Railways: Franchises

Debate between Baroness O'Cathain and Earl Attlee

Wednesday 10th October 2012 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, the noble Lord is one of the first to worry about the passengers. I take this opportunity to reassure all noble Lords and passengers that the service on the west coast main line will continue after 9 December.

[Baroness O'Cathain]

My Lords, in view of the fact that it has been stated that the franchise system is broken and that track and train should never have been divided, the reality is—I would like confirmation of this—that, because of the European Union, we had no option but to divide train and track.

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, I would not like to deny that what my noble friend has said is true.

Rail: Great Western Passenger Franchise

Debate between Baroness O'Cathain and Earl Attlee

Tuesday 31st January 2012 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

I think that the noble Lord broadly describes some of the difficulties of franchising. We will have to see what the result of the consultation is.

[Baroness O'Cathain]

My Lords—

[Baroness O'Cathain]

My Lords, in view of the disconnect that seems to exist between the passenger experience and the views of the Department for Transport, would it not be a good idea if the 50 most senior members of the Department for Transport had it within their remit that they have to travel on the “Late Western” line at least once a month?

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, I do not think that would be a practical requirement. However, one objective of this franchising round is to ensure that the overall passenger experience improves throughout the lifetime of the franchise.

Company Cars

Debate between Baroness O'Cathain and Earl Attlee

Tuesday 10th January 2012 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, the noble Lord is right; I asked my officials that precise question. I suspect that the reason why the accident rate is higher with company cars is that company car drivers are working under increased pressure and can be more tired, which is a well known cause of accidents on the strategic road network.

[Baroness O'Cathain]

My Lords, can my noble friend confirm that many company car drivers use their company cars as offices? If they are sales reps, they cart around stuff that they could not possibly take on and off trains, et cetera, and visit many places that are way out in the sticks. Therefore, they need their cars and have high mileage as a result.

[Earl Attlee]

My noble friend makes an extremely important point. Many company car users have to use a company car; there is no alternative. I am also confident that the system of company car taxation is progressive and fair.

Airports: Heathrow

Debate between Baroness O'Cathain and Earl Attlee

Tuesday 15th February 2011 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, Heathrow will remain a hub airport.

[Baroness O'Cathain]

My Lords, what about the second runway at Gatwick? Surely that must be up for a rethink and consultation.

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, I made it clear in my initial responses that there would not be a second runway at Gatwick.

Airports: Heathrow

Debate between Baroness O'Cathain and Earl Attlee

Monday 31st January 2011 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, it is not relevant. Heathrow experienced 16 centimetres of snow in one hour. It does not matter who owns it; the airport will come to a stop in those circumstances.

[Baroness O'Cathain]

My Lords, will my noble friend the Minister confirm that Heathrow was actually purchased by the Spanish company under the previous Government, so the supplementary question asked by the noble Lord, Lord Gavron, should really focus on lessons to be learnt rather than on encouraging people to think that we were responsible?

[Earl Attlee]

My noble friend is, of course, absolutely right.

Roads: Speed Cameras

Debate between Baroness O'Cathain and Earl Attlee

Tuesday 5th October 2010 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, it is vital to monitor accident rates, but the urgent priority for this Government is to tackle the record deficit in order to restore confidence in our economy and support the recovery.

[Baroness O'Cathain]

My Lords, am I the only one in this overcrowded House who thinks that there is a huge air of unreality in all the questions on this issue? Surely we should not be spending taxpayers’ money to prevent people from breaking the law. People should know what the law is, obey the speed limits and just shut up.

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, my noble friend is absolutely right. There are three ways in which to reduce our casualty rates: by engineering, by enforcement and, most important, by education.