Afghanistan: British Council Staff

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Clark of Windermere

Thursday 9th February 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, the noble Lord speaks with great insight and expertise on the importance of our diplomatic services. I must admit that I was not around in 1962, so I do not have his strength of experience. Nevertheless, on the more material point that he raises and the criteria established for working through the three cohorts of Afghans who have been asked to apply for this scheme—we work closely with the organisations in the application of those criteria—as I said in response to my noble friend Lord Kamall, the number wishing to come to the UK who have applied to the scheme far outweighs the number allocated. It is therefore right that we adopt a process that is fair to the individuals applying and ensures that the criteria can be applied as regards additional family members, a point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Smith. It is right that we show compassion if someone approaches but does not fulfil the strict criteria for additional family members who happen to be an elderly mother or father, or a child over the threshold of 18. But that requires a certain degree of delay as an assessment is made on the security of that person’s viability for coming to the UK.

[Lord Clark of Windermere (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for all his efforts on this particularly difficult problem. He rightly has concentrated on Britain’s responsibility, but other European countries are involved in Afghanistan. What help are we getting from countries such as Sweden, which is very much involved, and are we working with them?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, we are working with other partners. At the time of Operation Pitting, the UK was a key country and helped 36 other countries with the departures from Afghanistan. We are working closely with our EU partners and the United States, looking directly at those who have moved to third countries and how best we can expedite their relocation to whichever country they have applied to. That is done in a co-ordinated fashion. That said, all noble Lords are aware that the situation within Afghanistan is going from bad to worse. The deterioration of civil and human rights continues. However, at the same time, we are seeking to engage, even through our chargé based out of Doha, and at least alleviate the plight of those left in Afghanistan, including through humanitarian support.

HS2: North of England and Scotland

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Clark of Windermere

Thursday 23rd February 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

The noble Lord raises an important point about connectivity. In my initial Answer I referred to the important work that was being done by northern powerhouse rail. In that regard, let me assure him that a single strategy is being worked out with northern powerhouse rail, the DfT, Network Rail and HS2 to produce a single strategy—not shortly, but by the end of 2017. That will include all major cities in the north, including Liverpool, Manchester, Hull, Newcastle, Leeds and Sheffield to ensure greater connectivity in that regard.

[Lord Clark of Windermere (Lab)]

On what basis is the Minister saying that services from Scotland and the real north of England—shall we say Carlisle?—will actually be speedier? Is it not true that the HS2 rolling stock cannot run on conventional rails, and that the service after HS2 north of Manchester and Leeds to London will actually be slower than it is now?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

On faster services from London to Scotland—and that includes to the cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh—once the second phase of HS2 is complete, we are talking of journey times of three hours and 40 minutes. The noble Lord is right to raise the issue of infrastructure, particularly in terms of the tracks themselves running in the northern part to Scotland. We are working with northern powerhouse rail, to which I alluded earlier, and indeed Transport Scotland to see what further work can be done to reduce journey times. The aspiration, of course, is to reduce the journey time to below three hours.

Aviation: International Trade

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Clark of Windermere

Tuesday 1st November 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

I do not think that we should be alarmed about this. As I have already said, it is part and parcel of the discussions that we are having with not just European but international partners. I have already met directly airline and airport operators here in the UK and with airline operators outside the UK. All are very keen to see a seamless transition to ensure that the rights that British airlines enjoy today, and those that international airlines using UK airports enjoy, continue without any kind of interruption.

[Lord Clark of Windermere (Lab)]

My Lords, in his visit to Manchester Airport yesterday, did the Minister hear that more destinations are flown to from Manchester than from Heathrow?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

Overall, if we look back over the last 10 years, Manchester has made some incredible progress in terms of its expansion and opening up new air connectivity. The noble Lord is right. I talked about Singapore, and in June there were new routes to China. The opportunities are immense for airports not just in the south-east but across the country.

Hillsborough

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Clark of Windermere

Wednesday 27th April 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

That is a matter for individual broadcasters. However, I am sure that if they are watching us or read Hansard, they will reflect on the noble Lord’s comments.

[Lord Clark of Windermere (Lab)]

My Lords, I declare an interest as a director of Carlisle United Football Club. The composition of football fans today is rather different from 27 years ago, but I know that I speak for every single football fan the length and breadth of the British Isles when I say that we are pleased and proud that our fellow fans at Liverpool have been vindicated. They have shown up some of the key elements of British society—the police, the media and the legal trade. I am also pleased that nowadays, under our new freedom of information legislation and the mood that goes with it, the Minister is able to make such a Statement, which we all admire.

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

I agree with the noble Lord. Whichever club you support or wherever you live in this country, football is part of what defines our nation; it is part of our DNA. The exoneration yesterday of not only the victims but everyone who attended the event, or was involved with the football club or with the city, was a historic moment in moving forward in the right manner. I hope that, ultimately, once the CPS inquiry and the two other inquiries are concluded, we can give final solace and peace to the 96 tragic victims and ensure—if I may quote the noble Lord as a final comment on this—that they never walk alone.

Walking and Cycling

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Clark of Windermere

Tuesday 9th February 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My noble friend makes a very important point and I shall certainly follow that up. But I assure her that health is one of the key priorities for the DfT.

[Lord Clark of Windermere (Lab)]

My Lords, does the Minister appreciate that the Forestry Commission provides not only many trees for this country and much timber but thousands upon thousands of miles of forests for the citizens of this country to walk and cycle in, and that there has been a repositioning of the forests much more into the urban areas? For example, when I was chairman, we planted more than 4 million trees in south Lancashire alone. Will the Minister give us an assurance that the Forestry Commission will be considered for some money out of the £300 million pot that is expected in the summer?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

I cannot give a specific commitment on how that £300 million will be allocated; that has yet to be decided. If, however, the Forestry Commission would like to make to make a representation I would be delighted to meet with it to discuss its plans further.

Railways: South-West Network

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Clark of Windermere

Thursday 28th January 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

The whole area has been underlined by the Government’s commitment. The noble Baroness will know that, in 2014, we committed over £26 million of greater investment to improve resilience in the area. The particular line she points out has suffered, but improvements are being put in place. Let me underline again the Government’s commitment to ensure that, following the flooding damage that was done, we are looking at how we can improve further resilience measures, including the raising of rail tracks and control boxes.

[Lord Clark of Windermere (Lab)]

My Lords, as the House is aware, for the past two months there has been no direct rail connection from Carlisle in England through to Newcastle, Edinburgh or Glasgow. There is no sign of that ending, as far as we know. Can the Minister tell the House what the position is on opening up Scotland from the west side of England?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

The noble Lord raises an important issue about investment across the country and connectivity. I will write to him specifically about that particular route but, again, I repeat the commitments made. The investment we are making in the railway industry, including HS2, underlines the Government’s commitment to improve rail network connectivity across the whole of the United Kingdom.

Vacant Residential Properties

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Clark of Windermere

Thursday 12th February 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Clark of Windermere (Lab)]

My Lords, does the Minister appreciate that there is another aspect of empty housing—that is, holiday cottages? In our national parks especially, we have a situation where holiday cottages stand empty for a number of months a year. There is not a large enough resident population, so things such as doctors’ surgeries are now under pressure because there are insufficient permanent residents. Would the Minister be prepared to meet the local authorities in national parks and discuss the possibility of allowing them to register and, on occasions, restrict the number of rented properties?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

I would be pleased to do so.

Village Life

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Clark of Windermere

Monday 12th January 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

I agree with my noble friend; he makes a very good point about the importance of village life. As I have already alluded to, the Government are investing a great deal in this respect. Let me draw the attention of the House to the Rural Community Buildings Loan Fund that the Government are supporting, which is a £700,000 Defra fund that is managed by ACRE and encourages communities to raise funds. Of course, the Government have also pushed and worked with the Post Office to ensure that post offices are retained at a local level and we are working alongside banks to ensure that communities in the most remote parts can access financial services. Indeed, I believe that RBS has just started a mobile scheme that goes out to about 90 rural towns that are hard to reach, which is quite innovative and certainly is supported by the Government.

[Lord Clark of Windermere (Lab)]

Is the Minister aware that in many villages in national parks the fact that more than 50% of the houses are now used as holiday lets means, for example, that GP practices are having to close in places like Coniston and Hawkshead in the Lake District because there are insufficient permanent residents? What plans does the Minister have to consider the proposals from local authorities that they should have some say on the designation of holiday lets?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

The Government have already outlined their commitment to the localism agenda. I have talked previously from the Dispatch Box about local enterprise partnerships. These are prevalent not just in towns but in villages and within the rural economy. Currently five pilot rural growth networks have been established in Warwickshire, the north-east, Swindon in Wiltshire, the heart of the south-west and Cumbria. These are all working with the local authorities and local lets to encourage local growth. The noble Lord’s point about holiday lets is well made. However, we are working with local authorities to ensure the vibrancy of local economies and local housing.

Economy: Prosperity of Towns

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Clark of Windermere

Wednesday 7th January 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

The essence behind local growth funds is exactly as my noble friend says. It is about empowering people at a local level: local enterprise partnerships, local councils and local businesses coming together to bid for local funds. Demonstrably, the 39 deals agreed thus far—and the new deals that we will be announcing—will reflect exactly what my noble friend seeks to achieve, which is local communities working together to achieve growth and jobs for their local area.

[Lord Clark of Windermere (Lab)]

My Lords, does not the Minister realise that the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, reflects a view held especially in Cumbria and the north-east of England that, although they support the city regions, they feel left out, especially when the major infrastructure investment, HS2, stops 100 miles to the south of Newcastle and Carlisle in Manchester and Leeds? We will end up with a worse transport service, not a better one.

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

We all await the outcome of HS2. I believe that it will be positive for the country and, indeed, for the north. My right honourable friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has already shown the Government’s commitment in the announcement that he has made in support of the regions across the country, and I am sure that if the noble Lord awaits the outcomes of the second bidding round, some of his concerns will be addressed.