Winter Floods

Debate between Lord Faulkner of Worcester and Lord De Mauley

Thursday 6th February 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord De Mauley]

I absolutely endorse my noble friend’s point about the importance of local co-ordination on the ground. My impression is that that is making considerable progress and I congratulate those who are involved.

My noble friend’s reference to ongoing attention—to Somerset, for example—I endorse as well. I must say that we should not lose sight of the other places that have suffered from flooding during this spate of weather. I shall not name any of them because I will forget to include some, but there are many places around the country which have suffered.

[Lord Faulkner of Worcester (Lab)]

My Lords, I reinforce what my noble friend Lord Whitty said about the importance to Devon and Cornwall of the reinstatement of the main railway line that has been washed away at Dawlish. I declare an interest as a member of the First Great Western stakeholder board. Businesses are quoted this morning as saying that every day that the line is closed is costing them £30 million, so any delay beyond six weeks for its reinstatement will have a devastating effect on those economies—it is not just Cornwall; it is not just Plymouth; it is the whole of Torbay as well. I urge the Government to make sure that Network Rail is given every possible resource it needs to reinstate the line.

Looking a little further ahead, will the Minister consider the need for a possible new alignment that takes the line at the coast inland? It is something that Isambard Kingdom Brunel looked at but felt was not necessary. He thought that his wall would survive for ever, but, as we have seen with the weather of recent days, that might not be the case. Another possibility would be the reopening of the old Southern Railway line to Plymouth, which would at least give an alternative route through from Exeter.

[Lord De Mauley]

I agree with the noble Lord about the particular railway line of which he spoke, which is perhaps one of the most exciting and beautiful of our railway lines. I know of his great interest in railways. I can assure him that the line is getting and will continue to get urgent attention. His comments drag me rather beyond my knowledge and responsibilities in terms of specifics about railways, but I will take his comments back.

Air Quality

Debate between Lord Faulkner of Worcester and Lord De Mauley

Wednesday 24th April 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, there were quite a lot of questions in there. On the public health outcomes framework, in the financial year 2013-14 local authorities will take on new responsibilities for public health. They will be expected to deliver against 68 measurable outcomes set out in the PHOF. One of these indicators is air quality, but measures implemented as part of a package of transport interventions and street improvements will help to deliver against more than half those indicators.

On London, I cannot agree with my noble friend. The mayor has implemented an ambitious package of measures across the whole of London, including tighter lower emission zone standards, building Europe’s largest hybrid bus fleet and introducing London’s first ever taxi age limits. He has also introduced a number of other measures.

[Lord Faulkner of Worcester]

My Lords, would the air quality in London not have been improved had the mayor not abolished the western extension of the congestion charge?

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, that is a very complicated subject and maybe we should have a debate on it.

Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 (Directions to OFCOM) Order 2010

Debate between Lord Faulkner of Worcester and Lord De Mauley

Thursday 16th December 2010 Lords Chamber

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, I am very grateful to noble Lords for their comments. We have covered a number of key areas, and a number of interesting and important points have been raised. The Government note the concerns that your Lordships raised during the debate. The noble Lords, Lord Berkeley and Lord Faulkner, raised the important issue of the conflict with the GSM-R rail operators’ frequency. I thank them for that. The Government are fully aware of the potential safety issues involving the use of spectrum, specifically of the 900-megahertz band for mobile broadband services, and of the adjacent spectrum planned for the rail safety network system. Noble Lords are absolutely right that safety is a key priority for the Government, and we will not allow it to be compromised. The level and severity of any possible interference is still being investigated, but discussions are taking place between Network Rail, the mobile operators, Ofcom, BIS and the Department for Transport to address the matter. Further technical work is under way to determine the likelihood of any potential interference and the available technical solutions.

As the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, said, this is not just a UK issue. The use of these bands is harmonised across Europe, so we are discussing this with the Commission, too. I thank the noble Lords, Lord Berkeley and Lord Faulkner, for their helpful suggestions. I will definitely take them back to the department.

[Lord Faulkner of Worcester]

Will the Minister say something about who might have to pay for modifications?

[Lord De Mauley]

I thank him for that. That issue needs to be part of the discussions to which I have just referred.

My noble friend Lord Clement-Jones asked about the reasons for the delay. That is a very justifiable question. The new Government had to consider the options that are open to them and what they wanted to do against a backdrop of a changing market. The process was completed before Parliament rose in July for the Summer Recess. It was not considered immediately after Parliament returned because of the threatened judicial review by Everything Everywhere, and the need to address that threat.

My noble friend asked about a timetable. Ofcom intends to consult on its assessment in February. The 900-megahertz licences will be liberalised before the 800-megahertz licences become available, but Ofcom’s latest analysis is that the competitive distortion is not so great as to require action in the 900-megahertz spectrum. I confirm broadly that my noble friend's outline timetable is what is anticipated, although if there is anything I can add, I will write to him after the debate. I certainly agree with him that speed is of the essence. However, it is a very complex area and it would be equally dangerous to rush things through.

My noble friend also asked about the emergency services. The Government fully recognise the importance of spectrum in allowing the emergency services to operate effectively. The safety and security of the United Kingdom's citizens is of paramount importance, and the Government have consistently stated that spectrum management should pay due regard to this. However, as I said, spectrum is a scarce resource for which there is increasing demand. In these circumstances, the allocation of spectrum should be as efficient as possible. For that reason, the Government's agreed approach is that, in the first instance, such requirements should be sourced through the market. I hope that my noble friend will be somewhat reassured to hear that where this is not possible, a case will need to be made for an administrative allocation to be considered. Any requirement for additional spectrum by the emergency services will be considered within that framework.