Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland Labour MP, Tom Blenkinsop, today (May 18th 2012) hit out at local bus giant Arriva as they announced yet more cuts to services in East Cleveland.

Tom said:
“Arriva have now announced a number of local service changes in East Cleveland starting in July. One cut is particularly concerning – the proposal to delete the 28 service altogether between Lingdale and Saltburn. This will mean that Saltburn residents will lose a well patronised service which is their only direct link to Guisborough. It is a service also used by Prior Pursglove College students from Saltburn who are studying out of hours not covered by college buses. But, most seriously, it will mean the cessation of the only bus calling at the main Hillside  Skelton Health Centre and will mean leaving residents in Skelton Green, Boosbeck and Lingdale with just one bus an hour to Skelton and the shops there.

“As they operate a virtual monopoly in East Cleveland my constituents will have no choice but to lump it, unless Arriva have a change of mind.

“I know Arriva, like other bus operators, face cash pressures. But they are a wealthy firm and could easily have underwritten this increase from their coffers. After all, last year’s figures show that their Bus Division alone made an operating profit of £91.2 million as part of overall Arriva Group profits of £3,147.8 million. Surely some of this could have helped local bus passengers. But in the mad world of Arriva it seems profits are both sacred and come before passengers.

“This also exposes the fact that the Government are happy to let local bus services wither on the vine, and that – despite warnings of bus company monopoly from the Competition Commission and the Office of Fair Trading – they are not going to make any attempt to bring in greater regulation to see that bus services actually serve their customers, rather than the convenience and money making practices of companies like Arriva.”

Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland Labour MP, Tom Blenkinsop, today (8th March 2012) said that the new plans unveiled by the coalition government could mean high fares for passengers and a poorer service – and that one recommendation could lead to local line closures.

Tom said “the plans are high on rhetoric but lack substance. Amazingly they still seem to believe that ‘market mechanisms’ in themselves could save billions of pounds across the UK.

I predict that this is doomed to fail. The private sector, with an obligation to big shareholders, either resists taking on risk or prices it at a very high rate. This would surely be reflected in franchise bids. Trying to get train operators to share this risk is simply unobtainable.

The result will be that the costs will end up being borne by both rail passengers and by railway workers. Passengers, it seems, will be facing higher fares, whilst there is talk of thousands of rail jobs going, with all the implications this has for travel safety.

One specific recommendation made by ministers looks quite dangerous. They talk of train operating companies being given ‘greater freedom’ in the drawing up of franchise proposals. I fear that this means that many train companies might use this loophole to try to withdraw altogether from more lightly used branch line services – and we have a lot of these in this region. In the past routes such as from Middlesbrough to Whitby and from Darlington to Bishop Auckland were are risk and we could see this risk reappear – especially as local rail operator Northern Rail are coming up to their franchise renewal.

At the end of the day this is just a repeat of Dr Beeching. He, like Roy McNulty, who drew up this latest strategy, is not a professional railwayman. He, like his forbear from the 1960’s just operates on a theoretical basis, seeing the regulation of railways as similar to regulating financial services, electricity or water, something that is a million miles from the truth. This is a repeat of Beeching and we must oppose it if we want to keep a proper railway in being.”

Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland Labour MP, Tom Blenkinsop, today (29th February 2012) said that the news that the Department of Transport has announced news of a new order for trains for the Trans-Pennine Rail service ‘shows the crucial importance of getting rail links into Middlesbrough electrified.”

The Department for Transport have announced that forty new carriages of electrified class 350 stock will be delivered by builder, Siemens, to Trans-Pennine Express by December next year. They will be earmarked exclusively for electrified services from Manchester to the West of Scotland.

Tom said “This decision makes it clear that in future the emphasis will be on buying electrified trains. This means that areas – like Teesside – which are only served by older diesel units will be further disadvantaged and effectively left in the sidings when it comes to modern transport links.

The Department for Transport has said that it will be looking at possible electrification of the line from the main line at Northallerton to Middlesbrough, but this is simply a desk study, and without proper input from local businesses and local agencies it may well end up parked in a dusty filing cabinet in the DFT’s London offices. It is crucial this study is carried out properly and in collaboration with local interests, and today’s news simply reinforces this simple point.”

Tom Blenkinsop, Labour Member of Parliament for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, yesterday introduced the Airport Security (People with Disabilities) Bill in the House of Commons, which aims to ensure that the dignity of disabled people and cancer survivors at airports is protected.

Tom said: “A constituent, who requires the use of urostomy and colostomy pouches, came to one of my surgeries to tell me about the humiliation she had faced at various airport security checkpoints throughout the UK and the EU. I was horrified to hear how unsympathetic some security guards were, forcing her to undergo a pat-down search and wanting her to undergo an examination of her underwear, despite her having a letter from a doctor explaining how she was a cancer survivor who required the use of ostomy pouches.

Having surgery, such as colostomies and urostomies, to help fight against life-threatening health conditions such as bowel and bladder cancer should not end someone’s right to travel, nor should it end their right to be treated with dignity. However, this is sadly unfortunately what often occurs. Although it is vital to ensure that aerospace is secure, one would hope that in circumstances like these, airport security staff would act with compassion, humanity and common sense.

My Bill urges the Government to ensure that all airport security staff in the United Kingdom would be trained regarding the preservation of stoma patients’ dignity, and would also urge the Government to work with the European Commission and the International Civil Aviation Organization to amend European and international regulations so that airport security staff throughout the EU and the world would also be so trained.

Ten Minute Rule Bills like this can yield great successes. On 9 February 2011, I introduced a Ten Minute Rule Bill that would have given the Coal Authority responsibility for former metal mines, like those that were polluting Saltburn Gill. Although this Bill was not passed into law, the Coal Authority were given additional funding to deal with these issues. This Ten Minute Rule Bill, on Airport Security, will raise the profile of the problems disabled people and ostomy pouch users face, and I hope that the Government will choose to take action.”

Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland Labour MP, Tom Blenkinsop, today (January 12th 2012) said he feared that a blanket non-reply from transport ministers to his arguments in a key House of Commons, meant that Teesside might be left in the sidings when it came to railway modernisation.
Tom has earlier asked transport ministers to look to see whether the electrification of the line linking Middlesbrough with the East Coast Main Line could be done at the same time as the already announced Leeds – Manchester project. In a reply, Junior Transport Minister, Theresa Villiers said “I intend to ask Network Rail to establish the cost and whether there is a business case for electrification of the line between Northallerton and Middlesbrough.”

Tom said “I raised this issue again today in a House of Commons debate on rail modernisation but this had no response from key ministers on the coalition benches.

The Department for Transport and Network Rail need to make sure the business case study on electrification to Teesside is done properly, and with full co-operation of all local agencies such as Tees Valley Unlimited, the North East Chamber of Commerce, local train operators and councils. It cannot be just left as a London-based desk study with all the dangers of coming to a shallow pre-ordained conclusion in the absence of any meaningful and deep consultation and possible partnership.

The failure of Ministers to respond to these basic questions today again calls into doubt the real commitment of the Government to see that Teesside is plugged into the circuit board of an proper electrified UK rail network.

I will not rest on this issue and will, again, be writing to both Justine Greening, the Transport Minister and to Theresa Villiers, asking for just vital element of rail investment to be delivered for rail travellers from Teesside. If it is to be left off, this could pose a real threat to our Trans-Pennine services to Leeds, Manchester and Manchester Airport – and indeed possibly a new direct link to London – if Teesside is left on a non-electrified branch line.”

Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland Labour MP, Tom Blenkinsop, today (December 29th 2011) responded to a ministerial reply to an earlier House of Commons question he had posed asking for railway electrification to come to Teesside by saying the reply was ‘positive, but more signs of government commitment are still needed’.

Tom had earlier asked transport ministers to look to see whether the electrification of the line linking Middlesbrough with the East Coast Main Line could be done at the same time as the already announced Leeds – Manchester project. In a reply, Junior Transport Minister, Theresa Villiers said “”I intend to ask Network Rail to establish the cost and whether there is a business case for electrification of the line between Northallerton and Middlesbrough”

Tom responded by saying that this was, on the face of it, a positive reply, but that if this was to be carried through more work needed to be done to make the case.

He said “The Department for Transport and Network Rail need to make sure the business case study on electrification to Teesside is down properly, and with full co-operation with all local agencies such as Tees Valley Unlimited, the North East Chamber of Commerce, local train operators and councils. It cannot be just left as a London based desk study with all the dangers of coming to a shallow pre-ordained conclusion in the absence of any meaningful and deep consultation and possible partnership.”

“I will be writing to both Justine Greening, the Transport Minister and to Theresa Villiers, asking for just this. Teesside needs to be kept on the railway circuit diagram, for, if it is left off, this could pose a real threat to our existing Transpennine services to Leeds, Manchester and Manchester Airport – and indeed possibly a new direct link to London – if Teesside simply remains on a non-electrified branch line.”

Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland Labour MP, Tom Blenkinsop, today (20th December 2011) today expressed “annoyance” after a reply from the Transport Minister, Theresa Villiers, to an urgent Parliamentary question from Tom asking what plans the Government have to keep the airport, and its services, flying.

Tom said “In reply to my question about what steps the Government is taking to save the Airport, all she and the Department for Transport could come up with is that whilst the government are ‘aware of local concern for people and business’ any decision to sell the Airport ‘is a matter for the owners’”.

“This is the non-answer of all non-answers. You would think that the finest minds of the Civil Service could combine with their Coalition masters to think of a way of helping the airport, rather than simply saying to Teesside that they can get lost if they think the Government is going to lift a finger to help keep the airport alive”.

“This is made all the more galling when they acknowledge, in an earlier part of their answer, that regional airports like Durham Tees Valley ‘make a vital contribution to the local economy’”.

“Teesside cannot take this snub without protest. Transport ministers must be flooded with representations from local residents, MPs, councils and businesses, demanding that they adopt a pro-active approach as opposed to their inappropriate laissez faire attitude. The very least the Government should do is sit down with these local interests, as well as the Durham Tees Valley Airport owners and any interested buyers, to see that a successful sale is concluded and to pledge material help to allow this to happen”.

Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland Labour MP, Tom Blenkinsop, said today (December 19th 2011) that Teesside was being left ‘on the hard shoulder’ for government cash when transport spending was being allocated.

He said this following the publication of a report from the Institute of Public Policy Research showed that spending on new transport infrastructure in the North East was less that one per cent of the total for the entire UK, whilst 84% would be going to London and the South East.

Tom said “in cash terms, the North East will be getting £5 per head op population, whilst those lucky people in the leafy suburbs of the South East will benefit to the tune of £2,731 per head.”

“This is a level of inequality unsurpassed even by the past standards of this coalition government, and represents a total indifference to the transport needs of this region.”

“It’s not as if there are no priorities for investment here. Past plans for Teesside have included the Tees Metro fast rail scheme linking the towns and employment growth zones of Teesside with a genuine mass transit system, a new lower Tees Crossing, such as a tunnel or new bridge to relieve congestion on the A19 and to open up development land along the banks of the Tees estuary, and large scale road improvement and highway safety schemes.”

“All of these could be funded with little effort, if only there was a genuine and honest approach to evening out regional disparities in funding. But we cannot expect this of the coalition – they simply want to both help the South and their voters there.”