Driving Tests: Secondary Market

Debate between Lord Foulkes of Cumnock and Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill

Monday 13th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)]

As a matter of fact, the statistics I can quote back to him are that 344 warnings and 791 suspensions have been issued, and 811 business accounts have been closed since the new Government took office. I think that comprehensively demonstrates that there has been no such slackening off and that the DVSA is on top of this. The real answer, however, is to reduce the amount of time it takes to get the test in the first place so that people do not feel very early in their learning journey that they have to book a test long in advance of it taking place. The Government’s aim is to get that down to seven weeks by recruiting a large quantity of driving examiners, to whom I previously referred.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, does the Minister recall that there was a civil servant who drove all the way to Barnard Castle to test his eyesight for driving? Can the Minister take time out from his very busy schedule to advise Mr Dominic Cummings that he should stick to driving and improving his driving, rather than trying to undermine the elected Government of this country in association with Elon Musk?

[Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)]

I have no need to do that; my noble friend has just done it for me.

Shadow Great British Railways: Chair Appointment

Debate between Lord Foulkes of Cumnock and Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill

Tuesday 12th November 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)]

The Chancellor announced in the Autumn Budget that the tunnels from Old Oak Common to Euston will be built. It is, of course, necessary to have built the tunnels in order to develop the station. The Government are now turning their attention to how the station should be developed in a cost-effective manner and how it will be funded, and there will be more on that in due course.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, may I, as a regular rail user, say how grateful we are to the Government for sorting out the chaos of the last 30-plus years? The track, the rail infrastructure, the engines and the operators are all in separate companies, and it has been total chaos. Is it not about time that the man principally responsible, the noble Lord, Lord Young, gets up and apologises for the mess that he has provided us with over the last 30-plus years?

[Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)]

I should concentrate on my noble friend’s right description of the chaos of the last 30 years. The railway is not functioning properly; far too much of the time of everybody concerned with managing the railway is spent on blame attribution and contractual negotiation, and far too little is spent on delivering a decent service for passengers and freight and making the railway do what it should do for the economy. That is what the Government’s policy is designed to change.

HS2

Debate between Lord Foulkes of Cumnock and Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill

Tuesday 23rd July 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)]

I am afraid I cannot recall exactly what the position is, so I shall write to the noble Lord and tell him where we think we are with it.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

Does the Minister recall that the original plan was that HS2 should go all the way to Scotland?

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

It was. Has the Minister tried recently to go up the west coast main line to Glasgow? If he did, he would realise that there are capacity problems. Something needs to be done to try to restore that awful decision, one of many made by that Government who used to be opposite.

[Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)]

I am familiar with the west coast main line from my previous job. I have often travelled on it and am familiar with the limitations in how it performs and the number of trains that you can get on it. Incidentally, I was also the author of a review of the connectivity of the United Kingdom, and I made some recommendations about the connectivity of England and Scotland. This Government are very mindful of that, and it will be part of the review of the current state of HS2 as we have inherited it.