Drones

Lord Howell of Guildford Excerpts

Tuesday 28th February 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

Of course we will have a discussion about the important issue of lasers. The noble Lord is quite right to point out that that is included in the Bill that he mentioned. I am not going to prejudge what conclusions are reached in the other place—or indeed in this place—regarding what legislative vehicle will be used for the purposes of drones. It is important that we look at the full review of the consultation taking place in the middle of next month and then consider its results in the summer of this year.

[Lord Howell of Guildford (Con)]

My Lords, the Government may be cognisant of all the drone problems, but are the prison authorities cognisant of them? Are the reports that a lot of drugs are delivered into Her Majesty’s prisons by drones not correct? Surely steps should be taken to stop that before anything else.

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My noble friend is right to raise this important issue. Let me assure him that new laws have been implemented and measures taken to deal with the problem of the delivery of drugs into prisons. Equally, let me reassure my noble friend that I am talking to Ministers across both the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice. We will be convening a meeting with manufacturers, either next month or in April, to talk directly about the importance of ensuring that all safety and security aspects are covered.

Train Operating Companies

Lord Howell of Guildford Excerpts

Tuesday 6th December 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My Lords, the noble Lord asked a number of questions. First, on Sir Peter Hendy, of course the Government continue to have full confidence in Sir Peter’s work. He has concluded some important work for Network Rail and will continue to work in that respect. The noble Lord raised the issue of the purpose behind today’s announcement, which is clearly to ensure a deeper alignment, better working and a better alliance between those who operate our tracks—in this case, Network Rail—and the train operating companies themselves. We have seen this working well in Wessex between Stagecoach South West Trains and Network Rail, and indeed between Abellio ScotRail and Network Rail. This does not take away from Network Rail but merely ensures that from an operational standpoint, engineering works, for example, can be aligned. This puts passengers at the heart of ensuring a better and more efficient rail service.

[Lord Howell of Guildford (Con)]

My Lords, I declare an interest as a former Transport Secretary, of whom there are many, and an adviser to the Central Japan Railway, which is one of the most efficient in the world. Certainly, the plans the Minister has set out are a useful step forward, but is he aware that the real integration that is now needed is in the career and management structure, right the way up through the railway operation—from those who are on the station platforms and in the infrastructure to those who operate the train services? Is he aware that that is the practice and opinion of most well-run railways around the world, and should we not now consider that as well?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My noble friend speaks with great expertise and knowledge of this area, and he is right to point out the importance of seeing progression through careers across the transport network—rail is no exception. Certainly, skills will be an important part of the rail strategy that, as we have announced, will be brought forward next year. As I am sure my noble friend knows as a former skills Minister and Secretary of State for Transport, we are acutely aware that we need to ensure that a proper career and training structure is provided in all areas of transport, so that those who start their career on the bottom rung of the ladder and who have the aspiration and ambition are offered a practical route to the very top.

Airport Capacity

Lord Howell of Guildford Excerpts

Tuesday 25th October 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

I agree with much of what the noble Lord has said. He has been a strong advocate for this and, based on his own experiences, shares my sense, as Aviation Minister, of the importance of getting this done. One assurance I can give the House is that by the time the runway is built in 2030 and fully operational, I may no longer be the Aviation Minister—I will hazard that guess, but time will tell. He raises two very important points about getting everyone on board and ensuring that we build this extra capacity, which is not only of benefit to the surrounding area in terms of local employment—more than 77,000 jobs will be created from it, and businesses will benefit. The noble Lord is also right to point out the support from the business community and the unions. He mentioned the airports, many of which across the UK have not just acknowledged but welcomed the fact that the decision has been made. In answer to his question about bringing them around the table, over the last couple of weeks I have had various engagements with different people involved with the aviation industry, which included a very practical working lunch—I assure noble Lords that I had only the starter—with the Airport Operators Association, to ensure that the decision that we have taken today is of benefit to airports, the regions and the whole country.

[Lord Howell of Guildford (Con)]

The noble Lord, Lord Soley, has put it particularly well and clearly. The need has been emphasised for all parties this week to avoid further political dispute to give as much support as they can in making this difficult and obviously agonising decision a reality, and one with the minimum disruption. Would the Minister agree that extreme generosity is needed when it comes to compensation? He mentioned something about giving the full market price and 25% above it, but what is the full market price for a home already blighted? We must be careful that the real, genuine full market price is recognised and not some mingy reduction imposed by our Treasury friends that does not really compensate for the appalling upheaval that many families will have to face. Will he emphasise that point to his friends, and will he bring home to all who challenge the strategic decision that it must be part of a much larger network with much closer links to regional airports, as has been mentioned? We want rail links that are really modern, and maybe tunnelled—and maybe with magnetic levitation as well, which has been used in many railway systems already around the world. We are already out of date on that point. Of course, as has been rightly said, we need a vast reduction in engine noise. We have been promising constituents—or I did when I had some—for 30 or 40 years that that would come about. It is not there yet; there is still a horrific roar, if you live under a flight path, as I confess that I do. It is time that the whole leap forward in technology produced nearly silent aircraft for the future.

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

First, I agree on the noble Lord’s final point. As technology moves forward, it is important that manufacturers look at this issue. With the additional runway, the issue of respite for residents will improve. As for infrastructure and transport infrastructure, I totally agree with him. Just to clarify the point, when I talked about the market value, I was referring to the unblighted value—so it would be the market value as would exist in an unblighted form, not on the basis that this is near to the airport, in reflection of the challenges that certain people will face who will be subject to compulsory order. So it is the unblighted value, plus 25%.

Roads: New and Young Drivers

Lord Howell of Guildford Excerpts

Monday 18th March 2013 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, the noble Lord makes an important point. Some of the measures we are thinking of have a cost and could have an adverse impact, perhaps meaning that young drivers do not bother with a driving licence at all. Therefore, we have to be very careful about what measures we put in place. As to the noble Lord’s substantive point about the cost of insurance, we are well aware of this. At a previous encounter, I said that my right honourable friend the Secretary of State was shortly to have a meeting with the insurance industry. We intend to hold a further meeting with the motor insurance industry on 25 March, following the successful summits held last year aimed at tackling the high cost of premiums, especially for young drivers.

[Lord Howell of Guildford]

My Lords, I may be a little out of date but in my day as a Minister in Northern Ireland, which was three decades ago, Northern Ireland had the very useful practice of all drivers having a green sign for the first year after they had acquired their licence. That was 30 years ago. Twenty years ago when I was Secretary of State for Transport, we considered that idea in the department. Would it now be a little premature to reach a decision?

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, it is the sort of thing that we are considering.