April 2011

As a North West Member of Parliament I do have a firsthand knowledge of the Transport challenges that face our region. One of the schemes I have followed closely over the years has the Manchester Hub, which has now become known as the Northern Hub.
Anyone who uses the rail service in the North West can see that overcrowding and delays are significant barriers to improving the whole way the system operates.
Clearly one of the options available is for the Northern Hub to be taken forward by Network Rail in their next control period in 2015.
It was certainly interesting that at a recent Transport Select Committee the Network Rail Chief Executive David Higgins told them that government investment in rail infrastructure around Manchester was ‘absolutely essential.’ adding that the £530 million Northern Hub proposals should be the ‘top priority’ for national rail funding.
In a recent speech in a parliamentary debate I outlined how the Northern Hub could play a very important role increasing rail services by 40% during the next 20 years across Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield, It would mean 700 more trains a day, making it possible for 3.5 million more passengers to travel by train every year.
The estimated wider economic impact of the project is also significant, with the creation of 23,000 new jobs and a return of £4 for every £1 that is spent. I also pressed the Minister of State in the debate to see when they would be implementing the Northern Hub. Although I got no firm assurances, she did say it would be a strong candidate for funding in the next control period.
So clearly it has a sound business case, and there are encouraging sounds which may allow it to finally go ahead in 2015. The Labour Party is currently in the middle of our policy review, with our new Transport Positions unveiled at Party Conference in the Autumn, but the Northern Hub will certainly form part of our policy review. The Tory led Government have done precious little for the North in Transport so far, so we await to see what they do with the Northern Hub.

March 2011

February 2011

Much as I feared in my last article for Manchester Matters the very generous concessionary fares scheme for young people and pensioners in Greater Manchester has been cut, largely due the policies of this Tory led Government.

The decision to withdraw the concessionary fares particularly disappoints me as I am Labour’s Spokesperson for Buses and Concessionary Fares. I specifically challenged the Bus Minister over the dispatch box at the House of Commons about effects of the government’s actions on buses. I was reassured that there would be no significant changes to services, a reassurance that now rings hollow in the ears of many young people and pensioners now having to pay more to use our public transport system here in Greater Manchester.

Of course the decision to remove these concessionary fares was made by the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA), a body made up of the ten local authorities of Greater Manchester. But clearly at a time when local authorities are having their budgets squeezed til the pips squeak by this Tory led government, it gives them very little room for maneuver.

So AGMA duly decided at their meeting to stop the 80p concessionary fare; instead making young people under 16 pay half the adult fares to travel on buses.

They also decided to remove the current concession fare of 80p for the elderly to travel at reduced fares on buses, rail and trams in the weekday morning peak before 9.30am. They will now be forced to pay half price fares to travel.

It is hugely disappointing news for two of the least well off groups in society, particularly as it come off the back of the recent rises in VAT. It is yet another kick in the teeth by this Tory led government.”

And it really is a double whammy for young people who have been clobbered nationally by the Tory led Government with the Educational Maintenance Allowance being scrapped. Now they are being clobbered locally by the Tory/ Lib Dem run Integrated Transport Authority who have scrapped cheap fares. And this is all at a time when youth unemployment has hit the one million mark.

It’s also really disappointing for elderly people who rely on the concessionary fare as a life line to help them to be more independent and allow them to visit family and friends. This scandal is yet another broken promise by this Tory led Government.

We did take a certain pride in Greater Manchester that we could provide something extra to young people and pensioners for concessionary fares, it was about giving a helping hand to people. The emerging pattern under this government is to take away as much as they can from vulnerable groups. I entered politics to improve the life chances of those who need it most and I am angered by what I have seen so far from this Tory led government. and I intent to fight them tooth and nail to stop their programme of ideologically driven cuts

January 2011

As we start a new year I do have real sense of apprehension, because this is the year that we will start to feel the real cuts that the Coalition Government are putting in place.

For public transport in Greater Manchester that could well have an impact on Concessionary travel services that are offered to older people and young people.

This is because Manchester goes much further in offering concessionary fares to young people and pensioners than it has to under the law. Young people under 16 can get concessionary fares that cost them only 80p and they are able to use the tram system for the price of half an adult fare. Pensioners are allowed free off peak travel on trams and local trains, not just on buses, as well as the 80p fare in peak times.

But the thing with this government is that they are underhanded in the way they announce cuts. They throw the public sector on a bonfire and call it the “big society”, which in a nutshell means the voluntary sector picking up the service gaps due to funding shortfalls.

Similarly the government has been very sneaky in the way it has put forward this particular cut to service. Without boring readers with the complexities of local government finance, currently the funding for concessionary fares goes directly to the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE);

But the Government is planning to change the way it gives the funds for concessionary fares, rather than give it directly to GMPTE- the people who run the scheme- they will instead pay it to the ten district councils. Now, this could cause potential problems because there are currently no guarantees that the District Councils will passport all this money to GMPTE in full.

This is especially a worry when these local authorities are under massive pressure from funding cuts more widely.

Now GMPTE – with or without the funding flowing into it – still has to provide the national entitlement.

In effect the changes mean that the statutory requirement for free travel has been ring fenced, but not the funding for it. If the Districts don’t passport the funds, GMPTE will have dip into its other budgets to fund it.

This could mean that that ultimately older people in Greater Manchester and other Metropolitan areas could end up with a free pass for a quickly vanishing network of services, whilst young people, and children and pensioner travelling at peak time could find their concessions being withdrawn. And it could well have a wider effect on the wider bus network in Manchester which could well become less extensive, more expensive and less accessible.

Of course things will become clearer once the ten district councils have made their intentions on pass porting funding clearer and GMPTE’s budget is set. But once again it is the most vulnerable groups who rely on an effective bus service that will pay the highest price under this government.

December 2010

Just last month - and after some delay – we had the government’s rail investment announcement, the contents of which I think will leave passengers quite disappointed. The government are allowing eye watering increases in rail fares from this coming January, but are delaying both the delivery of new trains that would ease overcrowding and electrification that will speed up journeys. Indeed, much of the package will not be delivered until 2019 - almost a decade away!

By delaying completion of the Thameslink programme to 2018, Crossrail by a year and refusing to commit to the planned electrification of the Great Western Main Line into Wales and the Midland Main Line, the government has also ducked the big decisions needed to provide the country with the world class transport system we need.

The reality is that, for the immediate future, passengers in Manchester and across the UK face huge real fare increases along with continued overcrowding and in some cases quite poor facilities.

The rail fare increases (on average 6.2%) in January will affect all commuters, with some fares set to increase by as much as 13%. For us here in Manchester an off-peak single to London could well rise to almost £100 by 2015.

The government’s statement also raises a number of important questions for rail in and around the Greater Manchester area. The announcement to proceed with electrification of the lines between Liverpool and Manchester is certainly welcome, but it also requires a cascade of refurbished electric trains from Thameslink to run on the line. As yet we have no indication when these trains will arrive or how many Manchester will receive. Indeed, we could end up in a situation of running diesel trains on an electric line for a time. Northern Hub also needs to be much more of a priority for the government.

So the rail investment statement largely re-announced a whole series of investment decisions already taken by the previous Labour government, but subject to a number of unnecessary delays. It won’t do nearly enough to deal with congestion and overcrowding for commuters who are using our trains today but who are expected to pay ever-more for the privilege without seeing any immediate improvement to their services.