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The subject-matter of Part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.'.
No. 528, in page 67, line 39, leave out 'and'.
No. 529, in page 67, line 40, after first 'and', insert--
No. 530, in page 68, line 2, after 'of', insert--
No. 531, in page 68, line 3, at end insert
No. 532, in page 68, line 10, at end insert--
It being after Ten o'clock, THE CHAIRMAN left the Chair to report progress and ask leave to sit again.
To report progress and ask leave to sit again.--[Mr. McFall.]
Committee report progress; to sit again tomorrow.
Mr. Deputy Speaker (Sir Alan Haselhurst):
With the agreement of the House, I will put together the four legal aid and advice motions.
Motion made, and Question put forthwith, pursuant to Standing Order No. 118(6) (Standing Committees on Delegated Legislation),
Motion made, and Question put forthwith, pursuant to Standing Order No. 118(6) (Standing Committees on Delegated Legislation),
Mr. Deputy Speaker:
With permission, I shall put together the motions relating to European Community documents.
Motion made, and Question put forthwith, pursuant to Standing Order No. 119(9) (European Standing Committees),
Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.--[Mr. McFall.]
Mr. Steve Webb (Northavon):
I am pleased to have the opportunity to put before the House an issue that is important not only to my constituents, but to millions of people across the west country. Train services between Bristol and London are of most concern to me, as the Member of Parliament for Northavon, but the issues that I shall discuss touch on the concerns of hon. Members from Devon and Cornwall, from south Wales, from Gloucestershire, from Herefordshire and from a range of areas where Great Western runs trains. There was speculation that we could have heard from hon. Members who represent each station along the line had the previous debate collapsed an hour earlier.
I shall not go over old ground. The huge profits that the management of Great Western are set to make when the company is taken over by FirstGroup are a reflection of the poor deal that the British taxpayer gained from the previous Government when the franchises were first awarded; but that is history. My primary concern is to highlight for the Minister the grave dissatisfaction of people in the west at the quality of our rail services and to seek her assurance that the Government will do all they can to ensure that the service is improved in a practicable time scale.
I stress that my purpose is not to criticise the many hard-working people at Great Western rail services. We encounter them on our train journeys. The vast majority work hard, are good natured and often bear with good humour the brunt of the complaints about poor service, which is often not their fault.
I make a further promise: I undertake to refrain from sharing with hon. Members details of each delayed Great Western service that I have been on and the reasons for the delay, on the understanding that other hon. Members will show the same self-restraint.
Rather than rely on anecdotal evidence, I shall give the hard facts of Great Western's performance since it was awarded the franchise in February 1996. The target set for punctuality was 90 per cent. Nine out of 10 trains should either be on time or within 10 minutes of the scheduled time. That was broadly in line with performance in the year before the franchise began. In the first year, Great Western narrowly exceeded that target with a punctuality performance of 90.5 per cent. In the year ended December 1997, 86.7 per cent. of trains ran on time. That was not up to the required standard, and, as a result of that poor performance, season ticket holders received a discount.
The punctuality statistics exclude Sundays, bank holidays and the other days when rail services are poor, which suggests that the standard actually achieved in 1997 was very poor. Since then, performance has got worse. In the most recent four-week period, only 81.7 per cent. of trains were on time. That information was displayed this morning in Bristol Parkway station for all to see. That is the worst performance since the franchise began. In practical terms, it means that a daily commuter from Bristol to London can expect to be late twice a week. That is simply not acceptable.
The poor levels of service are no aberration. Only once in the past 12 months has Great Western achieved its target for punctuality, and that was by only a fraction of 1 per cent. I fear that Great Western passengers can look forward to another discount on their season ticket this year, although I suspect that many of them would forgo that for a decent, reliable service.
How does the poor level of service relate to the current takeover bid for Great Western by FirstGroup? The Director of Passenger Rail Franchising, John O'Brien, has the power to vary the terms of the franchise when a takeover bid is launched. Now is the perfect opportunity to secure for Great Western passengers the improvement in services that they want and which they have every right to expect--but there is good reason to believe that that opportunity has been missed.
'(h)'.
'(a)'.
'and
( ) Part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990'.
'The subject-matter of--
( ) Part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, and
( )'.--[Mr. McFall.]
That the draft Criminal Legal Aid (Scotland) (Prescribed Proceedings) Amendment Regulations 1998, which were laid before this House on 4th March, be approved.
That the draft Advice and Assistance (Assistance by Way of Representation) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 1998, which were laid before this House on 4th March, be approved.
Question agreed to.
That the draft Advice and Assistance (Financial Conditions) (Scotland) Regulations 1998, which were laid before this House on 4th March, be approved.
That the draft Civil Legal Aid (Financial Conditions) (Scotland) Regulations 1998, which were laid before this House on 4th March, be approved.--[Mr. McFall.]
That the draft Social Security Amendment (New Deal) Regulations 1998, which were laid before this House on 9th March, be approved.--[Mr. McFall.]
Question agreed to.
That this House takes note of European Community Documents Nos. 11165/97, two draft Regulations on aid to shipbuilding, and 11167/97, a Commission Communication: Towards a new shipbuilding policy (as they relate to new rules on Community aids to shipbuilding); and approves the Government's support for the Commission's proposals to end operating aid for shipbuilding and to focus remaining aids on improving the competitiveness of the industry, as providing a good basis for reaching agreement and fully
30 Mar 1998 : Column 1007taking account of the UK's shipbuilding interests, subject to the Government being satisfied that the aid limits and monitoring provisions are sufficiently rigorous.
That this House takes note of European Community Document No. 5357/98, a draft Regulation amending Regulation (EEC) No. 404/93 on the common organisation of the market in bananas and a draft Decision authorising the Commission to negotiate with countries having a substantial interest in the supply of bananas to the EU, and European Community Document No. 6150/98, a draft Regulation establishing a special framework of assistance for traditional ACP suppliers of bananas; and supports the Government's position that these proposals together represent a serious attempt to meet the EU's international obligations under the WTO and the Lome Convention, that revised arrangements must take full account of the interests of those Caribbean countries which have traditionally supplied the UK with bananas and that aid to the Caribbean Commonwealth producers has an important part to play in assisting general adaptation to more competitive market conditions.--[Mr. McFall.]
Question agreed to.
10.6 pm
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