Select Committee
Parliament

Rob Warnes says Arriva Rail North should receive some compensation from publicly owned Network Rail after the delayed electrification of areas of track around Blackpool caused them to be unable to implement planned changes.

He does stress, however, that this is just a small part of what they will receive compensation for, with the large majority of compensation coming not from Network Rail or any other public organisations.

Select Committee
Parliament

Conservative MP Huw Merriman says he is "absolutely staggered" that, when so many different rail companies are all introducing major timetable changes and so reliant on each other not encountering issues, there was no project manager overseeing the whole process.

GTR's Charles Horton says that the key thing is that major timetable change should never be introduced in such a tight timescale again.

He says that whilst they overcame some issues, he did not anticipate so much could go wrong during the process.

House of Commons
Parliament

"Well done," says Labour's Frank Field, "but is it well done enough?"

While welcoming the long-term nature of the plan, he calls for a review of the national insurance base.

Mr Hunt thanks Mr Field for his response, saying it was less "churlish" than the response from the Labour frontbench.

Select Committee
Parliament

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Asked repeatedly by MPs whether they informed the transport secretary of their concerns about timetable implementation, David Brown says they were unable to do so as they were not aware of the extent of problems until the very last minute.

He points to the reduced timescale they were left with to implement the changes to explain why it did not become clear sooner.

Rob Warnes, the Performance and Planning Director, says those drawing up timetables did also not raise any concerns with management either, for the same reason.

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour's Dennis Skinner says he is proud of the past Labour government's NHS record.

He says voters cannot trust Jeremy Hunt because of the "chaos" he inflicted on the NHS during his efforts to force junior doctors to work seven days a week.

Select Committee
Parliament

Arriva Rail North Managing Director David Brown says the cause of Northern's timetabling problems was different to that of GTR.

The new timetables were dependent on electric train infrastructure being delivered, he explains, and when it became clear that this would not happen they were forced to start again with their timetabling plans.

They raised concerns with other members of the industry at the beginning of the year, as it meant they would not have time to fully rewrite timetables, and requested the existing timetables continue beyond May. However, the requests were declined by the system operator Network Rail.

It was only days before the changes were supposed to be introduced that the full extent of the risks became clear, he says, and the full impact only when the timetables actually came into force.

The prime minister promises any tax increases will be introduced in a "fair and balanced" way.

Tax rises are on the table - but the PM won't yet tell us who will pay for the NHS cash increase.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is giving a statement on the government's announcement of a long-term funding plan for the NHS.

He praises the organisation's staff for their "world-class" work.

He speaks about the pressures the NHS faces from an ageing population and sets out additional funding for the service.

He says many speak about their commitment to the NHS, "but this government delivers".

He says some of the funding will come from money no longer being sent to the EU, eliciting cries of derision from the opposition benches.

But he also accepts that other sourcing of funding will need to be explored, further provoking Labour MPs.

He speaks of the challenges facing the NHS, such as improving cancer outcomes and achieving parity of esteem for mental health, but says this is the first time the service has a long-term funding plan designed by clinicians.

He says the governments wants the NHS to be as good in the next 70 years as it has been in the last.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Conservative Lord True speaks to his amendment, which disagrees with Viscount Hailsham's amendment.

He asks if Lords "wish to play" a game in trying to collapse the government.

He adds that it is "inconceivable and absurd" for the Commons, with 650 "diverse opinions", to try and take control of negotiations with the EU.

The government has "made a serious attempt to compromise" for concerns expressed in the Commons, he adds.

Select Committee
Parliament

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Charles Horton of GTR acknowledges the failures of his company with timetabling and says he is deeply sorry for the inconvenience caused to passengers.

Asked by committee chair Lillian Greenwood what the causes of the delay was, he says he does not wish to point fingers but the process was made considerably more difficult by the delay in decision making by ministers and Network Rail.

The franchise was given far less time than they hoped - only three weeks - to go through the process of implementing new timetables, he says. This was made more difficult by the fact that it wasn't just them that were implementing changes, that others were also making changes increased pressure and meant delay was not an option.

Increased risk of cancellations was raised with the Department of Transport as soon as it became clear, he adds.

Select Committee
Parliament

• Lilian Greenwood (Chair) - Labour
• Jack Brereton - Conservative
• Ronnie Cowan - Scottish National Party
• Steve Double - Conservative
• Paul Girvan - Democratic Unionist Party
• Huw Merriman - Conservative
• Grahame Morris - Labour
• Luke Pollard - Labour (Co-op)
• Iain Stewart - Conservative
• Graham Stringer - Labour
• Daniel Zeichner - Labour

You can read more about the committee and its work here, external.

Select Committee
Parliament

House of Lords
Parliament

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MPs Dominic Grieve, Anna Soubry, Antoinette Sandbach, Matthew Pennycook and Chris Leslie are all listening to Viscount Hailsham's speech on a final meaningful vote for Parliament.

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, Getty Images

The Transport Committee is hearing evidence on rail timetable changes, with representatives from rail operators Govia Thameslink (GTR) and Northern, as well as Network Rail, before the committee from 4.45pm.

It's all part of the committee's inquiry into rail timetable changes, which launched earlier in June, external after an overhaul of timetabling led to travel chaos. Both GTR and Northern have been particularly criticised.

The committee will be hoping to learn what went wrong with timetabling and what is being done to resolve the on-going issues. There are more timetable changes planned for December, so the witnesses will expect to be grilled on their preparation for this.

One of the witnesses, Charles Horton, announced his resignation as GTR chief executive on Friday after months of service delays and cancellations, but he's still expected to appear. GTR say he'll remain in post for a short time while he oversees the development of a temporary timetable.

The full list of those appearing before the committee is:

At 4.45pm:

• Charles Horton - Chief Executive Officer, GTR
• Nick Brown - Chief Operating Officer, GTR
• David Brown - Managing Director, Arriva Rail North Ltd
• Rob Warnes - Performance and Planning Director, Arriva Rail North Ltd

At 5.45pm

• Jo Kaye - Managing Director, System Operator, Network Rail
• John Halsall - Route Managing Director, South East, Network Rail
• Martin Frobisher - Route Managing Director, London North Western, Network Rail

House of Commons
Parliament

Many MPs rise to criticise the parliamentary procedure which allowed the progress of upskirting bill to be halted.

Any MP can object to a private members' bill - a practice which has been described as "archane" several times during this debate.

Ms Frazer reiterates that private members' bills form an important part of parliamentary procedure but also acknowledges the MPs' concerns.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Lib Dem MP Wera Hobhouse, whose private members bill on upskirting was rejected on Friday, warns any delay in passing legislation will put more women at risk.

She asks the government to ensure that the bill has the support of all of its MPs.