FUTURE OF BRITISH RAIL MANUFACTURING

Early day motion 257, tabled 17 June 2013 by Chris Williamson (Labour). Signed by 25 members.

That this House notes with dismay the Government's confirmation that Siemens of Germany has been awarded the £1.6 billion Thameslink Rolling Stock contract at the expense of the only British-based train manufacturing company, Bombardier of Derby; is appalled that the award of the contract is over three years behind schedule, and that, in addition to the delays, the cost of the scheme will also rise due to the fact that the contract has been secured via an expensive private finance initiative deal, as opposed to the Crossrail contract which is to be publicly-funded; is concerned that these extra costs could be passed on to passengers through higher fares; further notes that there is now a 10-day period before the contract is signed, and believes that this pause should be used to facilitate an independent audit of the deal to establish if the interests of the passenger, taxpayer and UK industry would be better served by a publicly-funded contract built in the UK; and calls for the Government to take urgent steps to ensure that future train contracts support UK train manufacturing.

Signatures by party: Labour 19, DUP 1, Green 1, Independent 1, Liberal Democrat 1, Plaid Cymru 1, Respect 1.