MP secures Parliamentary debate on First Capital Connect
Press Release :
28 January 2010
Anne Main, MP for St Albans, has today secured a Parliamentary debate to discuss the disruption on First Capital Connect (FCC) rail services. The debate will take place next Wednesday, 3rd February, two days before FCC management are due to come to St Albans to face commuters.
The announcement came on a day when answers to Anne’s Parliamentary Questions confirmed that the Secretary of State for Transport was notified of the drivers’ industrial action as early as 26th October 2009, but he has only met with First Capital Connect once, in November, to discuss the matter.
Anne said:
“It is good news that I have secured this debate to challenge Ministers over their lack of action on this matter. When I tried to secure a debate in November the Leader of the House would not grant it, but I felt it was important to keep requesting a formal debate to ensure that the Government receives proper scrutiny.
Worryingly, the answers to Parliamentary Questions I received this morning show that once his initial meeting in November was over, the Secretary of State lost interest and left it to his officials to monitor the situation. I am not sure this is good enough considering the severity of the disruption.
I will be calling on as many colleagues as possible to come along to the debate and pass on their constituents’ experiences to the Government. We must be clear that First Capital Connect must show marked improvements to their services, and this should never be allowed to happen again.”
Anne added:
“I would also like to remind all those affected that First Capital Connect Managing Director, Neal Lawson, and his team have agreed to come and meet with commuters at St Albans City Station on Friday 5th February from 4pm – 7pm. I will be there and I hope as many people as possible will be able to come along. If anyone is unable to make it, and would like their views to be passed on, I would urge them to email me at maina@parliament.uk with the issues they would like to raise. It is important that everyone gets a chance to have their views heard.”
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