Rail Infrastructure Resilience: Storms and Floods

Debate between Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill and Lord Swire

Thursday 19th March 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)]

The noble Earl asks a very pertinent question, and I will write to him. I believe that is true, but I cannot say for certain. Following the Carmont disaster, when people were killed as a result of an earthworks failure, the noble Lord, Lord Mair, wrote a very powerful report on earthworks maintenance for Network Rail, and Dame Julia Slingo did similarly on the weather. During my tenure at Network Rail, it started by buying the cheapest weather forecast it could. Dame Julia has pointed out that you can now forecast the weather in two-kilometre squares throughout the country; that is what Network Rail now does, and it helps prevention. I take what the noble Earl says very seriously and will write to him to make sure that the knowledge in the insurance industry is used.

[Lord Swire (Con)]

My Lords, the Minister has a very reassuring attitude towards travel, particularly in the south-west, but I think it will be many more birthdays before he resolves issues such as Dawlish Warren and the current closures we have in south Devon. Does he understand that users of the Tarka line, of which I am one, are not just people like me? There are a lot of students travelling from places in the north of Devon, such as Barnstaple, and all the villages and communities in between, trying to get to places such as Exeter College for sixth form on a very regular basis. Very often, the buses that are put in place do not necessarily tie up, and it is extremely difficult for them, particularly when they are facing things such as exams.

[Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)]

I absolutely recognise that. The prolonged closure after the recent flooding has meant that Network Rail’s attention has been very sharply drawn to the need for both the structures and the earthworks to be more resilient, and for the inspection process for bridges, which I referred to earlier, to be done in a more expeditious way. I entirely recognise that many communities in north Devon rely solely on that railway, and that it must perform better in the future.

Newly Qualified Young Drivers

Debate between Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill and Lord Swire

Monday 11th November 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)]

Every death on our roads is a tragedy, and our thoughts remain with the families of everyone who has lost a loved one in this way. As I have said, the Secretary of State is meeting this week with some campaigners who, tragically, are in that position. There is a form of restricting novice drivers through the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995. On acquiring their first full licence, a new driver is on probation for two years. During that time, they are subject to a more rigorous limit of penalty points, and if they breach that they will lose their full licence. I have not seen the film that the noble Lord refers to but will certainly give that some thought.

[Lord Swire (Con)]

Granted, the priority must be to deal with the backlog of young people taking their driving test, in order to increase their productivity, but is it not also time to look again at the basic driving test, whereby a young person can pass and drive away from that test for the first time on either a motorway or in the dark?

[Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)]

The Government and their agency are working extremely hard to reduce the backlog of driving test appointments, but it is also quite clear that people should be ready for the test at the time that they present themselves to take it. The department’s THINK! campaign, which is a road safety campaign, is aimed primarily at young men aged 17 to 24. It focuses on a number of priority issues, all of which would help to reduce death and serious injury both to that category and to other road users.