Seafarers’ Wages Bill [HL]

Lord Mann Excerpts

Wednesday 20th July 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Mann (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I think that when they heard of the P&O Ferries case, the British public’s first thought was one of contempt towards an employer who would deal with employees, our fellow citizens and our country in such a contemptuous way.

I start by paying tribute to a most important group within our country: the railway signallers of the west coast of Scotland. They are clearly capable of bringing up and nurturing the most talented of children who end up as the most distinguished Members of this House. Another such railway signaller from the west of Scotland is relevant to this particular Bill. When the national minimum wage came in, a former railway signaller, Mr Jimmy Knapp, was the leader of the seafarers’ union, it having merged into the railway workers’ union and his predecessor from the National Union of Seamen, Sam McCluskie, sadly having had a rather early and unfortunate death.

I recall the discussions. Mr Knapp was the most robust of west-coast Scots; he was clear, lucid and determined. There was never any indication or feeling that the agreements in place with the employers covering the ferries—which he specifically raised—would end up finding a way of outwitting that legislation. That was not the intent of Parliament at the time. If it had been the intent, Mr Knapp would have been very forthright in advising on how Parliament could have improved that legislation.

Times have changed, however, and globalisation has taken hold. Although the specifics of this Bill relate to maritime law, not to EU law, we have had the backdrop of the Laval and Viking cases in 2007 in the European Court of Justice, which significantly opened up the options and possibilities of shifting workers from one part of the world to another part of the world, and into this country.

There is no question whatever, from my experience, that that shift was a key motivating factor in the 2016 referendum for many working-class people. They saw that this imposition of rules and cheaper wages from abroad was not in the British national interest. So, I congratulate the Government on bringing forward this proposal—it is in the British national interest. I hope they will go further and look now at the Laval and Viking cases, because there will be future such episodes and it is fundamentally wrong that British workers’ pay and conditions should be undermined by people bringing in a cheaper workforce from abroad. That is not what anyone voted for in that referendum and it is not what people would vote for as an offer at any future general election—I put that to all parties in the House.

Secondly, what cognisance has been taken of the Fleet Maritime Services (Bermuda) judgment of 2015 on peripatetic seafarers and pensions? That judgment, which was a positive judgment in terms of pension rights, seems to totally complement what the Government are doing here. If the Government were to veer away from it, it may actually create some kind of precedent that could be used to challenge any demurral from seeing through this change, which, again, I commend the Government for bringing forward.

Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Disabled Persons) Bill

Lord Mann Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 1st April 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Mann (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I draw attention to my declaration of interests in the register and specifically the fact that I chair the Leeds United Supporters Club, a member organisation of 11,000 people.

In welcoming this Bill, which I wholeheartedly support, I draw attention to what Minister Wendy Morton said in the House of Commons about how the Government see it as an important step in expanding protections to all, regardless of their disability or impairment, and regardless of the type of taxi or private hire vehicle in which they travel.

Every weekend, a significant number of people who have a disability or impairment of some kind travel to sports venues—in this country, to football venues in particular, and in very large numbers. That is every weekend, and sometimes weekdays as well. Those who are disabled or have other impairments do not necessarily wish to have to travel in their own vehicles and then park at the small number of pre-allocated spaces. The vast majority of my members—a significant minority of whom have disabilities and other impairments —wish to enjoy the full ambience that all football supporters do and to travel point to point by coaches that we organise, which are excellent and fully inclusive, picking people up on the way in many cases and, where possible, depositing people at the sports stadium they want to attend.

However, not all stadiums are accessible, and in London, this is a particular problem. This January, I negotiated with West Ham United—at the Olympic stadium—a shifting of where the coaches would park. It resulted in seven coaches and one minibus being able to park by the disability entrance, with around 25 people who would be covered by this being able to be dropped off there, rather than what happened previously, where they would have to attempt to locate a hire vehicle for a half-mile journey or attempt to walk.

That was a significant improvement, but the Olympic stadium was well designed and the land around it is significant. Take other football and sports stadiums—a good example would be the Chelsea stadium. There is no such space around it, and the people we organise transport for do not have that facility. Yesterday, I made a call to all the potential new owners of Chelsea Football Club to get a guarantee that they would ensure to continue the excellent work of the last few years on anti-Semitism and give a public commitment. I would add to that a commitment to ensure that those who have a disability or impairment are facilitated to be able to get to the stadium. Perhaps the government Minister who will have to sign off the sale of Chelsea Football Club might build those two things into the requirements.

This is a message to civic society. The powers in the Bill will, without question, strengthen mine and others’ hands in negotiating. Although this is kind of a one-off, those who enjoy such pastimes will go to football matches 20 to 30 times every season, and the number of complaints I get about the inability to get to stadiums with ease and comfort is, frankly, something of a disgrace in this day and age.

I welcome this. I hope that football, other parts of society and other sports might listen, particularly regarding the problem of big events and people attempting to get to them. If one has ever been to Chelsea, although it is certainly not the only example, one sees there how drop-off at an immediate venue can be very difficult. This will strengthen it. We have a little bit of leverage here with Chelsea Football Club, so I hope that the relevant Minister can ensure this. It is only a minor point but an important one that could be built in, as could the point about anti-Semitism.

Railways: East Coast Main Line

Lord Mann Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd November 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

Of course the Government are working very closely with the train operating companies. There is, as the noble Baroness probably knows, the rail revenue recovery group, which is working across Network Rail, the train operating companies and various consultancies to ensure that we are able to maximise revenue in a very depleted revenue environment and provide the services required. Of course we keep services under review, look at passenger demand and make changes accordingly.

[Lord Mann (Non-Afl)]

There is no polarisation where I live about the suggestion that most of the services from London to Retford and vice versa should be removed. How can businesses such as the internationally renowned artisan food centre on the Welbeck estate survive if no one can get there by train?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

The noble Lord has highlighted exactly what has happened. There is no polarisation within any particular place, but the tension between different places and between the north/south and east/west routes is very vivid. However, I take his point that we need to make sure that the right services are in place to support businesses. That is what we are working through at the moment and we will of course consider what he has said.

HGV Drivers

Lord Mann Excerpts

Tuesday 26th October 2021 Lords Chamber

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton? Not present? I call the noble Lord, Lord Mann.

[Lord Mann (Non-Afl)]

If I were a foreign lorry driver, I would go home for Christmas knowing that on 1 January I would get another big cash bonus to retake up a lorry driving job. Considering that, can the Government guarantee that we will all have our turkeys available on Christmas Day this year?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

As I think I have tried to point out, the Government are extremely active in this area: 25 measures and counting in terms of making sure that we not only address the short-term issues but consider the medium and long-term solutions to this current shortage.

Covid-19: Transport Industry

Lord Mann Excerpts

Tuesday 6th October 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

The Government do not want the recovery to be mostly car-based. We are keen to encourage passengers back on to buses and trains, and we are clear that people can use public transport and should do so safely. The noble Baroness mentioned electric vehicles. Of course, the Government have a huge commitment to expanding the number of charge points and supporting consumers when they buy their electric vehicles.

[Lord Mann (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, if we are to become the Saudi Arabia of wind power by 2030, why are we not going to become the world leader in electric cars, looking to the future rather than the past when the Government spend their money?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

I reassure the noble Lord that we are already a world leader in the manufacture and design of electric cars and their rollout across the country. The other important element to bear in mind is the Government’s commitment to connected and autonomous vehicles, which, of course, go hand in hand with the development of electric cars.

Air Traffic Management (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020

Lord Mann Excerpts

Wednesday 17th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Mann (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, are there any implications in these regulations for how terrorist attacks—either on the ground, and necessitating assistance from a military power abroad such as France, or in the air—are dealt with? If the Government bring forward changes in future, in relation both to this matter and others, will they be brought to the Floor of Parliament before being enacted?

What is the relation to environmental standards, particularly noise and airport operating hours? Will any changes automatically be brought in front of Parliament before they are made, or are the Government retaining powers to do that without the automatic consultation of Parliament?

The use of drones appears to be the most likely differentiation in policy between us and the European Union over the next few years. Policy on how drones should be used and the interrelationship between drones and civil aviation is less clearly defined. Can the Minister guarantee that any changes that impact on the use of drones will be brought in front of Parliament? Will we be informed whether our standards are higher or lower than those developed in the European Union?

Motor Vehicles (Tests) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020

Lord Mann Excerpts

Wednesday 13th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Mann (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I recognise and support the Government’s rationale in bringing forward this change. The last thing that we want is to unnecessarily criminalise any driver or inadvertently leave people doubly locked in at home because they cannot use their vehicle, for example, to get to a doctor’s surgery or to pick up a prescription. I echo the remarks of the noble Lord, Lord Blencathra, that, without this change, some people would be discriminated against.

Therefore, I support the change, but I think that the Government should be looking at things beyond it. They have, rightly, encouraged and allowed bicycle repair shops to open. Although I am fully in favour of the maximum number of people shifting to using bicycles, in some parts of the country that would be rather a full-time occupation for people as they tried to get to work and to get around for their business. I would like the Government to give out a stronger message that garages can be open for business and that, where possible, they should be.

For some of us, this is the perfect time to arrange for an MoT to be done. I would be quite happy for the six-month period to be brought forward and to allow MoTs to be carried out earlier, because garages can employ caution and use safety measures. Using myself as an example, I could drive my car to a garage for an MoT and would be happy to leave it there for a week. I could walk home, then walk back to pick it up. Not only would that allow social distancing and no human contact, but it would allow the car to remain in isolation for, say, three or four days before it was touched by the garage.

The nation’s productivity could be damaged if we built up a bottleneck in the future, meaning that people had to disrupt their working lives to get an MoT carried out. Therefore, in addition to this measure, I urge the Government to provide encouragement to bicycle repair businesses, as they have done, to encourage garages to open and, where possible, to encourage people to use them and get their MoTs done.

Draft Community Infrastructure Levy (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2019

Lord Mann Excerpts

Wednesday 15th May 2019 General Committees

[John Mann (Bassetlaw) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve with your good self in the Chair, Mr Hanson.

I have six questions. First, the Minister eulogised the benefits of the project to the country. Perhaps he could give more detail about its benefits to my constituency or, indeed, to Wales, Scotland, the north of England and the midlands. I contend that there are none. It benefits London.

Secondly, the explanatory memorandum accompanying the draft regulations states that there will be £42 billion-worth of growth as a consequence of the project. I shall not ask the Minister to tot up all the grandiose claims made about how much would be created by every major capital infrastructure project over the course of the present and, indeed, the several preceding Governments, but we would certainly be the richest country in the world by far if we got even 10% of those claims. Can he quantify, therefore, how the £42 billion is calculated and how much double counting there is in that?

Thirdly, how much did the Government pay KPMG to come up with the fantastic solution of using community infrastructure levy money to pay for the extra borrowing required? Given that advice was given in Parliament, including several times by my good self, that the project would overrun and be overpriced—over the past 10 years several of us have raised how badly this project has been run, like most major projects in overfunded London—that could have been calculated in.

Fourthly, how much of the extra £2.1 billion is it anticipated will be raised via the community infrastructure levy? Albeit that will be borrowing, how much will come from the CIL?

Fifthly, if the draft regulations are passed, will the CIL also be usable for the contingency loan—the £750 million of additional money that the Minister identified on top of the additional money? Has any cost-benefit analysis been done of what the loss will be, particularly to the poorer parts of London, if CIL money is not available should there have to be a further extension to cover the contingency loan?

Finally, I strongly support the principle behind the draft regulations that the CIL should be allowed to be used to offset borrowing costs for major infrastructure, but—this is a rather substantive point—given the way in which the CIL has been contrived, a load of developments are built and the infrastructure needs are identified and added afterwards. In planning terms, the sensible approach to a major development would be to build in the critical infrastructure needs in advance, not afterwards. That would be cheaper, it would be better for the community and there would be less disruption.

Will councils such as Bassetlaw District Council have the same opportunity to use their CIL revenue to offset any borrowing they choose to put into major infrastructure, anticipating that the growth from housing and so on will generate further CIL revenue? In other words, can other councils use the first bit of their CIL revenue to offset the borrowing costs associated with pre-empting infrastructure needs? Can they use the CIL as the basis for funding that borrowing?

[Andrew Jones]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Sutton and Cheam and the hon. Member for Bassetlaw for their points. Let me reiterate a few things. First, we need to separate out exactly what this debate is about: it is about powers, not about the project.

I say to my hon. Friend that when the Mayor and TfL approached the Department, we were very keen to help to get this project over the line. That is the key point. This is a great project, which will benefit Londoners, and I am really looking forward to seeing it open. I had the opportunity to go down one of the tunnels and see the work in progress, and I was very impressed by what I saw. The project will change the travel expectations of Londoners, because the stations and lines are huge.

Some of the questions asked by the hon. Member for Bassetlaw were, frankly, not about this draft statutory instrument; they were about travel and planning more broadly, but let me say a few things. The cost-benefit analysis that is performed when projects go through their development stages looks at how transport and infrastructure as a whole will unlock economic activity. That is how the broader benefits are calculated in the benefit cost ratio calculations during the course of a project’s development.

This project will benefit the constituents the hon. Gentleman serves in a couple of ways. First, there were opportunities in the supply chain. He represents a constituency in Derbyshire—

[John Mann]

Nottinghamshire.

[Andrew Jones]

I beg the hon. Gentleman’s pardon. Nottinghamshire has at its heart a hub of engineering and rail expertise in the UK. Some of his constituents will have worked on projects to deliver Crossrail.

The proposal to use the mechanism to repay the loans did not come from KPMG but from the discussions between the Department, the GLA and TfL. On the question whether the contingency loan could be used to repay it, the answer is yes: this is about using the money specifically to repay on Crossrail 1 in full. It is timed to come to a conclusion—there is a sunset clause—after the last possible repayment date for the loan.

On the question whether the measures can be used by other councils, the answer is no. They apply to a mayoral CIL and there are no other mayoral CILs in the country. The draft statutory instrument does not extend the powers anywhere else, so they do not apply to the hon. Gentleman’s council. It is specific to the Mayor of London, for a specific project and specific time, and after that the powers will finish.

[John Mann]

Before we vote, could the Minister tell us whether the Government have plans to bring forward comparable regulations that will allow everyone else’s councils to act pre-emptively and offset the CIL against borrowing for infrastructure needs and major developments? That is the one thing in these proposed regulations that attracts me to them. The Minister has logic. If there are no plans, will he consider spreading a sensible approach to financing so that everyone in the country can benefit if their council wishes?

[Andrew Jones]

That is a series of local government powers, but I am not a Local Government Minister. I am working with Local Government ministerial colleagues and will relay the hon. Gentleman’s point to them. I have no idea where they are planning to take this. I know there is a piece of work looking at usage under a future community infrastructure levy. I agree with the hon. Gentleman’s basic point that it is appropriate to construct infrastructure alongside and in advance of development, either residential or commercial. That is one of the underlying principles of the national productivity investment fund.

Draft Railway (Licensing of Railway Undertakings) (Amendment Etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 Draft Train Driving Licences and Certificates (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019

Lord Mann Excerpts

Tuesday 19th March 2019 General Committees

[Andrew Jones]

Our country has had several decades of that, and it led to significant decline. That is not an area on which we are seeking agreement today.

[John Mann (Bassetlaw) (Lab)]

Can the Minister confirm that once we have left the European Union, renationalisation of the railways is a policy option that will be easy to deliver, unlike under EU public procurement rules? Will he confirm that if parliamentarians should choose to renationalise the railways—I would certainly vote in favour—that can be done once we have left the European Union?

[The Chair]

I call on the Minister to answer that briefly, because it is outwith the scope of these orders.

East Coast Main Line

Lord Mann Excerpts

Wednesday 16th May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

I know my hon. Friend is a great believer in open access, and I think that this line proves that it can make a real difference. I give him an assurance that we will do all we can to continue to encourage open access to maximise the capacity of the railway network.

[John Mann (Bassetlaw) (Lab)]

The voters along the east coast main line in England were the strongest voters in the country for Brexit, and when they voted to leave the European Union, they, including my constituents, did not vote to give away the benefits that will come from it. They saw one of the big benefits of that vote as the ability to nationalise the rail industry. Why is this Secretary of State snubbing those Brexit voters and kicking them in the teeth?

[Chris Grayling]

I know we have travellers on this line who believe they are getting a better service than they have before, and I believe that most of them would agree with me that reuniting track and train is the best way of delivering performance. This is not actually about ownership. If a railway has operational challenges or is operating at capacity, it does not matter who owns or controls it, as the problem is still going to remain. If it were taken back into the public sector and then starved of capital, as would inevitably happen, we would end up with a railway that did less well for the future.