Air Traffic Management and Unmanned Aircraft Bill [HL]

Lord Tebbit Excerpts

Committee stage & Committee: 2nd sitting (Hansard): House of Lords & Committee: 2nd sitting (Hansard)
Wednesday 12th February 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords, the noble Baroness’s words were tempting in some ways because ever since drones first appeared, we have been way behind the game in dealing with their potential dangers. They should never have been made available for the general public to buy and should have required a licence from the very beginning. All those things should have been done early on. So there is a temptation to support the noble Baroness in what she said, but when you think about it a little more, you realise that if we legislated in the way she asks for we would almost certainly be behind the game again. It is better that we leave things as they are drafted in the Bill so that we can take action much more easily in those circumstances when we see what is happening.

We cannot go back and undo those mistakes made at the very beginning because most people thought that they were toys. I remember that I in particular warned against the dangers of them being used, for example, as weapons launched at this building from a boat going up or down the river outside this place on to the Terraces, where people sit outside. That danger is still there. We need, all the time, to make sure that our powers are as flexible as possible—in the Bill now, I believe that they are—to deal with those threats as they arise.

Transport: Buses

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Thursday 24th October 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

The noble Lord is right that that is one proposal on the table. It is not set in stone that it will indeed be allowed to happen, but it is important that we make sure that people feel able to take up electric vehicles. They are very important to our future carbon strategy, and of course we are looking at the impact on buses.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

Is my noble friend aware of the problems that are sometimes faced by rather old-fashioned people seeking to take a journey by bus who want to proffer their fare in money—cash?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

I thank my noble friend for his question. I am aware that that may be an issue for an increasingly small number of people.

Egypt: Suspension of Flights

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Monday 22nd July 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

I am reluctant to go into great detail about security matters but I can assure the noble Lord that the Government remain in close contact with all UK airlines about security matters that could affect their operations. We are also in contact with our partners around the world, as appropriate.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords, is it not reasonable that the airline concerned, which has the first responsibility for the passengers it carries and the crews it employs, should be the organisation that we trust to take a sensible precautionary decision? I am sure that the noble Lords and Baronesses asking these questions from the other side of the House would have an awful lot to say if we were to lose an aircraft or any crew members or passengers because of a terrorism problem on that route.

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

I thank my noble friend for his observation; I know that he speaks with great experience. It is entirely reasonable for individual airlines to make appropriate operational decisions. In the case of British Airways, it has taken the decision that it has as a precautionary measure.

Disabled Access: Standards

Lord Tebbit Excerpts

Wednesday 28th February 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sugg]

I am afraid that I have seen no direct evidence of that. We are consulting on blue badge eligibility, including looking at whether they can be used for people with hidden disabilities. That consultation ends next month. I am sure that it will also look at the misuse of those badges and what we can do to address that.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords, when my noble friend is looking at these matters, will she also look into the problems faced by people with assistance dogs who are frequently refused access to premises? That applies particularly to those with hearing dogs, for example, and is a particular problem where the premises are owned or controlled by people who have a cultural dislike of dogs.

[Baroness Sugg]

My Lords, we are working closely with all parts of the travel sector to ensure that there is accessibility for assistance dogs across trains and taxis. But I will certainly look into the accessibility of buildings.

Roads: Congestion

Lord Tebbit Excerpts

Tuesday 5th September 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan]

As I have said, we are spending record sums on local authority networks, including many of the pinch-points the noble Lord has identified. Between 2015 and 2021 we will be spending £1.548 billion on small-scale transport schemes, in addition to all the money I have already outlined that we are spending on major schemes. Of course, I fully accept that there will always be further demands on resources and there are always individual schemes that people can bring forward. It is a competitive bidding process, and we are prepared to receive submissions and bids from local authorities against the latest bidding round and in future bidding rounds. I think that we have a record to be proud of.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords, may I offer my noble friend my support, at least, for the proposal to charge utilities and other companies for the rent of the roads while they are digging them up and impairing the traffic flow?

[Lord Callanan]

I thank my noble friend. We have trialled the lane rental scheme that we announced last week in London and Kent, where it has been extremely successful. The scheme has forced utilities to work together and at weekends and in the evenings in an attempt to reduce congestion and the inevitable annoyance caused to motorists. We are consulting on extending the scheme nationwide and if that consultation is positive, we will push ahead with extending it to the rest of the country.

Southern Rail: Gibb Report

Lord Tebbit Excerpts

Tuesday 27th June 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan]

Chris Gibb’s report sets out several reasons why Southern Rail faced problems last year, including disruption from infrastructure works, the process of introducing new trains and insufficient numbers of drivers at the start of the franchise. The Secretary of State has now ordered the operator to reduce reliance on overtime, which means that it has started to increase the number of drivers, although that has an 18-month lead time. We decided to proceed with 34 of Chris Gibb’s 38 recommendations, but the transfer of additional lines to TfL was not one that we proceeded with.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords, will my noble friend refrain from giving TfL any more responsibilities until it has cleared up the mess of the roadworks around the Palace of Westminster, which are being conducted in an inconceivably incompetent manner? Will he also consider whether it is really sensible to have the ownership and management of the track and of the trains in separate hands? It did not work in that way in the great days of the LNER, the GWR and the Southern Railway before the Second World War. It would be better to put those aspects back together again; then, we might have sensible management.

[Lord Callanan]

I agree with the first part of my noble friend’s remarks but disagree with the second part.

Railways: Fares

Lord Tebbit Excerpts

Tuesday 31st January 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords, would it not be rather curious if we adopted the suggestion from the other side of the House? It would mean that we would be raising fares where the demand was lowest, and raising the fares most where the demand was lowest.

[Noble Lords]

Highest.

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

I think that I follow the thread of my noble friend’s remarks. I agree with him about the importance of giving certainty to those who are affected. We are adhering to the position that the Government have taken, which was a manifesto pledge.

Aviation: International Trade

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Tuesday 1st November 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

Overall, if we look back over the last 10 years, Manchester has made some incredible progress in terms of its expansion and opening up new air connectivity. The noble Lord is right. I talked about Singapore, and in June there were new routes to China. The opportunities are immense for airports not just in the south-east but across the country.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords, will my noble friend take a moment to remind noble Lords on both sides of the House that, before the United Kingdom became part of the European Economic Community, as it was then, we had a fine air transport industry and a safe airline industry, and licensed our own pilots? We did all those things on our own. Is it conceivable that we might be able to do that again one day?

Equality Act 2010: Wheelchair Users

Lord Tebbit Excerpts

Tuesday 17th March 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Kramer]

My Lords, we have commenced the relevant sections 168 to 171 of the Equality Act, which cover assistance guide dogs.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords, the noble Lord is absolutely right—there is a great deal of difficulty for those who use assistance dogs. These difficulties arise in taxis, attempting to get into taxis and people being ignored because they have got a dog, in hotels, restaurants and other places. Does my noble friend agree that something needs to be done—I would be grateful if my noble friend would do it—to enforce the law to ensure that people with assistance dogs are not discriminated against?

[Baroness Kramer]

My Lords, I cannot give the general national numbers but Transport for London has brought something like 28 prosecutions in relation to guide dogs and taxis and has succeeded in at least 20 of those cases. Action is being taken but, as I say, broader issues need to be captured.

Cyclists: Safety

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Wednesday 3rd July 2013 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, we are generally supportive of the Times campaign; I have the list of all its suggestions here and we are measuring our performance against them. Not every single one can be adopted, but we are trying as hard as we can to reduce the casualties.

[Lord Tebbit]

My Lords, how many cyclists actually pay the fixed-penalty tickets which are issued to them for offences such as riding on the pavement to the danger of pedestrians? My noble friend may know that they habitually give false names and addresses; there is no way for the police officer issuing the penalty notice to know that. What are we going to do? Are we going to compel cyclists to have some form of identification so that, if issued with a penalty ticket, they are required to pay it instead of just scoffing at the law?

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, it is up to the police to decide how they enforce road traffic law, and they have the necessary tools to do so. I gently say to my noble friend that the police look at where they can deploy their resources to reduce casualties. Although it is extremely annoying for noble Lords to see cyclists riding on the pavement, and although it does cause accidents, it does not cause fatal accidents.