Simon Burns
Essex: Rail fares minister opts to commute by car rather than train
Sunday, January 6, 2013
10:14 AM
RAIL fares minister Simon Burns is under fire after it emerged he shuns commuting by train in favour of a chauffeur-driven government car.
According to the Mail on Sunday, the Conservative MP travels the 35 miles between his Essex home and Westminster using an £80,000-a-year departmental car service.
The disclosure comes just days after inflation-busting average rises of 4.2% for regulated rail fares, which include season tickets, took effect for passengers.
A spokesman for passengers’ campaign group Railfuture told the newspaper: “It would be nice if the person who is setting these fare rises was also experiencing some of the congestion and overcrowding endured by ordinary, hard-pressed travellers.”
Chelmsford MP Mr Burns reportedly defended his regular use of the Department for Transport pool car by saying: “I have given up my second home in London and I commute to and from work carrying classified papers which I work on during my journey.”
Cabinet Office officials confirmed last night that there were no restrictions on ministers taking the “red boxes” that contain their government papers on public transport.
Transport minister Stephen Hammond revealed details about the department’s travel arrangements in parliamentary documents.
He said: “With the introduction of a departmental pool car service on 1 April 2012, individual ministers are no longer allocated government cars. The Secretary of State (Patrick McLoughlin) and Minister of State use the pool cars on a daily basis.
“I use the pool cars occasionally and also use the top-up service as business requires it.
“The Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Norman Baker, used the car on an extremely occasional basis for journeys of less than three miles, the last date being 20 November 2012.”
Labour MP Fabian Hamilton, who uncovered the arrangement through a parliamentary question, told the Mail on Sunday: “This looks to be an extremely poor use of taxpayers’ money, and a very bad example for a minister to set.”
A Cabinet Office spokeswoman said non-classified documents could be taken on public transport.
She added: “The Ministerial Code provides for ministers to use a government car for home-to-office travel when working on classified papers.”
A DfT spokesman said: “The Minister of State does not have a home in London but uses his commute to work on official papers and so travels in a car provided by the Government Car Service for security reasons.
“The Ministerial Code permits ministers to use official cars for home-to-office journeys within a reasonable distance of London when they are working on classified papers.”
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9 comments
So, we are all in this together ? sounds to me the 'plebs' are on the train while the elite are travelling in expensive cars ! Hypercritical doesn't come into it !
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freedomf
Monday, January 7, 2013
I think the point is that the cost of cardriverfuel must be far in excess of rail travel. The fact that he carries his "red box" is a red herring. If you read the article in the Mail on Sunday you will see that many other ministers use the train - some even swop the" red box" for a plain unobtrusive brief case so as not to draw attention to themselves.
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The original Victor Meldrew
Sunday, January 6, 2013
A disgraceful misuse of public money. The chap looks as if a good brisk walk to the rail station wouldn't come a miss!
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Tractorboy
Sunday, January 6, 2013
@SuffolkBoy1956-The article in the Mail on Sunday is of interest because it reports that this man's car travel costs the taxpayer £80,000 (yes, eighty thousand) pounds a year. Even with the rise in rail fares, I would suggest that it's rather a lot of money, and a "paid-for train journey"-unless on the Royal Train-would be rather less expensive.
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T Doff
Sunday, January 6, 2013
I see everything that's wrong with the Tory party why this is wrong! 1 we are all in this together , no we are not 2 we have to make cuts , pensioners students ,working people hit hard, why should he waste this huge amount of money, when he can use the train? 3 he is the minister for trains ,if he don't want to travel by them, what do that tell us,? Dirty expensive and ok for plebs, but not posh boys!
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richard procter
Sunday, January 6, 2013
A Tory minister would never lower himself to travel on an overcrowded train with us plebs, but would obviously welcome ridiculously overpriced fares for the pleasure of standing all the way to London. When you have a government comprised of so many multi millionaires, of course they will opt for a chauffeur-driven cars, it is hardly a surprise.
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england1770
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Ok so he is working on Classified papers. My question is what is classified about his job as 'RAIL fares minister', surely all his dealing should be in the public domain, they may be commercially sensitive but not classified. Another case of them bending the rules for themselves
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A Smith
Sunday, January 6, 2013
I'm struggling to see why this article is of interest, let alone would be considered "news". So a government minister prefers the convenience of a paid-for car, rather than a paid-for train journey. Who wouldn't?
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SuffolkBoy1956
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Yet another "In It Together" Tory hypocrite, with an over-developed sense of his own importance and somewhat limited abilities.
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T Doff
Sunday, January 6, 2013