HGVs: Charging and Refuelling

Debate between Baroness Vere of Norbiton and Lord Lansley

Monday 22nd May 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

My noble friend raises a very important point. That is why, as part of the decarbonisation of HGVs, the Government are investing £200 million in the zero-emission road freight demonstrator programme, which will look at all the different technologies available. For some vehicles, battery electric will be the best option, but for others we expect hydrogen fuel cells to be far more relevant. Therefore, we need the zero-emission HGV infrastructure strategy, which will examine what a network of green hydrogen sites would look like, as well as the impact on the grid and where on it the additional electricity will be needed.

[Lord Lansley (Con)]

My Lords, a number of HGV fleet operators I have talked to in Cambridgeshire just want decisions to be made and a strategy to be progressed. Many of them think that hydrogen fuel cells will be the best technology for large HGVs, but there is no infrastructure for that, and they are looking for support for infrastructure well before the date on which they have to stop buying new diesel trucks.

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

I accept it is most likely that a hydrogen refuelling infrastructure will be needed. That is exactly why the Government are taking time, over the next six months or so, working with the stakeholders who sit on the Freight Energy Forum to establish exactly what that might look like. We need to set the strategic direction to ensure that the infrastructure is in place for 2040, but we also need to look at the evidence that will come from the zero-emission road freight demonstrator programme so that it can feed into that strategy.

International Travel

Debate between Baroness Vere of Norbiton and Lord Lansley

Thursday 1st July 2021 Lords Chamber

[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.

Honda in Swindon

Debate between Baroness Vere of Norbiton and Lord Lansley

Tuesday 19th February 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

As the noble Lord will know, no deal is the legal default. It is not the Government’s position that we would like no deal: we categorically do not want that to happen. However, to avoid no deal, one must have a deal. Therefore, as I said, I implore all the pragmatic and sensible people left in the Labour Party to support the Government’s deal so that we can give industry the certainty it needs.

[Lord Lansley (Con)]

My Lords, I draw attention to my entry in the register of interests as UK co-chair of the UK-Japan 21st Century Group. We tend to see everything through the prism of the Brexit debate but in this instance it is not correct. My noble friend is right to draw attention to the closure of the Honda Civic plant in Turkey because it illustrates that this is not a Brexit-related decision as such. However, there is a Europe issue: why should a Japanese manufacturer think that Europe will be the second largest market for electric vehicles in the future, but that it does not need to manufacture in Europe to serve that market? We have to address that issue, and the best answer to it is in the context of a free trade agreement with Japan, so that it can sell to us and we have the equal opportunity to sell to it. Will the Government listen carefully to what Prime Minister Abe has said about the importance of the withdrawal agreement and a transition period to enable us to enter into such an agreement with Japan?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

Those are wise words from my noble friend Lord Lansley. The decision by Honda will clearly have been reached after some very detailed financial analysis of the cost benefit of manufacturing in various parts of the world. Our relationship with Japan will certainly be very important and constructing a good free trade agreement with it will, I am sure, be towards the top of the list of work that Liam Fox will have to do. I will pass my noble friend’s comments on to the department and I am sure they will be well received.