Question
May I just put it on the record that the Tour de France will be passing through my constituency twice? Will the Secretary of State investigate the position on Kirkconnel station in my constituency, on the Nith valley line? Kirkconnel is a former mining community with an older population, and many people are unable to use the station because of infirmity or poor mobility.
Answer
As the right hon. Gentleman will know, matters relating to the railways are devolved, but I will look into the accessibility issues at the station he refers to and progress any necessary conversations with colleagues in the Scottish Government.
Verdict: AMBER (62/100)
The question asked whether the Minister would look into the position at the station. The reply clearly commits to looking into its accessibility issues, and it names a route for doing so, which is through discussions with the Scottish Government since railways are devolved. The commitment covers accessibility only rather than the wider position at the station, and it gives no timeline or indication of what the outcome would be, so the person who asked may want to follow up for those specifics.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Will the Secretary of State investigate the position on Kirkconnel station on the Nith valley line? | Addressed | Direct | The reply directly commits to looking into the station ('I will look into the accessibility issues at the station he refers to'), which answers whether the Secretary of State will investigate, and it names a concrete route (conversations with Scottish Government colleagues) because railways are devolved. The commitment is narrowed to accessibility rather than the full 'position' at the station, which keeps this from being a complete match, but it still substantively answers the item. |