Railways: East Coast Main Line

Debate between Earl Attlee and Lord Cormack

Tuesday 4th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

The noble Lord knows perfectly well that that is not a fair analysis of what went wrong with the east coast railway line. I am sure he would not suggest bringing an airline into direct operation by the Government.

[Lord Cormack]

My Lords, will my noble friend ensure that whoever operates this line in future offers a better, more regular service between London and Lincoln?

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, my noble friend raises an important question. I have discussed this with officials and they are working on it. However, there are some complex problems concerning the logistics and timetabling. Currently, the Lincoln line is not electrified, so it is complex, but my officials are working on it.

Railways: Fares

Debate between Earl Attlee and Lord Cormack

Thursday 31st January 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Cormack]

My Lords, will mortgages and savings accounts be available for those who wish to travel by HS2?

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, I know how much my noble friend supports HS2. The business case for HS2 is not predicated on premium fares.

Driving: Blood Alcohol Limit

Debate between Earl Attlee and Lord Cormack

Wednesday 12th December 2012 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, it may well be available but I am not aware of it. However, my point is that there is no safe blood alcohol level when one is driving a vehicle.

[Lord Cormack]

My Lords, my noble friend referred to options and the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, asked him if he could specify some of the options. Can he give us at least two of them?

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, one option—and it is only an option—would be to deal with the problem of tragic accidents where several youngsters are killed in one vehicle. These are very distressing accidents and we need to consider whether we should allow a young driver to carry several youngsters. However, there is a contrary argument, which noble Lords opposite articulated when they were Ministers, that that could have an economic effect. It could mean that the system of one sober driver might not work. So we need to consider carefully what the options are to make sure that there are no unintended consequences.

Disabled People: Blue Badge Scheme

Debate between Earl Attlee and Lord Cormack

Thursday 25th October 2012 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, the only thing I agree with the noble Lord on is his point about box-ticking. Applicants’ GPs act as patients’ advocates and are not always best placed to assess mobility or to advise on badge eligibility. In 2008, the Transport Select Committee reported that using an applicant’s own GP to assess eligibility,

“is likely to produce a bias in favour of approving the application”.

[Lord Cormack]

My Lords, surely the GP is best placed to make that judgment?

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, we think it is better to have an independent assessment.

Northern Ireland Act 1998 (Devolution of Policing and Justice Functions) Order 2012

Debate between Earl Attlee and Lord Cormack

Monday 2nd July 2012 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

That the draft order be referred to a Grand Committee.

[Lord Cormack]

I would like to point out to those who are concerned with the future of this place that we have on the Order Paper today a number of things, each one of which could be debated at length. However, because we are such a restrained, responsible House, we shall not be debating them at length, but an elected Chamber at odds with the other place might well choose to do so.

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, this is a very simple Motion. It refers the instrument to a Grand Committee and that has been agreed by the usual channels.

Railways: Great Western Franchise

Debate between Earl Attlee and Lord Cormack

Tuesday 6th March 2012 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, first, we need to be careful about being too specific about which rolling stock should be used. To do so would compromise the negotiations between the train operating company and the rolling stock company. However, a new fleet of IEP trains is expected to be provided for the franchise for InterCity services. This project was initiated by the previous Administration. The new operator is expected to take responsibility for the provision of other rolling stock on the franchise.

[Lord Cormack]

If the Government attach such importance to value for money, why are they persisting with HS2?

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, HS2 is somewhat wide of the Question on the Order Paper.

Cyclists: Accidents

Debate between Earl Attlee and Lord Cormack

Wednesday 8th February 2012 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, the Government encourage the use of cycle helmets but we think it undesirable, as did the previous Administration, to make them compulsory because this could have the unintended effect of reducing cycling despite its undoubted health benefits. On the question of turning left, my noble friend Lord Spicer has an Oral Question about left turns coming up shortly. As part of my research on that, I have just had a working lunch with the chief examiner of the Institute of Advanced Motorists.

[Lord Cormack]

My Lords, would the roads of London not be less congested and safer for cyclists, and indeed for us all, if there were restrictions on the hours in which delivery vehicles could operate?

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, the noble Lord has asked a slightly wider question. There is a freight operator recognition scheme—FORS, a membership scheme—that aims to improve freight delivery in London. It is free, voluntary and open to any company operating vans or lorries in the capital. It has been developed by TfL and is a reward and recognition scheme with the aim of improving safety and operational efficiency.

Transport Infrastructure: North-east England

Debate between Earl Attlee and Lord Cormack

Monday 23rd January 2012 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, the noble Lord is correct in his description of the history of this project. The interim Regional Transport Board for the North East recommended to the Government in 2006 that proposals for the A1 Adderstone to Belford and Al Morpeth to Felton schemes were not funding priorities for the period up to 2016. The department therefore did not have a scheme to consider for the autumn Statement. However, it is good news that the Government have decided that that section of road is of national importance.

[Lord Cormack]

My Lords, as we rightly attach so much importance to the United Kingdom and its preservation, is there not an unanswerable case for making the high road to Scotland, and indeed the high road to England, a fully dual-carriageway road of national importance?

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, I thought that someone would ask me a devolution question. There are very good road connections from the highly developed conurbation on Tyneside—Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead—but that is via the M6 corridor up through Carlisle. The journey time by car is shorter via Carlisle than it is via Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Railways: High-speed Rail

Debate between Earl Attlee and Lord Cormack

Tuesday 10th January 2012 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, I am grateful for the general support from the noble Lord, Lord Faulkner. On his specific question, we have improved the compensation arrangements for people affected, but I cannot say whether it is better than the arrangements for those affected by road construction projects. Inspiration has now come from the Box—but sometimes inspiration is not quite as complete as one would hope. My note says that compensation will be more generous than the law requires, but that does not necessarily mean that it is more generous than that for a road-building project. It might be possible—for instance, if someone was building a DBFO motorway or road project—to offer greater compensation, but I simply do not know. However, I do know that good compensation arrangements were announced today.

[Lord Cormack]

My Lords, I hope that I can expect an equally quick answer to the question that I will now ask as one who still has real concerns and misgivings about the environmental impact of this scheme in a tightly populated country where beauty is extremely fragile and where one of the loveliest areas of rural England is under threat. Is the National Trust, which advanced some extremely well constructed and moderate opposition to this proposal, now tolerably satisfied with the mitigation that my noble friend talked about?

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, I do not know the answer to the noble Lord’s question, but I shall write to him.

Fixed-term Parliaments Bill

Debate between Earl Attlee and Lord Cormack

Tuesday 24th May 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Cormack]

Well, I will certainly be guided by the noble Baroness who sits on the Woolsack, but I was informed that it was entirely proper to make a brief speech at this point.

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, perhaps I may assist the House. Of course the noble Countess is right, but it seems to me that the rule is honoured as much in the breach as in the observance.

[Lord Cormack]

Then perhaps I can join the breach. I will—

Student Visas

Debate between Earl Attlee and Lord Cormack

Tuesday 22nd March 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Cormack]

My Lords, I declare my interest as a senior associate member of St Antony’s College, Oxford, and as the organiser of a scheme that brings American students to work in Parliament for a period each year. I greatly welcome the sensitivity of the Statement, but I urge my noble friend to ensure that the monitoring to which he referred is indeed careful, continuous and very sensitive. Does he agree with me that it is better that a few bogus students come into this country than that a single potential Nobel Prize winner is kept out?

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, I agree with most of what my noble friend said—nearly everything, in fact. He touched on the parliamentary interns. I have used them in the past. I asked my officials about parliamentary interns this morning. I hope we maintain an effective system and I am sure we will monitor that very carefully.