Merchant Shipping (Cargo Ship) (Bilge Alarm) Regulations 2021

Baroness Vere of Norbiton Excerpts

Tuesday 13th July 2021 Lords Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport (Baroness Vere of Norbiton) (Con) [V]]

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, for providing the opportunity to debate these regulations—or, more correctly, the timing of the regulations and the circumstances in which they have now been made. I thank all noble Lords for their contributions. I will focus on the regulations and matters relating to them and will write with further details, particularly on the excellent points raised by my noble friend Lord Patten, and the very detailed questions from the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, and many other noble Lords.

I turn first to the content of the statutory instrument. The Government are absolutely committed to ensuring the safety and welfare of seafarers, which I believe is reflected in the volume of regulations that the department brings to your Lordships’ House. These are but one of a set of such regulations that came into force on 30 June 2021. We know that they increase safety by introducing a requirement for cargo vessels of 24 metres or more in length and under 500 gross tonnes to fit bilge alarm systems. I will not go into further detail around that, so let us turn to the background to the regulations.

The regulations fulfil the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, or MAIB, recommendation 2009/141. It was raised following the sinking of the grab hopper dredger “Abigail H”, as many noble Lords noted. Many noble Lords also noted that there were no fatalities as a result of this incident, which was, of course, very fortunate. To prevent a less fortunate outcome, these regulations make it mandatory to install the bilge alarm systems that were advised in marine guidance note 425, which was issued in September 2010 in response to the MAIB’s 2009 “Abigail H” incident report.

There was a consultation on these regulations. It was a 10-week public consultation from 2 October to 10 December 2020 via the GOV.UK website. There was a press release announcing the public consultation, which went to marine trade press and industry press. Notice of the consultation was posted on the MCA’s Twitter account. Of course, we cannot force people to respond to a consultation; sometimes they do not for any number of reasons. It may be that the people who run these vessels are very focused on it and therefore do not want to or do not have time to respond to a consultation. But these regulations are not controversial, so it does not surprise me that we did not get a massive response to the consultation.

The regulations improve the safety of seafarers and were long expected. It is worth reinforcing that the guidance to introduce bilge alarms had been in place since 2010. In the pandemic we have done many things to protect public safety by guidance rather than mandating in law, so I do not feel that, given that the guidance was in place for such a long time, getting these regulations in place now was as big an issue as potentially noted by noble Lords today.

But I will comment on the delay, because it is right that I do so. I accept that there has been a delay in implementing this mandatory requirement, but I remind noble Lords that the guidance was out there a very long time ago. The delay in making that guidance mandatory reflects the thorough and complex nature of the process, as well as the wide reach of regulations that the MCA is responsible for, and the need to continually review the priorities of regulatory changes in order to meet our international obligations and domestic safety and environmental obligations. In this case, the potential risk to the 425 vessels and their crews, to which these regulations apply, and the fact that only two similar incidents occurred after this guidance was published, meant that, as priorities changed, including as a result of the UK’s exit from the EU, other regulatory developments took precedence.

Given that the guidance was issued back in 2010, and the industry was advised and consulted on the development of this mandatory guidance, I believe it was reasonable to expect that a good proportion of the 425 vessels referred to would have already had bilge alarm systems fitted prior to the regulations coming into force, although we cannot know that. Although the guidance issued was not mandatory, we expect responsible owners and operators to take guidance from the MCA very seriously, and that they would look to enhance the safety of their vessels even in the absence of a mandatory obligation.

Further, of the nine incidents to which the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, referred, seven occurred prior to the publication of the MAIB report into the “Abigail H”. Of the remaining two incidents, accident investigation data indicates that both were minor and neither needed investigation by the MAIB. There have been no further similar incidents.

The noble Lord, Lord Rosser, said that 425 vessels was a relatively small number. It is a small number in the context of the 63,230 vessels currently listed on the UK Ship Register. Furthermore, many of the cohort of 425 vessels would be of lower risk anyway, since crews do not customarily sleep on board or because they would already have had the required equipment fitted. I also point out that the MCA will not customarily collect information on the number of vessels with this required equipment on board, but it will monitor compliance with this requirement through the survey and the inspection regime it usually carries out.

The noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, mentioned how cheap these systems are. I do not know which website he was looking at, because I have slightly different figures. I believe the cost of installing a bilge alarm is roughly £2,500. That is what we assumed in the impact assessment. Given that, I possibly would not buy one for £100, but it will of course vary from vessel to vessel. To verify this cost, the first question of the consultation specifically asked for evidence of the costs associated with the installation of the water level detectors and bilge alarms needed to comply with the regulations. But, as noted previously, we did not receive very much response to that consultation, and I suspect that was because the industry had either already complied with the regulations or knew that they were coming down the track.

I turn to maritime regulations more broadly. The maritime sector is highly regulated and has to take into account international obligations, amendments to previous EU regulations and the development of domestic legislation. Each strand is usually complex and highly technical and requires transposing to domestic law by way of secondary legislation, which is both time- consuming and resource-intensive. The noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, assumed you could knock off a negative SI in an afternoon. That is absolutely not the case; it takes many weeks and months of intensive work to ensure that even a negative SI, which will not necessarily receive parliamentary scrutiny, is up to the standards we would expect for our statute book.

Keeping pace with international amendments, often issued annually, is extremely challenging and results in many of the domestic SIs always being in need of updating. So, over the years, priority has been given to the implementation of the EU directives and regulations to avoid EU infraction proceedings, and this has resulted in the backlog of international obligations, with our domestic regulations becoming out of step with the latest requirements.

The MCA has recently provided a progress update to the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee on its road map of international maritime legislation that is required to be implemented into the UK domestic regime by SI; it should all be completed by the end of 2023. Significant progress has already been made. We have made 12 SIs in 2020 and early 2021, and a further 10 proposed SIs are well progressed and are either at consultation stage or the final stages prior to making and laying.

I trust that noble Lords agree that the introduction of these regulations is important to ensure the safety of crews on board small cargo vessels—indeed, I will take that as a given, because I believe that they do. I hope they will also appreciate that we have to continually assess our priorities to meet our international and domestic obligations, given the availability of resources within the department, within government and, of course, within Parliament.

The MCA has commenced an ambitious programme of regulatory updating which, in the last two years, has reduced the number of outstanding recommendations by the MAIB by 30%. This leaves 14 recommendations which are actively being worked on at present, eight of which will be completed later this year. I hope I have been able to explain the Government’s position and I therefore ask noble Lords to vote against this regret Motion.

Railway (Licensing of Railway Undertakings) (Amendment) Regulations 2021

Baroness Vere of Norbiton Excerpts

Monday 12th July 2021 Grand Committee

Moved by

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

That the Grand Committee do consider the Railway (Licensing of Railway Undertakings) (Amendment) Regulations 2021.

Relevant document: 8th Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport (Baroness Vere of Norbiton) (Con) [V]]

My Lords, these draft regulations will be made under the powers conferred by the Channel Tunnel Act 1987. They will make the necessary amendments to domestic rail operator licensing legislation to enable the implementation of a bilateral agreement between the UK and France on the recognition of rail operator licences for the Channel Tunnel and cross-border area. This will support the continued smooth operation of Channel Tunnel traffic when the temporary arrangements expire on 30 September 2021.

The regulations will also provide long-term certainty, clarity and confidence to cross-border operators, both current and prospective, regarding the future operator licensing framework for the Channel Tunnel. They will apply to England, Scotland and Wales, although the main operative provisions will, in practice, apply only to the Channel Tunnel and cross-border area. The regulations are subject to the affirmative procedure, as set out under the Channel Tunnel Act, and Schedule 8 to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.

The regulations amend the 2005 railway operator licensing regulations, which updated the rules for the licensing of passenger and freight train operators in Great Britain established under the Railways Act 1993 by introducing a new EU form of licence. This was done to reflect changes to EU operator licensing laws. The 2005 regulations introduced the requirement for operators running services on the basis of the new EU form of licence in Great Britain to hold a statement of national regulatory provisions, or SNRP. SNRPs supplement licensing requirements, covering, for example, the provision of information to passengers, membership of industry bodies and third-party insurance conditions.

The regulations also amend the Railway (Licensing of Railway Undertakings) (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, which were introduced to correct deficiencies in the 2005 regulations arising from the UK’s exit from the EU, to ensure that they continued to operate effectively post exit. As well as converting the EU form of licences issued by the Office of Rail and Road, the ORR, to “railway undertaking licences”, the 2019 regulations provided for the continued recognition in Great Britain of European licences for a period of two years from exit day—in other words, until 31 January 2022.

Following the end of the transition period, there is no longer automatic mutual recognition of licences between the UK and the EU. The recognition of UK licences for the Channel Tunnel is currently provided for by an EU contingency regulation that expires on 30 September 2021. These operator licensing regulations, and the proposed bilateral agreement that they implement, will ensure the continued recognition of operator licences for the Channel Tunnel when the current temporary arrangements expire. This will have a significant positive impact on cross-border operators, by providing long-term certainty on the licensing requirements for the Channel Tunnel. It will also reduce the administrative burdens on them, by enabling them to operate in the Channel Tunnel and cross-border area without the need to hold two separate licences—that is, one issued in Great Britain and one issued in the EEA.

Under the regulations, EU licences will be recognised up to the first border crossing station in the UK only, which is Dollands Moor for freight and Ashford International for passenger services. This mirrors the extent of the recognition of UK licences in French territory under the proposed bilateral agreement, and so ensures equivalence.

The regulations, and by extension the agreement that they will implement, are fully compatible with the Government’s fundamental red lines in the Channel Tunnel negotiations with France, which are to support the continuation of cross-border services while conferring no role for the EU courts or the European rail agency in UK territory and avoiding dynamic alignment with EU law.

Information-sharing provisions are included in the regulations to give effect to requirements of the proposed bilateral agreement. Under these requirements, the ORR will be able to share information with the equivalent French authorities in relation to, for example, any doubts as to the validity of a licence or compliance with licensing requirements on the part of either a European licence holder operating a Channel Tunnel service in Great Britain or an ORR-licensed operator operating a Channel Tunnel service in France.

The regulations will also ensure a level playing field regarding the licensing requirements for operators on the French and UK sides of the Channel Tunnel and cross-border area by disapplying the current UK requirement to hold an SNRP for EU-licensed operators of Channel Tunnel services, up to Dollands Moor or Ashford International only, and ensuring that no equivalent additional licensing requirements will be in place for UK-licensed operators on the French side—it will be the same either side. Again, this will support the recognition of those licences on a fully reciprocal basis under the bilateral agreement.

To conclude, the regulations will reduce administrative burdens on cross-border operators and enable them to plan their businesses into the future with confidence. Most importantly, they will support the long-term continued smooth operation of cross-border services through the Channel Tunnel. I commend these regulations to the Committee.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con) [V]]

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords for their contributions to this short debate. There were lots of warm wishes for continental train travel; I add mine to them. We all enjoy going on the train, whether it be in a vehicle or on Eurostar. We obviously closely monitor the impact of Covid on Eurostar—I know that my noble friend Lord Kirkhope was interested in this—and all transport services. All being well, I hope to see their passengers and other customers return soon.

Turning to the regulations under consideration today, I start by providing a bit more colour about the status of the discussions with France; I think all noble Lords were interested to hear how we were getting on. My officials have been in active and regular discussion with their French counterparts since the beginning of the year to secure this bilateral agreement on the recognition of the rail operator licences for the Channel Tunnel and the tiny cross-border area either side of it. I assure the Committee that the talks have been highly constructive. Agreement has been reached in principle at the technical level and it is now subject to final legal checks. It is expected that the agreement will be signed before the end of September, then provisionally applied by both sides for a limited period to support the continuation of services in the immediate term once the current EU contingency measure expires.

The agreement will still need to be ratified through the UK Parliament; this will of course be done as soon as possible thereafter. It will be done via the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 process, rightly giving Parliament the opportunity to scrutinise the text in full before it is ratified. I am not sure whether this will reassure the noble Lord, Lord Rosser, but it will certainly inform him: we have been clear with our French counterparts that the regulations will not receive ministerial signature and become law unless and until the related bilateral agreement is signed by France or, failing that, a EU contingency measure is extended pending the final conclusion of the agreement. Something will thus have happened by 30 September to maintain the smooth running of services. It does not strike me that it would be in anyone’s interest for that not to occur.

In the extraordinarily unlikely event that France does not ratify the signed agreement, for whatever reason, we could also revoke these regulations in future. There is no risk that the UK will continue to recognise EU licences indefinitely without that being fully reciprocated by France. We do not think that we will end up in that situation. We absolutely believe that the agreement will be signed and that we will be able to put in place in the immediate term while it is being ratified by the UK Parliament.

On the disapplication of SNRPs, the disapplication of the requirement to hold a SNRP in the UK half of the channel and the immediate cross-border area will ensure equivalence with the licensing requirements applicable to UK operators on the French side, so it will be the same. Given the extremely limited scope of the regulations, disapplication of the SNRP requirement is expected to have almost no impact in practice. It is therefore considered acceptable in the interests of reciprocity. In practice, there are no current operators to which this disapplication will apply; I know this was of interest to the noble Lord, Lord Rosser. All the cross-border operators—the two freight operators, GB Railfreight and DB Cargo UK, and the passenger operator, Eurostar—do so on the basis of a GB licence. They are scooped up in the SNRP requirement anyway by having a GB licence.

The noble Lord, Lord Rosser, also asked whether there are any credible prospective operators. I am not aware that there are any at this moment in time but, should one wish to come forward, we would obviously welcome its involvement in the market. Any future operator of rail services, if it was an EEA operator that went beyond either Dollands Moor or Ashford International, would in any event have to have an ORR-issued railway undertaking licence, so they too would then be subject to the SNRP requirement. We believe that the situation we have works very well. It is time to be pragmatic and, in practice, it makes no difference.

On stakeholder views and the impact on operators, the amendments in these regulations will in reality have a very limited impact on cross-border operators. Indeed, the measures being introduced will have a significant positive impact in that they will be able to continue the smooth running of cross-border operations. We did a survey on the draft regulations and sent it to Channel Tunnel stakeholders. DB Cargo, Eurostar International Ltd, Eurotunnel, the Rail Delivery Group, the Rail Freight Group and High Speed 1 Ltd responded; all were highly supportive of the regulations and recognised the importance of securing this continued smooth running. A couple of concerns were raised but they were outside the scope of the regulations or related to the geographic scope of recognition in the UK. Obviously, we have chosen to mirror that closely to what they do on the French side, where you go up to the first station for either passengers or freight; that is the cross-border area, so to speak. We continue our discussions with these stakeholders and keep them informed as to how the bilateral negotiations with France are going.

To give noble Lords a quick heads-up, it is also worth mentioning that this is just one element of what we are discussing with the French at the moment. We are also discussing train driver licences, safety certificates and the overarching safety rules applicable to the Channel Tunnel. Again, these discussions are going well. We will bring more regulations to your Lordships’ House in the autumn and we will have the opportunity to scrutinise them in full. In any event, there are robust and effective contingency agreements and arrangements in place for those matters at the moment.

My noble friend Lord Kirkhope asked a question about services from Europe to the north. I will write a letter to him, if I may, because then I can explain more generally our plans for rail in the north and how they might link into European services.

The noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, asked about pre-Brexit and post-Brexit freight volumes. I do not have that information to hand, unfortunately; again, I will happily write to her.

If I have missed anything else, I will ask officials to look through Hansard very carefully and make sure that they pick up everything I have forgotten.

Motion agreed.

Motor Fuel (Composition and Content) and the Biofuel (Labelling) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2021

Baroness Vere of Norbiton Excerpts

Monday 12th July 2021 Grand Committee

Moved by

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

That the Grand Committee do consider the Motor Fuel (Composition and Content) and the Biofuel (Labelling) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2021. Special attention drawn to the instrument by the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee, 8th Report.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport (Baroness Vere of Norbiton) (Con) [V]]

My Lords, the purpose of these regulations is to introduce E10 as standard petrol across Great Britain while ensuring that the current E5 grade remains available to those who need it. E10 petrol contains up to 10% renewable ethanol, double the amount that can be blended into today’s E5 grade. Increasing the renewable ethanol content can reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by 750,000 tonnes, helping us to meet our ambitious climate targets.

The regulations also update labelling requirements that must accompany the sale of E10 to ensure that fuel consumers have the right information. Finally, the SI makes some necessary amendments to the Motor Fuel (Composition and Content) Regulations 1999 to correct for deficiencies and replace references to EU directives following the UK’s exit from the European Union.

Introducing E10 allows us to cut carbon emissions from cars, motorbikes and other petrol-powered equipment in use today. This is done by simply increasing the limit to which renewable fuel can be blended into standard petrol. It is one of the very few measures available to us today with an immediate impact.

E10 is a proven fuel that is already in use across the world, including in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the US, to name but a few. We also have a valuable bioethanol industry in the UK that will benefit from increased demand; indeed, following our policy announcement, one large facility operator has already announced that it is recommencing production. These facilities play important roles in their local economy, employing hundreds of skilled workers directly and supporting thousands of jobs in the wider community.

That community includes the agricultural sector, with locally grown feed wheat used to produce ethanol. By-products, such as high-protein animal feed, are used by livestock farmers in place of soya products. It is vital to support these industries as we endeavour to build back greener, with low-carbon industrial hubs crucial to our path towards net zero by 2050.

Introducing E10 is part of a wider set of measures to encourage renewable fuels. Overall renewable fuel blending is incentivised through the renewable transport fuel obligation, or RTFO, obligating larger fuel suppliers to supply renewable fuels. However, because the RTFO allows for different ways to meet targets, it has proven insufficient to remove market barriers for the introduction of specific fuel blends such as E10.

As RTFO targets have increased over the past three years, fuel suppliers are now blending very close to the 7% biodiesel limit for standard diesel and 5% bioethanol limit for standard petrol. If we want to increase renewable blending further, we need to take additional measures now. While most diesel vehicles are approved to use only a maximum of 7% biodiesel, known as B7, the vast majority of petrol vehicles—over 95%—are cleared to use E10 petrol. Our immediate focus is therefore on E10.

Fuel suppliers and retailers have made it clear to us that, for technical reasons related to vapour pressure, the best time to introduce E10 is at the same time as the change from summer to winter fuel specification. This happens every September. To ensure we reap the full greenhouse gas benefits of E10 introduction, we have consulted separately on increases to the RTFO from January 2022, allowing for a short transition period. We will announce the next steps on the target increases soon.

While 95% of all petrol vehicles can use E10, some older vehicles cannot. That is why this instrument includes provisions to keep the current E5 petrol available in the higher octane super grade. The super grade is available nationwide but in areas with less coverage, such as in parts of Scotland, exemptions are available to ensure that everyone can access the fuel they need. We have also launched a comprehensive communications campaign involving local radio, roadside posters, social media and information on the forecourts. This informs motorists of the changes to petrol that will happen this summer and directs vehicle owners to the online compatibility checker, ensuring everyone can be clear on the right fuel for their vehicle or equipment.

The SI also makes amendments that are required following our departure from the European Union. We have replaced references to EU legislation with references to domestic legislation to ensure the ongoing operability of the fuel standards. It is also important to note that, as a result of this amendment, all petrol supplied in the UK will still meet the same standards as apply across Europe.

In proposing this statutory instrument, the Government have carefully considered a balance of interests. It recognises the need to maximise our efforts to decarbonise vehicles on the road today and support our domestic renewable fuel industry, while maintaining access to a suitable petrol grade for all. I believe introducing E10 petrol this September strikes that balance. I beg to move.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con) [V]]

I thank all noble Lords for their contributions to today’s debate. I also thank the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee for raising various matters, a number of which have been echoed by noble Lords today. Most recently the noble Lord, Lord Rosser, mentioned that the impact assessment was not published alongside the draft SI. That impact assessment was already a public document, but we will certainly take that away and I hope that will not happen again. Perhaps we should make sure that we signpost noble Lords to previously published documents where we possibly can.

A number of issues have been raised, and I will of course write with further details if I am unable to cover them in my remarks. This is very much a question of balance; there is an awful lot of balance to be had here. Anybody working in the field of transport knows that there is no silver bullet to solve carbon emissions in transport. The solution will be in a large number of interventions, some of which will have to happen over a large period of time. We will be publishing the transport decarbonisation plan fairly soon, and that will set out the firm foundation on which our thinking is based.

I shall start by addressing the wider focus on E10, which is the last low-hanging-fruit option for renewable fuel blending. Again, it is about balance: it works alongside the RTFO. There are literally no other short-term options for reducing emissions from road transport immediately, so we have to consider not only the balance of what the intervention is but how quickly it can achieve the goals that we need to achieve. We know that using waste biodiesel blended from fossil diesel saves more carbon dioxide per litre than bioethanol. That is true but we are up to the limit on biodiesel—up to 7%. Our only option now is therefore to increase petrol to E10. We also know that the vast majority of cars can use E10 successfully.

The interaction with the RTFO is really important. I noted that there are many reasons why the gap has arisen between the E10 implementation and the changes to the RTFO, including the technical reasons relating to the vapour pressure and the switchover of the type of petrol that is sold on the forecourt. However, we also know that the RTFO target can be changed only at the start of each calendar year because it is a market-based scheme; participants will of course plan their compliance through the whole of the year, so if we changed it mid-year it would be the same as a retrospective change and therefore deeply unwelcome. So the introduction of E10 in September, followed by increasing the targets in January, allows for a transition phase. We expect that during this phase blending will be ramped up, and that existing fuel stocks will be used up.

It is worth noting, as did the noble Lord, Lord Rosser, and the noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, that the fuel for E10 can be from ethanol of 5.5% upwards. This flexibility is intentional to ensure that the overall RTFO targets can be delivered cost-effectively, based on market prices for different biofuel options, and to allow for seasonal and geographic variations. There would be no point in mandating immediately a much higher percentage for blended petrol.

Furthermore, the changes were made under two different pieces of legislation and different powers, so that has had an impact on how we can introduce this measure. There is of course a need for a comprehensive communications campaign, so there was always a need too for a date, at some stage in future, in order that consumers are well aware of what they will be buying when they go to the pumps in September.

I turn to the carbon savings in the four-month transition period between the introduction of E10 and the increase of the RTFO targets at the beginning of next year. The impact assessment did not specifically model the impact of the four-month period between these two interventions. A snapshot of the annual modelling suggests costs of around £29 million, with an emissions-saving reduction of around 0.07 megatonnes of carbon dioxide, but that shortfall in emissions savings —if it happens, because again these are assumptions—would be recouped by the end of January next year following the RTFO target rise. As I say, there will be a net overall carbon dioxide benefit of around 0.73 megatonnes by the end of 2022.

Exactly how the suppliers meet their RTFO obligations at the end of 2021, and the speed with which they ramp up the ethanol blending, is unknown due to commercial sensitivities. However, we can say with certainty that by introducing E10 we are maximising the available capacity for biofuel blending in the coming years and providing the space to increase the RTFO targets as a step change in 2022.

Noble Lords have noted that biofuels produce different emissions reductions from their fossil fuel comparator. The noble Lord, Lord Lucas, mentioned the impact of blending biodiesel. It is often made from used, or waste, cooking oil and saves more carbon dioxide per unit of energy delivered than for ethanol, although the difference is relatively small. As a result, where ethanol displaces waste biodiesel in the fuel mix delivered under the RTFO, the actual emission saved can be reduced. That is why this has to happen along with the changes to RTFO targets from the start of next year; again, it is all about balance.

Turning to the costs and the impact on the motorist, although we believe blending the petrol at E10 is unlikely to alter the pump price of standard 95 octane petrol, as the noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, pointed out, drivers might experience a small reduction in miles per gallon. This will vary quite significantly by vehicle and the specific fuel blend used by that supplier, as well as the driving style. The overall reduction in miles per gallon is similar to driving with the aircon on, or with underinflated tyres.

Based on simplified assumptions and a potential worst-case scenario, the impact assessment estimated that each litre of E10 could contain around 1.7% less energy, which could result in increased fuel costs of around £70 million per annum. However, the industry has also suggested that there could be a change to the energy content, because different blends have different energy content according to the constituent parts of the petrol. This assumption could therefore be very much the worst-case scenario.

On incompatible vehicles, we again feel that there will be a very limited impact. Of the 5% of vehicles that are currently incompatible, the vast majority are classic or cherished vehicles, so fewer than 1% of the cars that are everyday run-arounds cannot use E10. As I have mentioned, we will make sure that E5 petrol will be available to owners of incompatible vehicles. It should also be remembered that those who own classic or cherished cars often use the higher super grade anyway, so they will see no difference in price. Again, the estimate of £70 million that might be added to fuel costs is very much a worst-case scenario. It assumes that all incompatible vehicles currently do not use the super grade, and we know that is not the case.

I turn to the bioethanol sector. The noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, suggested we were being led by the nose by industry. There are two different industries here and they both want it, while being on slightly different sides of the coin. We have the bioethanol industry and the traditional fossil fuel suppliers, and those suppliers want us to give them a kick because in Germany they did not give the industry a kick and have not had a very successful rollout of E10.

I have already mentioned that the bioethanol sector is a valued sector in this country and that, for the time being, it is essential that we look at all different ways of reducing our carbon emissions. Bioethanol is one of those and will provide highly skilled jobs and support the agricultural community, but I accept my noble friend Lord Lucas’s point that environmental concerns are also critical. Biofuels, supported under the RTFO, comply with strict sustainability and minimum greenhouse gas savings criteria. There are protections for biodiversity and land use change, such as deforestation. I will probably write more in a letter because I am aware that I am running out of time.

These regulations are about balance. We need to balance the need to maximise our efforts to decarbonise vehicles on the road today and support our domestic renewable fuel industry, while maintaining access to a suitable petrol grade for all. I believe that we have achieved that balance and that by introducing them now, with changes to the RTFO in January, we will achieve our ambitions.

Motion agreed.

Road Vehicle Carbon Dioxide Emission Performance Standards (Cars and Vans) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2021

Baroness Vere of Norbiton Excerpts

Thursday 8th July 2021 Grand Committee

Moved by

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

That the Grand Committee do consider the Road Vehicle Carbon Dioxide Emission Performance Standards (Cars and Vans) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2021.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport (Baroness Vere of Norbiton) (Con) [V]]

My Lords, these draft regulations will be made under the powers conferred by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. The regulations amend Regulation 2019/631 and Regulation 114/2013, both as amended by prior EU-exit SIs. Regulation 2019/631 sets carbon dioxide emission standards for new cars and vans in Great Britain, while Regulation 114/2013 establishes the rules for applying for a derogated target.

An EU-exit SI amended the EU regulations and established car and van carbon dioxide emission standards in Great Britain only, as the regulations were originally listed in Annexe 2 of the Northern Ireland protocol, meaning that Northern Ireland would continue to be captured by the EU regime. The current fleet average carbon dioxide emission target for cars is 95 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre, and for vans it is set at 147 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre.

Manufacturers are set individual targets based on the mass of their fleet compared to the average mass of the entire Great British fleet. The heavier a manufacturer’s vehicle, the higher their target, and vice versa. All targets average out to either of the headline targets as aforementioned. The target for both cars and vans will tighten further in 2025 by 15%, and in 2030 by 31% for vans and 37.5% for cars, when compared with the 2021 baseline. Fines are levied for non-compliance with these targets.

The regulations allow for flexibilities to be granted to help manufacturers in certain circumstances to reach their target. One of these flexibilities is derogations. Smaller manufacturers can apply for a derogated target which is more in line with their technical and economic capability. Pooling is another flexibility. This is where manufacturers can join together for the purposes of the regulation and will be given one target. Manufacturers can also receive credits for using carbon-dioxide-reducing technologies in their vehicles that are not taken into account during the carbon dioxide test procedure, such as LED bulbs. More credits can be earned, up to a certain limit, when a manufacturer puts more zero and low-emission vehicles on the market. These are called super-credits and are available across 2021 and 2022.

Regulation 114/2013, as amended by two previous EU exit SIs, is a tertiary piece of legislation which further sets out the rules and procedures for manufacturers when applying for a derogation. The withdrawal Act retained EU Regulations 2019/631 and 114/2013 in their entirety on exit day in UK law. These were amended by a prior EU exit SI, 2020/1418, and set obligations in GB only, due to the Northern Ireland protocol. The draft instrument under consideration today reflects changes made to the Northern Ireland protocol by the Joint Committee. On 18 December, the EU regulations were removed from Annexe 2 of the protocol, leaving Northern Ireland without any car and van carbon dioxide regulation. This instrument will therefore extend the domestic regulations to Northern Ireland from 1 September, in effect creating a UK-wide regime.

The amendments throughout the regulations primarily replace “GB” with “UK”. However, a provision was added stating that new car and van registrations in Northern Ireland prior to 1 September were out of scope of the regulations, including all target calculations. This SI is essential to ensuring that new cars and vans in Northern Ireland are subject to the same carbon dioxide emission standards as elsewhere in the UK.

The regulations are necessary to ensure that the UK achieves its net-zero ambitions and legally binding carbon budgets. I beg to move.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con) [V]]

I thank all noble Lords for their consideration of these draft regulations. I will add a bit more colour to the issues relating to the regulations and I will come on to other matters if I can; otherwise, I will write.

First, I point out in relation to the devolved nations and consultation that, because this is a Northern Ireland regulation, we obviously engaged with Northern Ireland officials on our plans to regulate carbon dioxide emissions and my colleague, Minister Maclean, sent a letter to the Secretary of State for the Northern Ireland Department for Infrastructure, Nichola Mallon, informing her of this SI being laid on 8 June.

Let us go back to how we got into this situation. It was because the regulations were removed from the Northern Ireland protocol at the last minute. This was a decision taken by the UK-EU Joint Committee; therefore, when we did the previous EU exit SI, it was drafted on the basis of agreed international law at that point, and the regulations therefore covered only GB. It was anticipated that Northern Ireland would be in the protocol and then obviously that turned out not to be the case. Both the UK Government and the European Commission formally agreed that these regulations were not needed, so it was not a decision of the UK Government alone. Because this decision came relatively late, as noble Lords will know—it was on 18 December —we were unable to lay an SI to extend the regulations to Northern Ireland prior to the end the transition period in 2020. I accept that that created a gap in the law, which is what noble Lords are being asked to rectify today.

The noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, asked why it took so long—he said it more nicely than that. The extent of the gap in the law—the setting of the date of 1 September, which is the date when these regulations would come into force—was dependent on two factors. The first is that the process of laying an SI takes many months and cannot be done very quickly, especially when it needs consultation with stakeholders. The second is the impact on manufacturers and their views following a consultation. The date of 1 September is actually a fairly short delay to what would otherwise have been achieved, and it provides manufacturers with a certain date from which the changes will take place and time for them to adapt. The need for this was voiced by stakeholders at a VCA and DfT workshop, where concerns about the regulations coming into force immediately were expressed.

Manufacturers were essentially given very short notice of the Government’s intention to change the regulation for Northern Ireland, which would have meant that new cars and vans sold in Northern Ireland would start counting towards their domestic targets immediately, but fleet compositions are typically set out well in advance. They would not have known about or been able to plan for the new regulatory regime. Northern Irish registrations, and the resulting carbon dioxide emissions, as a share of UK totals are far more significant than the same registrations in the EU. Therefore, extending the regulations to Northern Ireland could have impacted on manufacturers’ emissions.

In addition, a key concern for manufacturers is their ability to forecast their sales for the year. Manufacturers may know the vehicles they plan to sell in the UK, but they are not in control of where or when during the year they will be sold. For example, if in a particular year more electric vehicles were sold in the first half than the second, and if you suddenly included Northern Irish vehicles from, say, July onwards, that might artificially distort the manufacturers’ average emissions and you would therefore get a distorted image. Essentially, if we use the registration data from 1 September instead, the likelihood of that distortion falls away and the industry has time to plan and adapt.

Although it is the case that carbon dioxide emissions from newly registered cars and vans in Northern Ireland from 1 January to 31 August will not count towards any carbon dioxide emission targets, it should be noted that manufacturers generally do not create vehicle models or specifications for individual countries; they create products for larger geographic markets and have strategies for them. As a result, the vehicles sold in Northern Ireland so far this year will have been heavily influenced by both the domestic and the EU carbon dioxide regimes, which currently remain aligned.

I believe that the fears of both the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, and the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, are unfounded. It is useful to note that the sales of new cars and vans in Northern Ireland represent roughly 2.2% and 1.9%, respectively, of the UK’s total market. So even if higher-emitting vehicles have been sold in Northern Ireland, we expect that there would be an incredibly minimal change to greenhouse gas emissions. The data on the number of vehicles is not currently available. I cannot remember who referred to this—I believe it was in a conversation about air quality—but it is worth noting that the regulations cover only carbon. All cars sold must comply with particulate limits, which are obviously the contributor to poor air quality.

Thinking about the administration and enforcement of the regulations, their administration will be very much as the EU procedures are currently, with the exception, of course, that manufacturers will work with the Vehicle Certification Agency, the VCA, as the enforcement body, rather than the EU equivalent. At the moment, data is passed to the DVLA, as it will be in future, then it will get to the VCA, which is the enforcement body for the regulations. Every year, it will process the registration data and calculate the carbon dioxide performance and targets for the previous year for each manufacturer.

Any manufacturer exceeding that target when the dataset is published in October has to pay an excess emissions premium and has 28 days to pay or appeal it. That is what happens for new cars—that is, cars at first registration—but the noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, mentioned the Volkswagen emissions issue. The regulations also allow for random verification of carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles in service. In this case, it is the DVSA that conducts random testing on new and, sometimes, used cars to ensure compliance. Also, all new vehicles are now required to store that data on board.

Many noble Lords asked me to go far beyond the regulations, and I would not want to steal the thunder of two bits of government activity which are coming very soon. We recognise that the retained carbon dioxide targets are not currently aligned with our commitments to phase out new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030, nor, obviously, with the 2035 zero emissions at the tailpipe ambitions. We will be publishing the Green Paper on the UK’s future carbon dioxide regulatory framework very shortly. It will set out the frameworks that we could introduce to transition away from the most polluting vehicles and to support consumers and businesses to make the switch to zero emissions. The second piece of activity is the much more wide-ranging transport decarbonisation plan which will talk about how we decarbonise all modes of transport. I have listened very carefully to the questions in this area but I would not want to steal its thunder, as noble Lords will be seeing that very soon.

The noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, noted the Environment Bill. The Government intend to create a regime that will enable manufacturers to recall vehicles and non-road mobile machinery and vehicle components that do not comply with the environmental standards which they are legally required to meet. The Government will be able to set vehicle manufacturers a minimum recall level that they will have to achieve. In the event of the manufacturer refusing to comply with a recall notice or failing to meet the minimum recall level, they can be subject to civil penalties. Under these carbon dioxide regulations, manufacturers can already be issued with substantial financial penalties if they fail to meet their carbon dioxide targets. However, it should be noted that there is no upper limit on carbon dioxide for any particular vehicle. They are being set on a fleet-average basis, meaning that manufacturers can sell some vehicles which produce more emissions than average because there will be others that produce fewer.

I accept that I have not been able to go into detail on some of the questions that I have been asked today. I will be writing, particularly to provide further information around consumers and how we feel the market in Northern Ireland is behaving at the moment, but for the time being, I beg to move.

Motion agreed.

Lorry Drivers

Baroness Vere of Norbiton Excerpts

Wednesday 7th July 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper and refer to my interests on the register.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport (Baroness Vere of Norbiton) (Con)]

My Lords, the Government hold regular meetings with the road haulage industry regarding driver shortages and the impact on supply chains. On 16 June, I hosted an industry round table, alongside the Employment Minister. We are supporting HGV driver training through apprenticeships and training for jobseekers, and encouraging drivers who need to renew their driver’s certificate of professional competence to return to the sector.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

I welcome the government action. Brexit and Covid combined have, in part, led to the crisis that we face, as well as the closure of test centres during the Covid pandemic last year, preventing training of new drivers. The industry is stepping up to the plate by agreeing to pay drivers more. Will the Government look very carefully at encouraging women drivers to take up lorry driving, and at adding HGV drivers to the UK skills shortage list, as well as trying to provide even more training, test centres and the reissuing of licences?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

If my noble friend does not mind, I shall focus on the first of those questions. First, I welcome any more pay for professional drivers, because they do an outstanding job. I recognise what my noble friend says about diversity. It is a very white, male sector. There are huge opportunities for the sector to diversify and, when it comes up with plans to do so—for example, Logistics UK’s Year of Logistics, which I hope we will get under way soon—I will be very happy to support them.

[Baroness Quin (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, perhaps I may pick up on the second part of the question of the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, and ask about adding lorry drivers to the post-Brexit skilled occupation list. I also ask for a period of not just six months but 18 months, which is what I understand the industry wants, in order to be able to attract, recruit and train new British drivers.

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

The industry needs to do an awful lot more to recruit, train and retain its staff, and perhaps I will be able to get into that a little later, but on foreign labour, the UK labour market has changed dramatically due to the pandemic. Many UK workers face an uncertain future. There will be employment opportunities within the professional driving sector, and I hope that they will apply for them.

[Baroness Foster of Oxton (Con)]

My Lords, lorry drivers have been the hidden heroes of this pandemic and they deserve our full support. Does my noble friend the Minister agree that such jobs require good skills, training and investment, and are equally important to driving our economy forward as any university degree?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

I agree that they have been some of the heroes during the pandemic, and ensure that I frequently tell them so. I think they have done a fantastic job, but it is time for the industry to step up just a little more. On 1 August last year, we suspended the HGV levy. This has saved the industry hundreds of millions of pounds. For each truck, it costs about £900 a year, so if you are a haulier with 3,000 trucks, you save £2.5 million. That could train 800 new drivers. I ask the industry to recruit those people and train them.

[Lord Rosser (Lab) [V]]

Finding effective solutions means first identifying the cause. Driver and other staff shortage problems could lead to higher food prices. I get the impression from the Minister’s answers that the Government do not accept any responsibility for the present situation, but may I seek clarification on that? Do the Government think that the staff shortage problems are due to the end of free movement and the way they are now implementing border controls, or due to the effect of repeated Covid lockdowns, or do the Government think they have no responsibility and that the staff shortages are due to low pay and poor terms and conditions of employment, inadequate manpower planning or a failure by the industry to invest in proper training programmes to meet future manpower needs?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

All of the above; those are the issues we are facing. I have been Roads Minister now for two years, and I had this conversation with the haulage sector two years ago. It was very clear then that foreign labour would not be available to it. It has known that this was coming down the track. The TSC issued a report in 2016, pointing out exactly what the sector needed to do to address the shortage it had then, and yet still not enough has been done. I would accept that the Government stand ready to help. We have listened to the industry and work alongside the it. For example, on HGV testing, I have doubled the number of tests every week from the pre-Covid level. We are doing everything we can, and we need the industry to work in partnership with us.

[Lord Purvis of Tweed (LD)]

To ensure that goods kept flowing into the United Kingdom after the end of the transition period, the Government recognised that there was a shortage in the capacity in our ports, so they deferred checks for hauliers. Why are they not deferring the Immigration Rules changes for hauliers, to ensure that they are able to bring goods into this country properly?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

Hauliers are able to bring goods into this country properly. The issue is that there is a driver shortage in the UK market. There is also a shortage in the EU market, actually, and in many economies. I can announce to your Lordships’ House today that I have just temporarily extended drivers’ hours. I accept that that is definitely not a long-term solution: we must ensure that drivers’ safety is not compromised, and operators must notify the DfT.

[Lord McLoughlin (Con)]

The announcement my noble friend just made will be very welcome to the industry. Speaking to people in the industry, they say that they are facing the biggest crisis that they can recall in driver recruitment. Will the Government consider temporarily lifting the CPC regulations and the need for them for domestic drivers, now we are no longer in the European Union?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

I thank my noble friend for his question. I have looked very carefully at driver CPC. It is my opinion that we need to put the “professional” back into professional driving. Driver CPC is a really good way to ensure ongoing training for the profession. It is one day a year, which I think is about the right amount of training. It ensures that they are up to date and maintain their skills and knowledge of the roads. The Government have funding available to support those who have a C+E licence who need to get their driver CPC, so there is a way for people to upgrade their qualification.

[Lord Bilimoria (CB) [V]]

My Lords, as president of the CBI, I know that employers are facing the perfect storm of staff shortages as the economy reopens. First, does the Minister agree that the Government should immediately update the immigration shortage occupation list, as well as helping workers to gain skills? Secondly, does the Minister agree that, with cases projected to rise to up to 100,000 a day, instead of waiting until 16 August, from 19 July, instead of people having to isolate after coming into contact with a Covid-positive individual, we should have a test and release system, including using lateral flow tests, which will allow people to carry on with work?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

I think that I have already answered the noble Lord’s first question. On his second, obviously the Government will be watching the economy as we go through this period of lifting the restrictions and monitoring the impact carefully.

[Lord Whitty (Lab) [V]]

The Minister appears to be blaming the industry and the pandemic but, given that she referred to discussions in 2016 and 2018, do the Government not have some responsibility in this respect? This crisis was eminently predictable, given the age profile of drivers and the likely reaction of east European drivers to Brexit. Do the Government need more powers and responsibilities to establish an emergency programme of training for qualified HGV drivers and to implement it in concert with the industry, unions and FE sector now?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

I have said that this is a partnership between the industry and the Government. We will do what we can and we need industry to step up to the plate. I reiterate that the HGV levy has been lifted until mid-2022. That is a huge saving for the sector. It has the money that it could now invest in skills, and I very much encourage it to do so.

[Lord Bradshaw (LD) [V]]

The railways are very hungry for traffic. The Minister has a list that I gave her of simple modifications that could be made and there are resources available. Will she use the idle resources on our railways to better advantage to move freight?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

The noble Lord will know that I am a great fan of rail freight and where it is appropriate to shift freight to rail we certainly should do so. However, one thing that we should be setting up with the industry is a clear and transparent charter that sets out good practice, decent minimum standards for our professional drivers and a commitment to initial and ongoing training. It is time to put the “professional” back into professional drivers and I would be happy to support the industry in working towards such a charter for hauliers and their customers.

[Lord Birt (CB) [V]]

My Lords, it is not just lorry drivers. I detect skill shortages in every part of my day-to-day personal and business life—shortages of roofers, data scientists, maintenance engineers, digital marketeers, gardeners, and many more. Do the Government have an analytical grip on the functioning of the UK’s labour market? Do we have appropriate educational skills and immigration policies to enable our economy to reap its full potential?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

Any government Minister could probably spend about an hour talking about all our responses to the pandemic, the changes to our labour market and what will be needed in different parts of the sector. One of the big things that the Government are focused on is apprenticeships. In the haulage sector in particular, we did exactly as it asked. We increased the C+E apprenticeship from £6,000 to £7,000 a year. We now need the industry to step up and take that £7,000; there is a £3,000 incentive if that is done before 30 September. Let us get more people into jobs.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed.

Historical Railways Estate

Baroness Vere of Norbiton Excerpts

Monday 5th July 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Faulkner of Worcester (Lab)]

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper, and remind the House of my railway interests declared in the register.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport (Baroness Vere of Norbiton) (Con)]

My Lords, the management of the historic railways estate is kept under constant review and there is an independent quarterly audit. Checks are made to ensure that proposals do not prejudice the reopening of railway lines, and Highways England has regular discussions with the devolved Administrations, local authorities and other stakeholders.

[Lord Faulkner of Worcester (Lab)]

My Lords, I am sure that the Minister will agree that the most significant and expensive obstacle to fulfilling the Government’s plans to reverse the Beeching cuts of the 1960s and 1970s is restoring the infrastructure—track bed and bridges particularly—that was so short-sightedly destroyed after lines were closed. No doubt she has read the article and leader in Saturday’s Times. Can she confirm that Highways England has now reduced to 69 its hitlist of 134 structures to be destroyed? Will she instruct it to consult not just with local authorities but with cycling and walking groups and heritage railways, before it goes ahead with any more of the cultural vandalism that we have already seen?

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

I am really happy to reassure the noble Lord that Highways England already does exactly what he asked me to make sure that it does. It consults with local authorities, parish councils, people who run active travel schemes and, of course, heritage railway providers, whether or not the railway is actually built. Of the 3,250 railway properties, some will require work that is in excess of maintenance: that might include infilling, but of course infilling can be reversed.

[Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (GP)]

My Lords, the Historical Railways Estate seems to be the perfect body to take forward the Government’s stated policy to reverse the Beeching cuts and promote active travel. However, it does not have a budget from Highways England for changes to the system in terms of active travel. Does it have a budget for reversing the Beeching cuts?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

I am afraid I am not aware of the body the noble Baroness has just referenced. There are all sorts of budgets around. Obviously there is £500 million in the Restoring Your Railway fund and up to £2 billion in terms of cycling and walking. It is important to understand that, where particular railway properties fall into either of these schemes, their ownership can be transferred to the scheme’s promoters and therefore they can be maintained in future.

[Lord Young of Cookham (Con)]

My Lords, in his foreword to the White Paper Great British Railways, the Secretary of State said that

“we now propose … ending the fragmentation of the past and bringing the network under single national leadership.”

Chapter 3 begins:

“Great British Railways will bring together the whole system”.


Can my noble friend confirm that responsibility for the Historical Railways Estate will be taken back from Highways England and given to Great British Railways?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

I thank my noble friend for his suggestion, which I note with great interest. However, no decisions have been put to Ministers about a transfer of some or all of the Historical Railways Estate to Great British Railways. There would need to be a power in the rail Bill and, although this might be contemplated, no decision has yet been made on that matter.

[Lord Dubs (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, do we not need a clear indication for every line that was vandalised by Beeching as to whether it is feasible to restore the services on it? Is that not the minimum we need? And, while we are on this, can I make a plea to restore the line from Penrith to Keswick in the Lake District? It is pretty well there; it requires just the odd bridge to be replaced and we could do that pretty quickly. It would be great for tourism and great for the environment.

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

I hear what the noble Lord has to say. Of course, it is not quite that simple, because some schemes which were taken out by Beeching will not be replaced because of population changes and all sorts of different reasons. But, of course, we do welcome ideas and I note his intervention on the Penrith line. But it is the case that, even where we want to restore the railway, the infrastructure in place needs to be substantially rebuilt to meet modern safety standards.

[Baroness Randerson (LD)]

Highways England states that it is not funded to enable cycling and walking projects. But if local authorities are not able to take on a property, Highways England is responsible for making it safe, which sometimes costs a great deal of money. Can the Minister reassure us that the Government will consider the proposal to ensure that Highways England can use that money instead as a proper part of a partnership with local authorities in order to create proper cycling and walking projects?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

I say to the noble Baroness that we would run the risk there of sharing responsibilities across two very disparate organisations that have different priorities. In my view, local authorities should be prioritising cycling and walking projects. They are able to take over these structures—Highways England would welcome them with open arms—such that they can put them within their active travel plans and make them useful for the future.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

I declare my interest as president of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Will my noble friend accept that opening up the extension to Whitby has ensured the increasing popularity of that railway? Will the Government ensure that future extensions are looked on favourably to ensure that it remains the most popular and most visited attraction in North Yorkshire?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

My noble friend is well aware that the Restoring Your Railway fund is available, and that any proposals put forward are given a fair hearing.

[Lord Rosser (Lab) [V]]

Attempts are being made to progress some of these Highways England demolition and infilling schemes under permitted development powers, which avoid the need for explanation and the challenges and objections that often accompany normal planning processes—including the need to seek permission from local councils. How is a declared policy of reopening former railway lines or encouraging walking and cycling tracks over disused railway lines consistent with Highways England blocking or severing potential routes by demolishing or filling in currently disused railway structures through a back-door process using permitted development powers, which stifles challenges and objections from local communities and organisations?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

I would like to reassure your Lordships’ House that those structures that are potentially going to be infilled over the next five years—again, I say “potentially”—or be subject to other action, are fewer than 2.6% of all assets. Permitted development orders exist to prevent an emergency from occurring. Therefore, Highways England uses permitted development orders only where there is an emergency situation. I reassure noble Lords that to date Highways England has usually managed to get planning permission for any changes.

[Baroness Gardner of Parkes (Con) [V]]

My Lords, can the Minister comment on whether Highways England, which manages the Historical Railways Estate, should be excluded from using permitted development rights to infill bridges or other structures in the estate, so as to ensure that it actively engages with local authorities and other organisations on the future of assets that run through an area, so that these can be considered for cycling or other schemes ahead of any works?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

My noble friend has once again raised the issue of permitted development orders. I restate that they are used only in emergency circumstances. I would just like to remind noble Lords that a couple of decades ago, at the Clifton Hall/Black Harry tunnel in Salford, the shaft collapsed, a house was demolished and the residents were killed in their beds. This is a serious issue we are talking about here: sometimes there are emergency circumstances when permitted development orders are required. But, as I have said, in the majority of cases they are not required, and planning permission is sought and given.

[Lord Berkeley (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, given the concerns noble Lords have raised on this Question, and the fact that the Minister said it is very important that there is local involvement, surely the answer is to require all such changes to these structures to be the subject of a full planning application.

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

Well, I think I have now answered that question three times, but I will give it another go. There is a full planning application except in cases where there is likely to be an emergency.

[Lord Jones of Cheltenham (LD) [V]]

The Minister knows of my interest in the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway, which was extended from Toddington to Broadway in 2018. Can she assure me that no legacy structures on the current route, or possible future extensions from Broadway to Honeybourne and beyond, are under threat of demolition or infilling? Is she making any progress on the burning issue of securing affordable stocks of lump coal, which makes steam engines work? Without that, the whole network could end.

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

I will have to write to the noble Lord on the availability of lump coal and certainly on his specific request about a certain line and whether there are any structures on it. I am afraid I sadly do not have the information and I will have to write.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed.

Space Industry (Appeals) Regulations 2021

Baroness Vere of Norbiton Excerpts

Thursday 1st July 2021 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

That the draft Regulations and Order laid before the House on 24 May be approved.

Relevant document: 4th Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee. Considered in Grand Committee on 29 June.

Motions agreed.

International Travel

Baroness Vere of Norbiton Excerpts

Thursday 1st July 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Rosser (Lab) [V]]

Tourism and other transport industries need a clear plan and clarity now over timings for easing restrictions on international travel, and the Government failed to provide that in the Commons on Tuesday. Passenger numbers for UK aviation are down by nearly 90% compared to 2019—far more than in our major European competitors. UK airlines have announced over 30,000 job cuts so far, without taking account of the impact on the wider supply chain. ABTA has said that 44% of its members expect further redundancies as furlough tapers off. The aviation and tourism industries need help now. All the Government do is repeat figures from the general schemes from which they have received support, but the aviation industry—the hardest-hit sector—was promised sector-specific support. When are the Government going to deliver what they promised?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport (Baroness Vere of Norbiton) (Con)]

My Lords, the Government are working extremely closely with all parts of the travel sector, and we recognise that it has been a very difficult time for it. Significant support has already been given to the sector, and indeed there has been sector-specific support for airports. We will, of course, continue to work closely with them in the medium term.

[Lord Bradshaw (LD) [V]]

International travellers all have to pass through the border security at airports. This has not had a good reputation for efficiency in the past, so can the Minister give us some reassurance that matters are improving?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

I hope that I can provide some reassurance, although we accept and have been very clear that wait times at the border may be extended due to biosecurity checks. However, the PLF system—the passenger locator form—has now been further automated such that you cannot submit it until you have fully completed it, which makes it easier for carriers and Border Force. Secondly, we are rolling out an upgrade to the e-gates; they will be able to recognise the PLF once it is completed. We reckon that 51% of e-gates will be updated by the end of July.

[Lord Udny-Lister (Con)]

My Lords, we have witnessed the chaos of the red, amber and green light system, with the lights changing quicker than any set of traffic lights ever has. We know that there will be variants. We know that, as we and the rest of the world vaccinates more, there will be even more variants coming through, so at some point we have to trust the vaccines. Will the Minister assure the House that she is going to get some stability into the system so that both tourists and, perhaps more importantly, businessmen can plan? Having seen what has happened in Malta in the last few days, will she also ensure that we can get something that is recognised as a vaccine certificate around the world?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

I am delighted to tell my noble friend that Malta is now accepting the NHS app via a verification system, so it has gone digital. Therefore, I hope that people will look forward to travelling to Malta. As the Roads Minister, I know that what he says is not quite true—traffic lights do change quite quickly—but he does have a point: we need to provide stability. This is what we have done with the traffic light system, because we have to recognise that, like it or not, things will change. Things will change in other countries; they are beyond our control. They will also have their own issues with vaccination, whether it is successful or not, and they will have their own categories for the types of people that can arrive. I believe that our traffic light system is absolutely appropriate. It provides clarity, although I accept that it may change over time.

[Lord Hastings of Scarisbrick (CB)]

My Lords, could the Minister please assist the House to understand what the Secretary of State for Transport attempted to say the other day about travel to the United States? Could she clarify precisely when travel to our so-called closest ally will be available, given that we are both equally vaccinated countries? Why is it possible to fly to Mexico from London and then go to the United States, but not to go from London to the United States when, in theory, Mexico does not have the same level of vaccination and has a higher level of coronavirus cases? Could the Minister please explain exactly what the situation is and, for goodness’ sake, when we can go?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

Well, we know that the Prime Minister and President Biden are very keen to return to safe transatlantic travel as soon as possible. The UK-US experts working group is up and running, and it is looking through all the technology and protocols that would need to be in place. However, the US is slightly different to the UK, and it has 50 different states with 50 different systems that register whether someone has been vaccinated or not, so there is a little work to be done. Obviously, I cannot give the noble Lord a timeline, but we are very keen to reopen our borders to the US, and we will do so when it is safe.

[Baroness Foster of Oxton (Con)]

My Lords, you can transit through Italy, remain for 36 hours and not quarantine—but, sadly, not if you are an England fan. From abroad, you can come here, stay longer and not quarantine if you are a politician, VIP, official or sponsor. This confirms that, whatever the variant, the vaccines work. Can my noble friend inform the Department of Health that, until this incessant scaremongering stops, our airline and tourism sectors will continue to haemorrhage jobs and will never recover?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

As I have set out previously—I agree with my noble friend—the travel industry is having a very difficult time, but we can see a light at the end of the tunnel. We have to make sure that we act with public health as our priority. We must have a cautious approach, because we cannot risk everything that we have been able to do with the vaccine programme by importing variants of concern from overseas.

[Lord Berkeley (Lab)]

My Lords, in the Financial Times yesterday, Ministers are quoted as saying that any businessman coming into this country who could offer £300 million—I think that was the figure—of investment in the country could be exempted from quarantine. Can I ask the Minister whether that would have applied to Mr Greensill and Mr Gupta, who have been saving the British steel industry for decades? How does this work, in terms of the medical reasons for doing it? Is this not a case of double standards for those that Ministers like?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

Let me explain to the noble Lord exactly what is going on here. There is an exemption from the requirement to quarantine, and it applies to a very limited number of specific business activities where these cannot be undertaken remotely or by anyone other than the exempt executive and would serve to create or preserve very large numbers of UK jobs—500 plus. So, that is potentially where his number came from. This exemption has been very significantly tightened since a version of it was in force in December. The qualifying threshold has been increased tenfold, and its scope has been reduced to permit only the most critical activities.

[Lord Lansley (Con)]

My Lords, I draw attention to my interests as recorded in the register. The traffic light system is only one side of the coin; the other side is the restrictions that may be imposed by other countries. My noble friend will be aware that the EU has brought in its digital Covid certificates, starting today. Can I ask my noble friend whether the Government intend—and may succeed—to align our vaccination passports with the digital Covid certificate in the EU?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

My noble friend makes a really important point, and that is why it is so important that countries are able to go digital where they are going to accept travellers. That is why we are so delighted that Malta has done that in accepting the UK NHS app. Of course, we are working with all our key destination countries to try to align the digital certification for Covid vaccination, and we will continue to do so. There are other considerations as to whether the countries want us there at all, but certainly it is worth building that relationship on digitisation ahead of any change in entry requirements.

[Viscount Waverley (CB)]

My Lords, why does the GOV.UK website inform residents living abroad that they can travel to their country, but as you click through to links within the same website it states that you should not travel to amber countries. Which is it? When doing so, why do PCR tests in many destination countries cost a fraction of the cost in the UK when presumably they must use the same broad technique to arrive at the same result?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

I do not know where the noble Viscount’s confusion has come from, but it is made very clear that when it comes to amber and red countries, the advice is not to travel. Of course, there will be people who will have personal reasons to travel, such as for a funeral, et cetera, but the advice is not to travel and the Government are very clear on that. With regard to PCR tests, in the UK it costs £85 for a two-test package or under £50 for a single-test package. If I look at comparisons, for example, the median cost of just one PCR test in the US is £90 and the average cost for a PCR for travel abroad in Spain is between €130 and €240, so we compare quite well to that. Whatever the cost of the PCR test, it is important that we bear down on those costs and that we take the advantage of economies of scale as more people are able to travel in the future.

[The Deputy Speaker (Lord McNicol of West Kilbride) (Lab)]

My Lords, the time allocated for this Question has elapsed. I apologise to the noble Lord, Lord Bourne, who did not get in.

Space Industry (Appeals) Regulations 2021

Baroness Vere of Norbiton Excerpts

Tuesday 29th June 2021 Grand Committee

Moved by

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

That the Grand Committee do consider the Space Industry (Appeals) Regulations 2021.

Relevant document: 4th Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport (Baroness Vere of Norbiton) (Con)]

My Lords, these regulations relating to the space industry are made under the powers conferred by the Space Industry Act 2018, which I will call the SIA. The contracting-out order is made under the powers conferred by the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994. There are four draft instruments before the Committee, each addressing a different aspect of the legal regime required to regulate commercial spaceflight from the UK. These instruments will apply to England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as space is a reserved matter.

Regulatory functions for satellite licensing under the Outer Space Act 1986 are currently undertaken by the UK Space Agency on behalf of the Secretary of State, but because the space agency is also responsible for administering grants to stimulate market growth, in June 2020 the Secretary of State directed that those activities under the Outer Space Act 1986 and all activities under the SIA should be regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority, the CAA. This is to avoid a potential conflict of interest for the UK Space Agency and follows the policy of successive Governments to separate safety regulation from sector promotion following the 1988 Piper Alpha disaster. To enact this direction, the contracting-out order will authorise the CAA to carry out regulatory and licensing activities under the Outer Space Act 1986 on the Secretary of State’s behalf, in addition to its responsibilities under the SIA.

An additional instrument will follow, using the negative resolution procedure. This is an employment relations SI that will enable the transfer of staff from the UK Space Agency to the CAA.

The CAA is a seasoned regulator with over 40 years’ experience regulating aerodromes, aircraft, security, the environment and the use of airspace. With its expertise and strong international reputation, the CAA has been a partner in the development of the Space Industry Regulations from the outset. Once stood up as the regulator, the CAA can begin accepting licence applications for spaceflight activities.

The CAA cannot yet commit to a precise timeframe for granting licences, especially for initial applications, but it is expected that applications will initially take between six and 12 months to process. Of course, as the industry develops and the regulator grows its expertise, this timeframe will reduce. The regulator will be in contact with applicants at every step so that this timing will not impede industry’s ambitions. I am aware that other spacefaring nations, such as the US, have shorter stated application times of, for example, 180 days. It should be noted, however, that this excludes the pre-application period, which can be two to five years ahead of any application being submitted.

The Space Industry Regulations are a result of a collaboration across government, building on existing space and aviation legislation and harnessing a range of regulatory, technical and legal expertise. The Department for Transport, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the UK Space Agency and the CAA have worked together closely, with the support of the Health and Safety Executive and the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, to develop these regulations.

The Space Industry Regulations make provisions to enable the licensing and regulation of spaceflight activities, the establishment of spaceports and the licensing of range-control service providers in the UK. These regulations are designed to enable UK launches from 2022 and will promote growth, innovation and sustainability while protecting public safety, security and the UK’s international relations.

The Space Industry Regulations provide transparency to prospective licence holders and wider stakeholders on the outcomes that are expected of licence holders, facilitating consistency, fairness and proper decision-making by the regulator. These regulations are augmented by detailed and practical guidance documents and the regulator’s licensing rules.

The regulations include provisions regarding eligibility, risk, training, security, debris mitigation, and insurance and liabilities. Insurance and liabilities were one of the key issues raised in your Lordships’ House and by industry stakeholders during the passage of the SIA, with key concerns about unlimited liability and the availability and cost of insurance to cover such unlimited liability. The Government have listened to these concerns and taken action to limit operator liability in all operator licences. Their policy intention is that all operator licences issued under the SIA will contain a limit of operator liability with respect to claims made under Sections 34 and 36 of the Act. Operators will therefore not face unlimited liability for actions carried out in compliance with the Act and licence conditions. The regulations contain the necessary provisions to implement this policy.

In line with the statutory guidance requirements of the SIA, the guidance material sets out the form and content of an assessment of environmental effects—an AEE—which is required to be submitted with every spaceport and launch operator licence application.

In order to ensure that accidents are investigated by a body independent of the CAA, the Spaceflight Activities (Investigation of Spaceflight Accidents) Regulations 2021 establish the space accident investigation authority and make provisions for how accident investigations will be carried out. Building on the long- established principles used to investigate aircraft accidents, these regulations are necessary to ensure that lessons are learned, safety is improved and further accidents are prevented.

The Space Industry (Appeals) Regulations 2021 add to the provisions in the SIA relating to appeals by specifying which decisions under the Space Industry Regulations are appealable. These regulations set out how a panel will be established and the process which the appeal panel and the parties to the appeal are to follow. They also set out the process that should be followed by the parties to the appeal, right from the initial application for permission to appeal all the way through to the decision that may be taken by the panel and the consequences for the parties.

To conclude, these regulations are a modern legal and regulatory framework that will enable the UK to launch commercial space flights. They create the conditions for accessing space from the UK, and, as I am sure that all noble Lords will agree, they will give us the opportunity to accelerate the growth of the UK space sector and demonstrate the UK’s maturity as a spacefaring nation.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

My Lords, as always, all the briefing in the world will not cover all the questions asked by noble Lords. Nor will I be able to make some—at least one—of the commitments asked of me without getting into deep trouble. That means that I will write with a number of answers to the questions asked today.

Our aim here is simple, even if the regulations are a little lengthy and complex. We want to be the first country in Europe to offer small-scale satellite manufacturers a direct end-to-end route to launch from Europe, building on the UK’s leading small satellite industry. As the noble Lord, Lord Bilimoria, pointed out, it is absolutely critical that we are part of this industry. He reminded noble Lords of the huge opportunities ahead; I welcome his support.

The noble Lord, Lord Tunnicliffe, asked specifically how the regulations would support our scientific research communities. The answer is simple: they will provide domestic access to space for the UK’s scientific community, for whom space is an invaluable research environment, opening up new opportunities for exploration and discovery, and it could accelerate the exploitation of revolutionary future spaceflight technologies.

The noble Lord also asked about investment in the regions and whether the industry would benefit the whole of the UK. The UK Space Agency has awarded substantial grants across the UK. This will help the UK’s growing spaceflight capabilities. Such investment includes £31.5 million to help establish vertical launch services from Scotland, comprising £2.5 million to Highlands and Islands Enterprise to develop Space Hub Sutherland, £7.35 million as part of £20 million central and local government funding to support horizontal launch by Virgin Orbit from Spaceport Cornwall, and up to £1.3 million to develop business plans for small satellite launch and sub-orbital flights from airports in Machrihanish, Snowdonia and Cornwall.

These places are across the UK. The funding will support new, quality jobs in all these regions. I point out to the noble Lord that we will not be directing the supply chain as to what it can and cannot buy from whom, because I think we all recognise that this is a very technologically advanced industry, but of course we will work with the sector as it develops to make sure that we have the skills, the technology and the materials so that if we are able to provide those domestically, we will.

The noble Lord, Lord McNally, asked whether we really will have our first commercial launch by 2022. I really hope so. I admit that this timeframe is a little ambitious, but with this level of investment and these regulations I think we are laying a very solid foundation. As I have mentioned, space is a reserved matter, so the regulations apply to the entire UK.

The noble Lord, Lord Teverson, said that we needed a space strategy, while the noble Lord, Lord Tunnicliffe, felt that there was a lack of ambition and direction from the Government. I can assure all noble Lords that this is absolutely not the case. The Prime Minister, the Secretary of State and the Government as a whole are determined to develop an ambitious national space strategy by the summer. This will ensure that the UK can establish itself as a global player and seize these economic opportunities.

Back down to earth, so to speak, and on the CAA as regulator, I reassure the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, that the CAA is specified in Part 2 of the Space Industry Regulations, but I will clarify that in writing. I welcome the intervention from my noble friend Lord Hannan, who I see has printed off all 500 pages of the regulations et cetera. I am not entirely sure that he has read them all, so I hope he will use that paper as scrap if he does intend to use them in future.

It is important that we focus on the role of the CAA, which is a hugely capable regulator. It is gearing up for its role as the regulator. It will utilise its existing space capability and transfer nine or 10 staff from the UK Space Agency and take on new staff, including specialist engineers. The noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, asked, as she does with regularity, about resourcing for the Civil Aviation Authority. I reassure her that it will have a dedicated budget for regulating space flight. It has the capacity and some of the skills already, and it will be able to build on those.

The noble Lord, Lord Tunnicliffe, asked when the CAA would undertake responsibilities under the contracting-out order. The functions under that order will not be transferred to the CAA until it comes into force, which I believe will be later in July, but, of course, practical preparations have already been made at the CAA.

On the question from the noble Lord, Lord Tunnicliffe, about whether UK licences reflect similar licences in other countries with similar space industries—absolutely. These regulations have been developed alongside a careful examination of international licensing regimes all over the world, including New Zealand, so that we make sure we are as up to date as, and hopefully even more up to date than, the competitors. I have already mentioned that we expect the licensing process to begin very soon. We expect engagement from the operators with the CAA to make sure that the process is as smooth as possible.

Here comes my mea culpa of the day. I said in my opening remarks that it will take six to 12 months for an application to be processed. I misspoke: it is six to 18 months. The timeframe will depend on a number of factors, such as whether the mission is bespoke or novel, how mature and experienced the operators are and the nature and completeness of the information provided. So many things will make up these applications, so some will be simpler than others.

The noble Lord, Lord Tunnicliffe, also raised some queries regarding the costs, particularly relating to appeals. We are not expecting many appeals, if any, in the next few years. Those costs will be picked up with normal departmental allocations. I would like to reassure him that the whole appeals process has been developed alongside representation from the space industry, as indeed have all these statutory instruments. I assure all noble Lords that we had a detailed and lengthy conversation with the industry and undertook a formal consultation as well. Noble Lords will also be interested to know that we recently published the outcome of the consultation into the draft environmental objectives—something that I know is important to all of your Lordships.

I suspect I will probably write in more detail on insurance and liabilities, because this issue was subject to a lot of consideration over the passage of the Bill and as we built up to these regulations. Absolutely key to the Government is that we want to tailor the insurance required to the risk and diverse range of UK launch activities expected. The Government have committed to carrying out a review of liabilities and insurance in 2021. This will include the issues raised by respondents in the consultation. Work is under way, and more information will be available in due course.

On accidents, the noble Lord, Lord Tunnicliffe, asked why the accident investigation SI had not been introduced as primary legislation. We feel that it is appropriate. When noble Lords discussed the Space Industry Act in 2018, it was very much presented as a framework Bill. We knew that the regulations coming out of that would potentially be complex, and the House was happy with that at the time. Although it is a new industry, of course, as a nation we are very good at accident investigation.

I fear I am slightly running out of time, so I just want to make sure I have covered the point raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, about planning permissions and other consents. The CAA will provide the operating licence, but many other consents, considerations and planning permissions, et cetera, will be needed. Therefore, to have a successful spaceport, operators will need to work with the local authority to make sure that everything is done to protect the environment and the local community. It will be really critical that they have the support of the local community. I fear that the Chair has started the countdown to lift-off, so I commend these instruments.

Motion agreed.

Space Industry Regulations 2021

Baroness Vere of Norbiton Excerpts

Tuesday 29th June 2021 Grand Committee

Moved by

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

That the Grand Committee do consider the Space Industry Regulations 2021.

Relevant document: 4th Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee

Motion agreed.