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00:00I will call Helen Morgan to move the motion and I will then call the Minister to respond.
00:06There will not be an opportunity for the Member in charge to wind up, as is the Convention,
00:11for a 30-minute debate.
00:13Order, order.
00:15Helen Morgan to move the motion.
00:18Thank you very much, Ms Vaz.
00:19I beg to move that this House is considered the Oswald Street to Gobowen railway line.
00:24It's a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair today and it's a really important subject
00:29for constituents of mine in the lovely town of Oswald Street and the nearby village of
00:35Gobowen.
00:36Oswald Street has a population of approximately 17,000 people.
00:41It's the second largest town in Shropshire and it's a town of huge importance to the
00:45border region, but really economic potential there is being stunted by poor public transport,
00:51which plagues the whole of Shropshire.
00:54If you live in Oswald Street, you're forced to rely on a bus or car to get to Gobowen
00:59railway station just up the road and access connections to larger economic centres like
01:03Shrewsbury, Liverpool or Manchester.
01:05If you don't have a car and you work in Chester, you'll need to leave home by 7am to get to
01:11the office for 9 o'clock, a journey that takes about 45 minutes in a car.
01:16Travelling further afield and returning late, you'll need to get a taxi back from the station
01:20because the buses don't run outside regular hours and that's if you can track down a taxi,
01:25which is another problem for another debate.
01:28Oswald Street was once a proud railway town.
01:31The railway station was on the mainline of the Cambrian Railway and at one stage housed
01:35the headquarters of the Cambrian Railway Company.
01:39Unfortunately, it was a victim of the Beeching Cut and there's been no connection to the
01:44mainline from Oswald Street since 1966.
01:48That's why the news that the Restoring Your Railway Fund would be used to reopen the line
01:52between Gobowen and Oswald Street was so well received locally.
01:57And that's why the news that the government wanted to scrap the funding without even examining
02:02the new business case has been such a huge disappointment.
02:05From healthcare to high streets to the environment and the economy, I can't overstate what a
02:09transformational impact the reopening of this line would have for our area.
02:16Poor public transport removes opportunity.
02:19It hinders young people, limiting their options for further and higher education and restricting
02:24their access to culture and leisure.
02:27In short, barriers to mobility are barriers to social mobility.
02:32During a recent visit to the Job Centre in Oswald Street, the brilliant staff there told
02:36me the number one barrier to people accessing work is poor public transport.
02:41Meanwhile, I've spoken to businesses in Oswald Street who've reported real difficulties in
02:46recruiting.
02:48They need to be able to attract people who work from a much wider area than Oswald Street
02:52itself, and not just those who have access to a private car.
02:57This means we're in the ridiculous situation where employers can't recruit and job seekers
03:03can't find jobs to match their skills, and both because of this same problem of poor
03:07public transport.
03:09If you take the outstanding orthopaedic hospital, the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic
03:13Hospital near Gobowen, it's a hospital with such a fine reputation it has no trouble attracting
03:20high quality of staff.
03:22But they do have a problem that they can't get people to and from their shifts early
03:26and late because there's no public transport, and if they don't have a car, that job won't
03:31work for them.
03:32Reopening the line includes a halt at the hospital.
03:36It would help swell the staff numbers at the hospital and ease access for patients, many
03:41of whom are elderly, don't have access to a car and have to rely on the goodwill of
03:45friends to get to appointments on time.
03:48The hospital's also a national resource.
03:50People come from across the country to access the excellent care there, including the Veterans
03:55Centre, and a railway access for them would be a huge bonus.
04:00And it's not just me who thinks that this is a great project.
04:04Feedback from the Department for Transport on the strategic outline business case acknowledged
04:09the importance of all of this, saying the following,
04:12Oswald Street is the second largest employment area in Shropshire, and unemployment in Oswald
04:16Street is higher than the average in Shropshire.
04:20Productivity, the ability to match jobs with labour across North Shropshire, is a particularly
04:24pertinent issue.
04:26The growth in vacancies has been significant in Oswald Street and Gobowen in recent years,
04:31which is exacerbated by the low population density and ageing populations of these areas.
04:38Public transport is so important to this critical issue of productivity, of growth, and of matching
04:44jobs with people who want to do them.
04:46I thank my hon. Friend for giving way.
04:53Does my hon. Friend agree that there have been many railway re-openings in the last
04:5720 years that have seen significantly higher use than expected, including the Ebbwith Rail
05:02line, which received year 4 ridership by the end of year 1, Larkhall in Scotland, 26% demand
05:09higher than forecast, and the Borders Railway seeing a doubling of demand in the first month
05:14compared to plan, with extra coaches and car parking needed?
05:18I thank my hon. Friend for his really good intervention, because it is true that we tend
05:24to underestimate the passenger numbers on these newly re-opened lines, and the benefits
05:28are probably in excess of the business cases that have supported them.
05:35I will come on to a point about further developments on this line later in my speech, so I am very
05:40grateful to my hon. Friend for making that point.
05:44Public transport is critical to this issue of productivity, of growth, and of matching
05:48jobs with people who want to do them.
05:50This line will be really important for job creation, educational opportunities and economic
05:56growth in a rural area that has huge potential but is currently not meeting that potential.
06:03I think it will also be a huge boost to the regeneration of Oswestry's beautiful and historic
06:07town centre.
06:09Oswestry already boasts a large number of independent shops and a relatively low number
06:13of vacant units.
06:14It has a rich cultural history on the border of England and Wales, a large number of native
06:20Welsh speakers, and the town has the potential to thrive in the future.
06:27The area surrounding the station is currently planned to become a transport hub for the
06:31town, and the listed station building is currently undergoing works to ensure it is structurally
06:37sound and fit for the future, but it will need tenants inside it.
06:41A fully operating station has the potential to unlock private investment in that area,
06:48regenerate this important transport gateway to Oswestry only a few minutes' walk from
06:52the centre of town, and provide crucial facilities such as public toilets and a café that would
06:58make connecting bus services into the rural area beyond much more viable.
07:02One of the big issues that local bus providers have with providing services in this area
07:08is that there isn't a public toilet for their drivers to use when they stop over, and it
07:12really hinders the ability for them to provide a decent bus service.
07:18If you live in Oswestry currently, you are largely dependent on your car.
07:21Linking local bus and rail services will reduce congestion, reduce emissions, and open a world
07:27of opportunity for those who are unable to access a car or drive one, whatever the reason.
07:33And it's not just me, as I said earlier, who thinks this reopening is a good idea.
07:38The DFT's own feedback to the strategic outline business case was extremely positive, saying
07:44it was a strong strategic case.
07:46The proposal aligns to various local plans over the past decade.
07:50The appraisal outputs presented in the economic case show that all options yield very high
07:55and financially positive value for money.
07:58Crucially, the project is expected to bring in more cash than it would cost to set up.
08:03This clear value for money is in stark contrast to the three other Restoring Your Railway
08:07schemes approved by the previous government last October, which were judged to offer poor
08:11value for money at best.
08:14It was this strong business case that persuaded the DFT to commit to funding it through to delivery.
08:20And coming on to my hon.
08:22Friend's point, when the business case was put together, it didn't factor in the likelihood
08:25of the new REXIM structure in Midlands Railway Company to provide a direct service on the
08:30line from Gabon to London.
08:33If this service goes ahead, and I very much hope that it will, the benefits for Oswestry
08:37would be even greater.
08:38Now, of course, there has been some local opposition.
08:42Some people have argued that you could just run a shuttle bus, seemingly unaware that
08:46there already is one.
08:47But it hasn't worked.
08:49It doesn't run in the evening or early morning.
08:51It's frequently delayed by congestion on the A5, which you have to cross to get to
08:55the station, and sometimes it just doesn't turn up at all.
08:59It certainly won't unlock the economic regeneration of the transport hub in the centre of Oswestry
09:04that the rail reopening promises.
09:08It's also really expensive to travel by bus and train, because you need two different
09:11tickets.
09:12But perhaps most importantly, whether it's an urgent appointment at the orthopaedic hospital
09:18or an overnight shift at nearby Durham College, you can't trust a bus that won't get you
09:22there on time.
09:23Now, I welcome the announcement this week that local authorities will be given the powers
09:27to franchise their own bus services.
09:29And if this happens in Shropshire, we'd see huge benefits across the whole of my constituency
09:34for the many villages that have no service at all, and towns like Market Drayton and
09:38Ellesmere, for whom reconnection to the railway is desirable but not realistically possible.
09:43But we can't pin our hopes on this.
09:46While the funding for all this brilliant new public transport remains unclear and uncommitted,
09:51it seems highly unlikely that Shropshire's Conservative-run council will be taking on
09:54the revenue strain of start-up bus services.
09:57It's a council which is forecasting to balance its books by using up all its reserves this
10:02year unless it can find a further £38 million of cuts, on top of £58 million last year
10:07and £38 and £30 million already delivered this year.
10:11The ambition should also be to link rail and bus services so that people can genuinely
10:15consider leaving their car at home, because the alternative is reliable, convenient and
10:20affordable.
10:22The Oswald Street to Goberyn line uses a railway line that's already there, and while it obviously
10:27needs upgrading to be usable once more, the fact that it's not been built over has left
10:31space for a footpath or cycle path to go alongside.
10:35The benefits of active travel are well documented, and they could be exploited here as well if
10:39this scheme goes ahead.
10:42The whole project has a capital cost of between £5 and £15 million, and ongoing operating
10:46costs of £196,000 per annum.
10:49It is forecast critically to be cash positive over the appraisal period.
10:54Local critics have also highlighted the potential disruption of crossing the A5, but it's important
10:59to emphasise that nobody is proposing to run a slow, steam heritage train over a major
11:05level crossing.
11:06The proposal involves very little disruption and very many benefits.
11:10Indeed, it's difficult to see any justification for axing this project.
11:15The government has said it wants to grow the economy, improve education, clear NHS backlogs
11:21and clean up the environment.
11:23Here it's potentially blocking a scheme that would help achieve all of those objectives.
11:28Shropshire is one of the worst served counties in England for public transport, with only
11:32one bus route running on the Sunday in the whole of the county, and the loss of more
11:37bus miles since 2015 than any other county in England, there's a huge barrier in place
11:42to realising Shropshire's potential.
11:45This project would help to remove one of those barriers.
11:49It would enable local businesses to find quality candidates for the vacancies they can't currently
11:55fill.
11:56It would remove a huge barrier from those without a car seeking work beyond the boundaries
12:01of their immediate area.
12:03And it would enable young people and those wanting to develop new skills to access a
12:07far greater range of educational provision.
12:11It would unlock investment and regeneration in an important regional town centre.
12:17You can't regenerate growth, jobs, skills and investment if a town is isolated from
12:22the rest of its region.
12:24That's why the previous government promised to fund this project and it's why the new
12:27government should too.
12:29I urge the Minister to come to Oswestry to see the wonderful potential of this historic
12:35market town and the additional value that the railway would bring to it, and to urgently
12:41reconsider the decision to move funding from this fantastic project.
12:47The question is that this House has considered the Oswestry to Kerbowen railway line.
12:52Minister Lillian Greenwood.
12:55Thank you, Ms Vaz.
12:56It's a real pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this afternoon.
13:02I want to begin by congratulating the Honourable Member for North Shropshire for securing today's
13:08debate on the Oswestry to Kerbowen project, and thank her from the outset for the thoughtful
13:16and important points that she's made both today and in her previous campaigning work
13:21on this.
13:22Of course, I've read the previous correspondence that she's had, both with my colleague, the
13:30noble Lord, who's the Minister for Rail, and indeed with previous Ministers in the
13:35Department.
13:37In particular, I understand the argument she makes about the problems with connectivity
13:42between Oswestry and Kerbowen, particularly for those who have no access to private vehicles
13:49or who don't wish to drive.
13:51I really appreciate the importance of good public transport connections in the area,
13:58including to the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital, for patients, staff
14:04and visitors, both for the local area and for those who are travelling from further
14:09afield.
14:10We want to ensure that people can access the public services that they need, and that they
14:16shouldn't have to need private transport in order to do so.
14:21My Department is committed to putting transport at the heart of mission-driven government.
14:27We aim to support economic growth by transforming infrastructure to work for the whole country
14:33and improving connectivity to, as she said, promote social mobility and indeed tackle
14:40regional equality, particularly in terms of access to healthcare, jobs and homes.
14:46I think the hon. Member described the difficulties that her constituents face reaching the places
14:52where they can obtain opportunities for work, wider opportunities for study and education
15:00and indeed enjoy leisure and culture activities.
15:03This is why transport is so important, because of the opportunities that it opens up for
15:09people and improves their wellbeing.
15:12However, as my right hon. Friend the Chancellor set out in her speech to the House on 29 July,
15:20the Government have been forced to address the economic inheritance that we have been
15:25left by the last Government, which includes that £22 billion black hole in the country's
15:30finances this year alone.
15:33That includes £2.9 billion of transport projects that were committed to, despite the last Government
15:41knowing full well that they were unaffordable.
15:45I completely understand that the announcement of the difficult decision to close the Restoring
15:51Your Railway programme has caused disappointment, and I can assure the hon. Member that that
15:59decision was not taken lightly.
16:03As the Chancellor set out, individual Restoring Your Railway projects will be considered as
16:09part of preparations for the spending review and wider spending decisions for the Department.
16:16However, as she will know from her correspondence with my noble friend the Minister of State
16:21for Rail, it will not be possible for all transport projects, particularly those not
16:27yet in delivery, to continue.
16:29I am afraid that that is the difficult reality of the position we find ourselves in, and
16:36I wish that it was not so.
16:38The Restoring Your Railway programme attracted considerable interest when it was launched
16:44by the last Government in January 2020.
16:47The Department for Transport received over 140 individual applications for funding to
16:54help to support the development of early-stage business cases.
17:00I recognise the point made by the hon. Member for Didcher and Wantage that new services
17:06can be very popular and successful.
17:09There is a real appetite in communities up and down the country for new public transport
17:15services in order to better connect people to the places they want and need to go.
17:22At the close of the final funding round in September 2021, the programme was heavily
17:28oversubscribed.
17:30In the case of the Oswestry to Gabowen project, the previous Government announced under their
17:34Network North initiative that the project would proceed to delivery, subject to successful
17:41business cases.
17:43However, as my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has previously set out, there was
17:49a clear gap between promised projects and the money available to deliver them.
17:55The previous Government should have been upfront and frank about this, and they absolutely
18:01were not.
18:03I thank all hon. Members who sponsored and campaigned for individual former Restoring
18:10Your Railway projects for their patience and efforts over the years.
18:15I completely appreciate the frustration expressed about the lack of news on next steps, which
18:22is reflected in my right hon. Friend's previous correspondence with the Department under the
18:26previous Government, because undoubtedly it felt incredibly slow at times.
18:31That is why my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has ordered a review of the Department's
18:37capital spend portfolio.
18:40That will move quickly to make recommendations about current and future schemes and end the
18:46uncertainty that the previous Government created.
18:51We also need to be clear that this Government's approach to how transport projects can be
18:56funded is based on local leaders and local transport authorities knowing best what projects
19:04to pursue in order to further the needs of their constituents.
19:10It is absolutely crucial that local stakeholders work together to provide affordable and reliable
19:16services for the communities they serve.
19:19This should include better integration between different modes of transport.
19:25The hon. Member highlighted the potential of an integrated transport hub and the desire
19:33for better walking and cycling provision, which benefits not only transport but health
19:41and wellbeing.
19:42I hope that her local authority will be able to explore those options further.
19:49The hon. Member made strong points about the lack of quality of bus service provision
19:56in her area.
19:58As we both know, under the last Government, thousands of bus services saw reduced frequency
20:04or were cut altogether, leaving many towns and villages without adequate, reliable and
20:11affordable public transport.
20:15That is something we recognise and are determined to do something about.
20:20I was pleased to hear the hon. Lady welcome the Government's pledge to deliver better
20:25bus services for passengers, which includes making franchising easier and quicker, removing
20:32the ideological ban on new municipal bus companies and reforming funding for buses to give more
20:38control and flexibility to local leaders to deliver their local transport priorities.
20:44I understand what she said about the Conservative-led county council and its appetite for that,
20:52but I am sure that she and her constituents will make that point very clearly to those
20:56who are seeking to represent them at that level.
21:00I will give way.
21:02With local councils a hair's breadth away from issuing section 114 notices and are only
21:10likely to deliver statutory services in their area, what additional funding will be available
21:15from the Government for them to be able to franchise their own bus services?
21:19It seems to me that it is all very well having the power, but unless you have the funding
21:22to deliver it, it will not bring about the results we would like to see.
21:29I thank the hon. Member for her question.
21:32Of course, she is absolutely right to highlight the very difficult position that many local
21:38authorities find themselves in after 14 years of a Conservative Government.
21:44That is precisely why growing the economy and the ability to improve our public services
21:51is one of this Government's key missions.
21:54In order to achieve that, we need to make sure that the foundations are strong, and
22:00setting our economy on the right track is the first part of that.
22:04Of course, we will be saying more about support for transport as part of the spending review.
22:12We will be working with local authorities to understand what is needed to improve and
22:17grow their bus networks, learning from their experiences and building on their successes
22:22to ensure that local networks can meet the needs of the communities that rely on them.
22:29As we undertake vital reforms to the sector, including through the introduction of the
22:35Buses Bill, we will ensure that stakeholders are properly engaged on the proposals.
22:41I am sure I look forward to the hon. Member for North Shropshire participating in those
22:46debates as we go forward about how we can do that.
22:50I thank the hon. Member for North Shropshire for bringing this debate.
22:54I offer my and my ministerial colleagues' support in working with her to improve the
22:59transport network in her constituency and right across the country.
23:04As she recognised, transport is a vital enabler for jobs, opportunities and growth.
23:11I am sure we share the desire to see that for North Shropshire and the whole country.
23:19This House has considered the Osward Street-to-Goboan railway line.
23:23As many as are of that opinion say aye.
23:27Of the contrary, no.
23:29I think the ayes have it.