Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2022-05-19
Topic: Environment
Questions: Many of my constituents work at London Luton airport and they want secure jobs that do not contribute to wrecking the planet. Sustainable aviation fuels can help with that, but we need a price stability mechanism, such as perhaps a contract for difference. Will the Minister update us on what action he is taking to give the industry that certainty so that we can fly sustainably?; The National Grid’s main east coast electricity cables cross the River Tyne overhead and act as a constraint on trade on the river, the more so since commercial demand now asks for higher and higher offshore structures to facilitate renewable energy. My hon. Friend and neighbour the Member for North Tyneside (Mary Glindon) was able to put that point to the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s questions on 22 January 2020. The Prime Minister replied that“we will do whatever we can to ensure that it is sorted out as fast as possible.”—[Official Report, 22 January 2020; Vol. 670, c. 297.]That was widely welcomed on Tyneside by me and my colleagues as well as local industry. Would it be possible for me, my hon. Friend the Member for North Tyneside and my hon. Friend the Member for Jarrow (Kate Osborne) to have a meeting with the appropriate Minister to take the Prime Minister’s urgings forward?; We were disappointed last year when our bid to reopen Grove station was not taken forward, although I realise that only 13 of the 89 proposals were. However, Wantage and Grove is set to have a population that is 59% larger in 2027 than it was a decade earlier, so the need for a station in the area has never been clearer, in addition to the environmental benefits of getting people out of their cars. Will my hon. Friend meet me so that we can discuss other avenues I might pursue to get the station reopened?; Even before the pandemic, rail services to and from Carshalton, Carshalton Beeches, Hackbridge and Wallington stations were congested and infrequent, but Govia Thameslink Railway is still operating a reduced timetable as people return to the railways. What discussions has my hon. Friend had with GTR to encourage it to get back to pre-pandemic levels and, indeed, fund the Croydon area remodelling scheme to put more trains on?; The integrated rail plan will see huge amounts of money invested into the TransPennine rail route, with major upgrades at not only Huddersfield railway station but Slaithwaite and Marsden in my constituency. How will the Minister ensure, though, that the disruption that will be caused during these much-needed works will be kept to a minimum and that local communities will be fully engaged with and consulted about the scale of the works needed?; Like local authorities in so many other parts of the country, Worcestershire County Council was unsuccessful in its bid for Bus Back Better funds. Can the Minister assure me that the Department will give feedback to Worcestershire County Council so that next time it can bid back better?; Will my hon. Friend detail how remote rural constituencies like mine will benefit from improvements to local transport services when our sparse population means that so many transport solutions are not commercially viable?
Alun Hugh Cairns (Conservative, Centre-right): The zero-emission vehicle mandate requires a smooth glide path in its transition towards the 2030 ban on petrol and diesel vehicles. Will my hon. Friend consider the impact that the smooth glide path has on smaller automotive manufacturers? Their commitment to achieve the 2030 ban is absolutely agreed, but the capacity to achieve the smooth glide path for those smaller manufacturers, such as Aston Martin, is much more difficult.