Conference 2009 - Minister's Speech
Mr Chairman, ladies and gentlemen.
It is great pleasure to be here today, and I'd like to thank you for inviting me to address your annual conference.
Can I first say how much I enjoyed last night's award ceremony. It was an honour to meet some of the many transport officers who have shown outstanding bravery over the past year. And I would like to pay tribute to all BTP officers who give outstanding service to the travelling public day in, day out.
Can I also thank both you Mr Chairman and the BTP Federation, for the excellent job you do supporting the interests of your members. Although you represent a relatively small section of the total Police Force, you are a medium sized force in your own right, and to the travelling public you play an absolutely vital role in keeping the railway safe.
I want, if I may, to say a special word of tribute to Ian Johnston, who as many of you know is leaving in September after eight years as BTP Chief Constable.
Ian, your energy, knowledge and leadership will be sorely missed. You will leave the Force in an immeasurably better state than it was in 2001 when you arrived - significantly better funded, structurally transformed, and doing its job better than ever before. We are all grateful to you, and I'm sure your services will continue to be called upon.
BTP achievements in 2008
This conference can and should take great pride in the achievements of the BTP over the last year. The figures speak for themselves.
2008 saw another successful year, with a 12.3% drop in overall offences, a 13.6% cut in route crime, and significant falls in violent crime and assaults on staff.
Not only are you making Britain's railways safer, but you are also helping to reduce fear of crime on the network - and therefore helping to boost the numbers of rail travellers.
I have seen at first hand at Euston last month the efforts you are making to improve drug and knife detection, and to ensure that Emergency Response Units are constantly primed to react to major incidents on the railway.
I have also seen first hand how a more visible presence on the railway and Underground is helping to reassure passengers.
And I have seen how you are working in partnership with different stakeholders - including train operators, Network Rail, and Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships - to boost performance.
Alongside these initiatives, greater investment in transport policing and improved use of intelligence and new technology has helped you target your response to crime more effectively.
Indeed, you have been successful because at a time when crime patterns on transport are evolving - from terrorism, to knife crime, to even just petty vandalism - you have shown the foresight and vision to adapt your response, and improve what you do.
We have a shared goal in the years ahead, and it is to maintain this cutting edge, and staying one step ahead of the criminal threat. I can assure you that I will work with you and support you to ensure this objective is met.
Economic downturn/BTP funding
As you noted in your speech Mr Chairman, the unprecedented global economic crisis is having a severe impact on the British economy. We all here are hard pressed tax payers. In a recession, there is a balance to be struck between helping hard working families on the one hand, and public spending and financial prudence on the other. However, the Government has made very clear its funding commitment for the railway, which will total £15 billion between 2009 and 2014.
As you know there have been major improvements in recent years to put the BTP on a firm financial footing. Between 2004/05 and 2007/08, the number of officers has risen 14%. As part of this, the Government remains committed to a strong, dedicated, properly-financed Force in the future.
This has been made possible by resource expenditure increases from £167 million to £270 million since the Authority was established in 2004. Over and above this, DfT is providing £33 million capital funding over the three year period from 2008 to 2011.
As you may have read in the press recently, I will ensure that our agreed policy on rail fares and the Retail Price Index will be maintained even if it means some tickets must fall in price. Any rewriting of the fares agreement now would be an intolerable breach of our commitment to passengers at a time when many people are struggling to make ends meet.
But I emphasise that this does not mean that, if fares fall, TOC funding of the transport police will automatically reduce to match. In response to your question, I most certainly will not lose sight of the BTP's primary purpose of maintaining public confidence in rail safety.
That's why I was pleased that in early January the Mayor of London announced an additional 50 British Transport Police to patrol trains and stations in outer London. The £6 million package will bring an increased sense of security at more than 100 stations and routes on the suburban network.
Government working to improve rail safety/security
I was also pleased to announce recently a £5.5 million scheme to establish 68 new ticket gates and additional ticket machines at 14 stations in south London.
At first the gates will be staffed when operational, but from next year they will be staffed for 15 hours a day - including between 7pm and 11pm - so passengers feel safer when travelling at night.
This scheme marks the first stage of improvements to station staffing that will be delivered within the new South Central Franchise from early 2010. Of course, it is not viable or appropriate to install ticket gates everywhere, but by the end of next year, a further 29 stations on the South Central franchise will have new gates fitted.
They will also help clamp down on fare dodgers, who by cheating the system are ultimately subsidised by fare paying passengers.
We have worked closely with the BTP and rail passenger groups to make sure their concerns are reflected in our franchise requirements. By setting more robust franchise standards, we are ensuring that passengers have frequent, reliable services that are both comfortable and safe.
Detection is only part of the story. If we are to tackle crime effectively, it is important that offenders face adequate penalties when they are caught - without lots of extra paperwork for officers.
That is why I am keen that Fixed Penalty Notices should be available to the BTP for a range of offences like drinking and anti social behaviour. The Government is about to consult on the introduction of Fixed Penalty Notices for these purposes, and we hope to introduce the necessary legislation before the summer recess.
The DfT's Secure Stations Scheme is also transforming safety levels and reducing passengers' fear of crime at more than 850 stations across the UK. In London, for example, all 38 stations on the Docklands Light Railway have been accredited. On the Southern network, where 68% of stations are accredited, total recorded crime has fallen by more than half over the past five years.
The BTP has made a tremendous contribution to the success of these schemes - a contribution for which we are very grateful.
Pay deal for police/Olympics/Pensions
To address a couple of your other points, Mr Chairman, the pay issue to which you referred is not a matter for me as a Transport Minister, and far be it for me to invade the Home Office's turf. But what I will say is that ensuring public safety and national security are key priorities for this Government, and should always be put first, and I would simply note with strong approval that under your multi-year pay deal, by 2010 a police constable will be able to earn up to £36,500 - 50% more than in 1997.
I also note carefully your concerns about the policing of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Making sure they pass off safely is one of the biggest policing and security challenges this country has ever faced. They also provide a unique opportunity to demonstrate to the rest of the world British policing at its very best.
Planning is well advanced, and a multi-agency team is leading on this work with Transec - the DfT security body - and the BTP very much involved. We recognise that there will be substantial cost implications, which is why my colleague Tessa Jowell, Minister for the Olympics, announced that £600 million will be available for additional Olympic safety and security costs, and why the DfT has also said it will make sure that Olympic transport policing costs will be met.
Finally, I am very well aware of concerns about the transferability of police pensions, having engaged closely with Ian Johnston about this issue over recent months. I completely share your view that pension rights should not affected by movement between the BTP and other forces. We have been working hard with the Home Office and your own Authority to find a way around the problem. And I am pleased to say that a meeting only yesterday made what I think is significant progress. It looks as if a legal way has been found to sort this problem - and that it one that does not rely on the use of secondments. If that proves not to be the case, I will personally take the issue up again to find a solution.
Stability
Mr Chairman, there is another important contribution that government can make to support the wellbeing of the BTP and its officers, and that is stability.
You know better than me how much uncertainty and speculation there has been over the future of British Transport Police in recent years. A series of reviews have, on the one hand, raised the prospect of an aviation role for the BTP, yet on the other questioned its future as an independent force.
Let me reassure you that the Government is absolutely convinced of the need for a specialist force that understands the railway, and just as importantly, has the trust of the rail industry. And that force is the BTP.
I am unaware of any pressure for further reviews of the BTP's structure from any part of the government - so, like you, I look forward to long period of stability for this Force.
Conclusion
In conclusion, let me say this.
My clear focus as Transport Minister is to build a world class railway in Britain.
With growing road congestion, concerns about transport's contribution to rising greenhouse gases, and rapidly developing rail technology - including high speed rail - the time is right to be planning a bigger, better, faster network to meet the nation's mobility needs in the 21 st century.
But planning a world class railway requires more than new trains, new lines, and new stations.
It needs a commitment to serve the passenger throughout their journey - and you as transport police have a critically important role to play in that process.
That's why I will continue to work with you closely as we develop our plans for the railway.
Thank you.
Delivered: 04 March 2009
(This speech represented existing departmental policy but the words may not have been the same as those used by the Minister.)
