Commons
Debate
17 March 2026
3 contributions
Isles of Scilly: Transport
It is a pleasure to respond to this Adjournment debate. May I begin by congratulating the hon. Member for St Ives (Andrew George) for securing it and for speaking so passionately about transport provision for the Isles of Scilly? He speaks with his characteristic good nature on what are really sever…
I take the point the hon. Member makes, and the point that he made earlier about the basic issue of equity for British citizens, irrespective of which part of the United Kingdom they live in. That being said, it is incumbent on me in my ministerial capacity to work within the framework of the regula…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
3 March 2026
4 contributions
Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill
I beg to move, That this House agrees with Lords amendment 1.
I am pleased that the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill has returned to this House with only a small number of Government amendments. I am grateful to Members of both Houses for their engagement and constructive approach throughout the Bill’s passage. I wish to thank my predecessor, my hon. Friend the …
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
12 February 2026
2 contributions
Topical Questions
The Government are currently considering the judgment handed down in the Groom case and the next steps that we will take with His Majesty’s Coastguard. In the meantime, we are grateful for the contribution of volunteers across wider society. They are a crucial part of how this country comes together…
The hon. Member is right to raise the transportation issues on the Isles of Scilly and in his constituency more widely—I would be very grateful if he wrote to the Secretary of State on that matter. I understand that the Rail Minister will be meeting the leader of the council of the Isles of Scilly t…
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
12 February 2026
2 contributions
Heathrow Expansion
The Department launched the review of the airports national policy statement in October 2025, and selected a single scheme to inform that review in November. We are reviewing the ANPS swiftly but thoroughly, and we intend to consult on any revisions by the summer.
The hon. Lady asks about the case for Heathrow expansion and collecting the data in reference to that. The ANPS review will do exactly that, reflecting changes in legislation, policy and analysis since the current ANPS was designated in 2018. It will ensure that any proposed scheme for expansion at …
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
12 February 2026
3 contributions
Passenger Railway Services
Rail performance is improving following a decade of decline. We are working with the rail industry on a performance restoration framework, with five clear areas of focus to recover performance to acceptable levels. Those include timetable resilience, staffing and keeping trains safely moving during …
I thank the hon. Member for his important question. I am aware of both the Bath and Wiltshire metro scheme and the Devizes gateway project. While there are currently no specific plans to deliver on those aspirations, we would encourage both him and local stakeholders, including local authorities, Gr…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
12 February 2026
2 contributions
Energy Coast Train Line: Upgrades
My hon. Friend is a great champion for her constituents. I thank her for her efforts to push the project forward; the energy coast train line has great potential to boost the local economy. Cumberland council is rightly leading the development of proposals, and my Department will continue to work wi…
My hon. Friend continues to be a determined champion both for the project and for the economic benefits that it could bring to her constituents. I agree that a meeting with the Rail Minister is the right way to progress the matter; I give her an assurance that that meeting will happen in short order…
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
12 February 2026
4 contributions
Rail Fare Affordability
This Government know that many people across the country are struggling with the cost of living. That is why we are taking historic steps to improve affordability for rail passengers, including freezing regulated rail fares for the first time in 30 years, saving commuters up to £300 per year, and de…
The hon. Lady is right to point to the fact that our railways need to serve as a catalyst for young people to access the educational opportunities they need. I have already explained that we are freezing regulated rail fares for the first time in 30 years, which we hope will have a benefit for const…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
12 February 2026
2 contributions
Calder Valley Train Line
Good morning, Mr Speaker, and most importantly, I wish you a very happy start to the super league season.
Northern Powerhouse Rail will be the biggest transformation in travel in the north of England in a generation. Under NPR, officials will assess options to improve Bradford to Manchester connect…
I thank my hon. Friend for his focus on accessibility, and I would be glad to engage with him further on this matter. The project to which he refers was originally remitted to Northern Trains for delivery, but the contractor was stood down from works in August 2024 due to unsafe behaviours. Network …
Commons
Debate
9 February 2026
6 contributions
Leagrave Station: Step-free Access
It is a privilege to respond to this important debate on the potential merits of step-free upgrades at Leagrave railway station. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen) on securing it, and I thank her for her tireless advocacy on behalf of her constituents on this very …
The hon. Member pre-empts me, as I will turn to how this particular issue to do with the rail service intersects with the needs of the aviation sector. He is of course right to point to the fact that surface access must play a really important role in the considerations around how we grow our aviati…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Committee Stage
5 February 2026
21 contributions
Railways Bill (Twelfth sitting)
I thank the hon. Lady for giving me an opportunity to piggyback on her response to the Lib Dem spokesperson, the hon. Member for Didcot and Wantage. I want merely to say that, from the Government’s perspective, having one centralised body accountable for access to and use of the railway and for dete…
It is, once again, a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Hobhouse. Amendment 254 would require GBR, when charging above the cost directly incurred—in other words, when charging mark-ups—to consider its target to increase the use of freight. I can reassure the hon. Member for West Dorset imme…
+19 more contributions in this session
Commons
Committee Stage
5 February 2026
8 contributions
Railways Bill (Eleventh sitting)
Good morning, Mr Western. It is once again a pleasure to serve under your chairship. I thank the hon. Member for South West Devon for these amendments, which all seek to make changes to GBR’s access and use policy.
First, I will provide a brief explanation of what the access and use policy sets out…
The hon. Member is of course right to be wary about the involvement of open access in the railway, because although such provision forms a comparatively small proportion of railway journeys, we have discussed at length how certain access operator services provide great inter-city connections. There …
+6 more contributions in this session
Commons
Committee Stage
3 February 2026
25 contributions
Railways Bill (Tenth sitting)
It is a pleasure to serve yet again under your chairship, Mrs Hobhouse. Clause 35 provides definitions for key terms used in chapter 1 of part 2, ensuring clarity and consistency in interpretation. I commend the clause to the Committee.
I thank the hon. Member for Broadland and Fakenham for these amendments, but also right hon. and hon. Members across the Committee for their contributions on this important point.
The right hon. Member for Melton and Syston is correct that I intend to argue that the passenger watchdog will focus in…
+23 more contributions in this session
Commons
Committee Stage
3 February 2026
18 contributions
Railways Bill (Ninth sitting)
Good morning, Mrs Barker, and to everybody—another day in Committee. I thank the hon. Member for Broadland and Fakenham for these amendments, which seek to ensure that the designation of passenger services does not negatively impact rail freight or undermine GBR in network capacity planning activity…
Clauses 28 and 29 enable the Secretary of State and Scottish and Welsh Ministers to exempt certain railway passenger services from designation. Exempting a service means that the Secretary of State or devolved Ministers will not be responsible for that service. Instead, responsibility can be devolve…
+16 more contributions in this session
Commons
Committee Stage
29 January 2026
24 contributions
Railways Bill (Eighth sitting)
It is a pleasure to once again serve under your chairship, Mrs Hobhouse. Before I begin my remarks, may I seek a piece of advice on amendment 250? We are considering it as part of this group, but if it has not been moved and has been proposed by a Member who is not on the Committee, am I required to…
Thank you, Mrs Hobhouse. I thank all hon. Members for their amendments, which seek to make changes to the provisions on the rail freight growth target. I also thank the shadow Minister for his very warm birthday wishes. I agree with the sentiment that he expressed: what more of a gift could I have r…
+22 more contributions in this session
Commons
Committee Stage
29 January 2026
9 contributions
Railways Bill (Seventh sitting)
Good morning, Mr Western. It continues to be a pleasure to serve under your chairship.
I thank right hon. and hon. Members for their contributions and for the clarity and succinctness with which they delivered them. I am afraid I will not be able to follow in their footsteps when responding to what…
I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention. My reading of the amendment is that it would remove the ability to amend the strategy within a 15-year period. Her broader point, about having flexibility to make determinations about the long-term rail strategy and cater for unforeseen events, technologic…
+7 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
28 January 2026
Ivanhoe Line: Restoration
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for North West Leicestershire (Amanda Hack) on securing the debate, and thank everyone for their contributions, including my hon. Friends the Members for Southport (Patrick Hurley), for Burton and Utto…
Commons
Westminster Hall
13 January 2026
5 contributions
Airport Drop-off Charges
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton South and Walkden (Yasmin Qureshi) for securing this important debate. As she so clearly and eloquently expressed, this issue affects many of her constituents, and indeed many airport users across th…
Absolutely. My hon. Friend raises an important point. There is a virtuous circle of economic prosperity to be created through multimodal access to airports. Rail provides an incredibly important piece of that puzzle and it is hoped that increased powers in the Railways Bill, including more control o…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
8 January 2026
5 contributions
Topical Questions
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important issue. I have travelled on that line and I know the challenges. The Friends of the Barton Line do incredible work to raise issues relating to passenger experience, and East Midlands Railway is working to improve train performance on this route. I wil…
My hon. Friend is right to raise the issue of aviation noise. It is one of the reasons why the Department is pursuing an ambitious programme of airspace modernisation, which aims to deliver quicker, quieter and cleaner journeys, both for passengers and communities such as the one she represents.
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
8 January 2026
2 contributions
Rail Services: Harrogate and Knaresborough
This Government know how important local rail links are in supporting work, leisure and aspiration, which is why we are overhauling the railways through the creation of Great British Railways. A scheme to improve performance at York station and across the local area remains under review following th…
As a near neighbour of the hon. Member, I know the line that he describes. The Harrogate line interventions have not been funded in this spending review period, but that does not preclude doubling the single line between Knaresborough and York as part of a future local or national infrastructure pip…
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
8 January 2026
7 contributions
Passenger Rail Services
Good morning, Mr Speaker. Following a decade of decline, we are starting to see train reliability stabilise. We are working with the rail industry on a performance restoration framework, with five clear areas of focus, in order to return performance to acceptable levels. More broadly, we are nationa…
The hon. Lady is right to identify the importance of rail connectivity to economic growth in her part of the country. I reassure her that there are no plans to reduce the half-hourly service between Bristol and Gloucester, and I acknowledge the point she raises about Yate station, where performance …
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
7 January 2026
3 contributions
Bletchley Railway Station: Eastern Entrance
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Buckingham and Bletchley (Callum Anderson) on securing this debate, providing us all with the opportunity to discuss the case for an eastern entrance at Bletchley station as part of the East West Rail project. From the contributions of other Members, it i…
My hon. Friend highlights the significance of the fact that with hard-working Labour local government representatives and MPs working in concert, we can unlock a lot of economic opportunity that otherwise would not be realised. I will be happy to ask the Rail Minister to write to her with further de…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
9 December 2025
5 contributions
Railways Bill
May I begin by saying what a pleasure it has been to listen to this debate? My response is centred on a strong belief that if somebody takes the time to say what they think about our railway, for whom it should be run and in whose interests, they should be listened to, because it is going to make cl…
I carefully noted what the right hon. Lady said in her speech. I will come to accountability, and if she thinks that I do not cover her point, she is welcome to come in again.
I will start with accessibility, which 11 hon. Members across the House raised, including my hon. Friends the Members for S…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 December 2025
2 contributions
Seafarers’ Welfare
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. Before I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft), I pay tribute to Lord Prescott, whose unfortunate passing was just over a year ago. Beginning with his career as a trade union official in the National Union of Seam…
In the Christmas spirit that we are experiencing in Westminster Hall today, how could I refuse? It would be wonderful to visit. I look forward to continuing to learn about the work of the Seamen’s Rest, not only in Tilbury but at its centres in Immingham, Felixstowe, Bristol and other places.
I tha…
Commons
Proceedings
26 November 2025
3 contributions
Grove Park Railway Station
I start by congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham East (Janet Daby) on securing this important debate. She has made a powerful case for accessibility improvements at Grove Park railway station. Before I turn to those improvements in detail, I will briefly pick up on two things she men…
My hon. Friend is a tireless champion for improved rail services for all in Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme. He makes an incredibly important point: if more people can access our railways and thereby the opportunities that access provides them—social lives, employment and the ability to give …
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
20 November 2025
2 contributions
Topical Questions
The electric car grant is designed to ensure that consumers have confidence in their ability to buy an electric vehicle over the long term, benefiting from £3,750 off the cost of some models. Importantly, we are undertaking work to increase the number of electric charge points across the country, wi…
I would be delighted to encourage local people to give it a try. I am delighted with the announced expansion of pay-as-you-go to 50 additional stations, including Aylesbury station, next month, and I can assure my hon. Friend that it will offer her residents greater flexibility, convenience and the …