be frozen for the first time in 30 years, meaning that over 1 billion journeys can be made in the coming year for the same price as this year. On top of that, the great British rail sale has returned, offering discounts on over 3 million tickets, making rail travel more affordable for everyone.”
“My hon. Friend is completely right to raise the issue of affordability for the travelling public. After the relentless fare hikes under the last Government—ticket prices went up by 60%—I think the announcement by this Labour Government will be welcomed by millions of people who are using our trains this year. I will certainly ask the Rail Minister to sit down with my hon. Friend to discuss his amendment. I can assure him that as we set up Great British Railways, affordability will be a key priority for that new organisation, alongside balancing costs for taxpayers.”
“Many of the cheapest fares on LNER are still available. In the long-distance fare trials, the vast majority of people will benefit from the simplified ticketing system. Of course, as these trials take place, we will want to review this process and ensure that we are providing good value for money for as many of the travelling public as possible.”
“As we extend contactless ticketing, passengers will benefit from simpler, more flexible travel, and the majority of single tickets will be the same price or even lower. We do not want this positive change to have any perverse impacts, so we will monitor it as it beds in.”
“Transport is a key enabler of economic growth. That is why we are investing £92 billion to maintain and modernise our roads and railways, to deliver major projects such as HS2 and East West Rail, and to support leaders in our towns and cities to improve local public transport networks. This will strengthen connectivity, unlock productivity and support a thriving UK economy.”
“I appreciate what a fearsome and impatient advocate my hon. Friend is for her constituency, and I am sure she will leave no stone unturned in exploring potential funding options with local partners to reopen some of those stations. I will gladly ask the Rail Minister to sit down with her to discuss the art of the possible.”
“I would be happy to ask the Roads Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Wakefield and Rothwell (Simon Lightwood), to meet my hon. Friend, who has campaigned hard to secure a viable future for Doncaster Sheffield airport, and I also appreciate the importance of this junction. We have given a significant amount of funding to the South Yorkshire mayoral combined authority to determine what its local investment priorities are. I encourage her to continue discussions with the Mayor of South Yorkshire to that effect.”
“The right hon. Gentleman has raised the question of accessibility at this station with me at Transport questions, and he is right to say that it is one of the schemes being considered as part of the Access for All programme. He is also right to say that decisions about that scheme are literally on my desk at the moment. He does not have too long to wait until we make an announcement about which schemes we will be taking forward, both for further design work and to construction.”
“I am fully aware of how important South Western Railway is to the hon. Lady’s constituency and to the economic performance of the south-east as a whole. I can give her good news: we have appointed a new integrated managing director of South Western, who is responsible for both the infrastructure and the train operations. I will be sure to write to the hon. Lady with more details about potential improvements to the signalling system, so that we can see the greater levels of reliability and punctuality that I know her constituents want to see.”
“I would be very happy to ask the Rail Minister to meet my hon. Friend. I fully appreciate the importance of direct services to London, and we will make sure that we look at the detail of what has happened in this situation and see whether any mitigations can be put in place.”
“I would be happy to meet the hon. Gentleman to discuss these issues. I am aware of the significance of the Ely-Haughley junction improvements. It was not possible to fund that scheme in the spending review, but it is part of the longer-term pipeline that we are looking at, not least because of the important freight links to the port in Felixstowe that could be improved. I would be happy to have a further conversation on the wider issues.”
“The right hon. Gentleman will be aware that we are freezing fuel duty until August this year. We need to get the balance right in terms of securing income for the public finances, but I also point out that we are investing a record amount in highways maintenance—£1.6 billion last year, which is £500 million more than was spent the year before, under his Government. We will double investment in roads maintenance by the end of this Parliament, and that is what people using our roads want to see.”
“I am pleased to see the hon. Gentleman in his place. I assure him that I am in regular contact with the Mayor of London on a range of matters, and he and I discussed the proposed devolution of Great Northern inner services to Transport for London when we last met in November. My officials have been in close contact with TfL and Greater London Authority officials on this matter, and following TfL’s business case submission, the Department is assessing the potential benefits, including for housing growth.”
“The discussions at the moment are limited to the potential transfer of services that form part of the Great Northern inner network. This is a fiendishly complicated thing to do, but I do recognise the benefits of bringing certain commuter lines into London Overground and making them part of that network, as long as there is agreement with the local authorities representing those further along the line. We will continue those discussions with the Mayor of London and Transport for London to bring reliable, high-quality public transport services to the people of London.”
“I recognise how disruptive the closure of Hammersmith bridge has been to people in my hon. Friend’s part of London. I understand that the Minister for Roads, my hon. Friend the Member for Wakefield and Rothwell (Simon Lightwood), will be convening a further meeting of the Hammersmith bridge taskforce in the near future to discuss next steps for the project. Officials will be in touch with key local stakeholders to arrange that in due course.”
“Yesterday marked a turning point for road safety in Britain. Our new road safety strategy, the first for 10 years, will save lives and end years of complacency. Our targets are ambitious: reducing those killed or seriously injured on our roads by 65% by 2035, and by 70% for children under 16. That means stricter penalties for dangerous drivers; clamping down on illegal number plates and those driving without insurance; and new measures to support those most at risk, such as younger and older drivers. Today we are also outlining plans to restrict pavement parking, which will make our roads safer and more accessible to everyone. Every life lost on our roads is not only tragic, but preventable. I am proud that the steps we are taking will mean more people in more places can travel more safely.”
“It is a simple fact that communities in the north of England have had to put up with second-rate transport systems for far too long. I can guarantee that this Government are fully committed to Northern Powerhouse Rail. I understand that the hon. Gentleman is impatient for announcements. He may have to wait a few days or weeks longer to find out exactly what the Government’s plans are, but I can assure him that we are making progress.”
“When planning permission was granted for the expansion of Luton airport, careful consideration was given to how people would access the airport, by road and by rail, and Luton also has the DART link. When it comes to the accessibility of the new Universal theme park, we are investing in rail networks such as East West Rail at Stewartby.”
“I remember from my time as deputy Mayor of London the perennial problem of leaves on the line, particularly on the Piccadilly line. I am happy to raise the hon. Member’s comments with the transport commissioner, Andy Lord.”
“I can assure the hon. Gentleman that I have regular meetings with my Scottish counterpart, Fiona Hyslop. I can also assure him, as I have for other Members already today, that affordability will be a key priority as we set up Great British Railways and create a railway in England that puts passengers before profit. It will be a railway run by the public and for the public.”
“I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for fulfilling his role as spokesperson for the kingdom of Kent. I am keen to maximise the number of people who are using the rail network to get to Gatwick airport. We have granted planning consent for Gatwick to bring its second runway into use in future and I want to continue discussions with Network Rail and the train operating company there, as it comes into public ownership, about how we can look at direct routes to Gatwick and increase capacity on the rail network to that airport.”
“I am happy to ask the Local Transport Minister to meet the hon. Gentleman. It sounds to me as if this is a locally managed project, and we would not interfere in that, but I am happy for a further conversation to take place.”
“I am happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss that. I also assure her that I have raised the importance of public transport accessibility with the leadership of Luton airport, as well as the integration of the National Rail network and the Direct Air-Rail Transit link. I am happy to discuss that matter further with her.”