Covid-19: Walking and Cycling

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff Excerpts

Monday 8th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton [V]]

The new statutory road space reallocation guidance issued recently by the Department for Transport makes it absolutely clear that local authorities must consider people for whom it is important to be able to use the roads. That includes blue badge holders, those who must make deliveries, and other essential services. I reassure my noble friend that there is much evidence to suggest that improving pedestrianisation outside shops increases footfall in them, which I think is beneficial.

[Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (CB) [V]]

As GPs are encouraged to recommend cycling to achieve a wide range of health benefits, including decreasing obesity, have the Government set targets for traffic-free safe cycling for those who may be quite wobbly when they start and the wearing of cycling helmets to avoid a spate of injuries that require hospital treatment?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton [V]]

There are all sorts of things that we can do to make cycling a better experience for all, particularly those who are starting out on their cycling journey. They include actions by local authorities to make some streets cycling- and pedestrian-only. Work can also be done on improving cycling safety.

Air Accident Investigation

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff Excerpts

Monday 10th February 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

As I am sure the noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, is aware, the first report issued by the AAIB considered the fact that this was a UK aircraft operating between the UK and France. It would have been subject to the requirements of the US Federal Aviation Administration, under oversight by the CAA. She raises some important points, and I will certainly take them back to the team to see whether they will include it in the review.

[Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (CB)]

My Lords, given that Emiliano Sala had levels of carbon monoxide in his body sufficiently high to cause unconsciousness, one could infer that the pilot also lost consciousness, although his body has not been retrieved. That would suggest that the airworthiness of the aircraft was appalling. What plans are there to make sure that aircraft taking off or landing in the UK, at any airport, have the equivalent of an MoT certificate, at least?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

The noble Baroness is quite right that levels of carbon monoxide in the body of Emiliano Sala were higher than they should have been. I am sure she will have read the second report from the AAIB, which was issued last August and provided information to general aviation and others on the risks of carbon monoxide making its way into the cockpit. I cannot say anything further at this time, because the AAIB’s final report will be issued shortly. I am fairly sure that it will include recommendations on carbon monoxide.

Road Safety

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd July 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

The Government are not minded to do that at the current time. We believe that the current system is working well. There have been improvements in road safety. The UK is the second best in the EU in terms of road safety. We have done well. Fatalities have fallen by 39% in 10 years, but I recognise that there is more to be done and that is why we have done this road safety statement.

[Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (CB)]

What commitment are the Government giving to lowering the drink-driving limit, particularly when drugs are also involved, given that alcohol is thought to be involved in one in eight road deaths?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

The noble Baroness will be aware that in Scotland they recently reduced the limits for drink-driving and a review by the University of Glasgow showed that there was no evidence that reducing that limit had contributed to a reduction in road deaths. However, the Government are aware that some people, for example, are repeat drink-driving offenders and we have now put in place the facility where such people have to medically prove that they are not alcohol-dependent before they get their licence back.

Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Bill [HL]

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff Excerpts

Committee: 2nd sitting (Hansard): House of Lords
Thursday 22nd March 2018 Grand Committee

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Baroness Finlay of Llandaff) (CB)]

My Lords, if there is a Division in the Chamber while we are sitting, this Committee will adjourn as soon as the Division Bells are rung and resume after 10 minutes.

Amendments 12 to 14B not moved.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Snape]

With respect, if we could not have a response from the Minister last time, for procedural reasons, may I speak on the clause stand part?

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees]

The noble Lord certainly can speak on clause stand part.

[Lord Snape]

Then perhaps the Minister will be kind enough to reply to the points I made earlier when, in my view, my noble friend prematurely withdrew his amendment without us hearing the full response from the Minister about whether it is voluntary or otherwise.

Drones

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff Excerpts

Tuesday 21st November 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (CB)]

My Lords, do the Government intend the legislation to cover illegal uses of drones such as the reported taking of illicit drugs into prisons and other associated illegal activities?

[Baroness Sugg]

My Lords, we will be looking to expand police powers in the Bill. I am of course aware of the issue of smuggling illegal substances into prison and obviously, the Ministry of Justice is determined to tackle this. It announced a £2 million investment to ensure that every prison has access to mobile phone detectors and is working with Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service to ensure that it is analysing drone use and acting on it.

Disabled People: Employment

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff Excerpts

Wednesday 30th November 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

According to the statistics on passenger accessibility, London is much better than other parts of the country, but my noble friend raises important issues about the accessibility of platforms in certain parts of the London transport network. TfL has a programme to ensure that that can be delivered in accordance with the needs of all the travelling public, including those who need to travel to work and suffer from disabilities.

[Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (CB)]

My Lords, the Independent Living Strategy Group has identified and reported that one in four people has experienced a decrease in paid work or volunteering because of cuts to local authorities’ independent living support in the last 12 months. What are the Government doing to ensure that local authorities have the resources to address this important barrier to work?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

The noble Baroness raises an important point. There are other departments besides the Department for Transport that would input into that, and once I have ascertained that information I will write to her.

Roads: Drink-drive Limit

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff Excerpts

Thursday 17th November 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

I know from my own experience of serving on a local authority that local authorities play an important role in the provision of education and information on campaigns such as the THINK! campaign. I know that many local authorities are directly engaged with that, and it works well. If the noble Baroness has other practical suggestions, I would be happy to reflect on them.

[Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (CB)]

My Lords, given the Government’s commitment to look at the evidence, when they look at the two-year evidence from Scotland, will they consider the impairment of reaction times related not just to alcohol intake but to age? The reaction times of some older people are more impaired than those of some younger people. Will they also look at the death rate among the under-25s?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

I know that the noble Baroness has great experience in this regard from the medical perspective, and I assure her that the Government will take full account of all the evidence that is available. Whenever we look at this area, I will certainly ensure that we look at the number of prosecutions and fatalities, as well as their causes, across the country. We are happy to look at all evidence when considering this issue.

Roads: Road Safety

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff Excerpts

Monday 1st July 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Finlay of Llandaff]

My Lords, in the light of the 10% increase in deaths and the 4% increase in serious injuries in the past year in cycle accidents, will the Government consider a 20 miles per hour limit in certain urban areas? What are the Government doing to work with border agencies on the issue of drivers coming from outside the UK whose mirrors are positioned so that they cannot see cyclists on the road? I refer in particular to the drivers of lorries coming from Europe.

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, the department has made it simpler for councils to put in 20 miles per hour zones and limits and to install so-called Trixi mirrors to improve the visibility of cyclists at junctions. One of the problems is that sometimes a lorry driver cannot see a cyclist. I do not think that the problems with cyclists in London involve foreign trucks. There are issues with left-hand drive trucks causing accidents, particularly on motorways, but I have not been told that they cause problems for cyclists.

Driving: Blood Alcohol Limit

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff Excerpts

Wednesday 12th December 2012 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, I am not sure regarding those under 21. The key figure is 280 drink-related fatalities per year.

[Baroness Finlay of Llandaff]

My Lords, will the Minister explain what the measures are to improve the safety of young drivers which he alluded to in his first response?

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, we are considering all possible options at the moment to continue the downward trend.

Crime: Drink-driving

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff Excerpts

Monday 8th October 2012 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, the difficulty with random testing is that it would not achieve the desired result. The object of random testing is to create an expectation among drivers but that would fail to produce results if not backed by raising the actual level of testing. This would not be cost-effective or a justified use of police resources in the current economic climate, because if most of these tests were random, they would prove to be negative.

[Baroness Finlay of Llandaff]

Can the Government explain why they have not considered lowering the limit from 80 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood down to 50 or lower to bring us into line with the rest of Europe and most of the rest of the world? Why have they not considered a zero tolerance to alcohol, given that a survey by Brake showed that more than one in four people were driving the day after having consumed large amounts of alcohol and were almost certainly above the limit, although not formally tested?