Commercial Air Routes: United Kingdom and East Africa

Debate between Lord Tomlinson and Baroness Sugg

Wednesday 13th February 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sugg]

My Lords, all of our decisions are based on our priorities of safety and security. We regularly look at our current system and will update it regularly.

[Lord Tomlinson (Lab)]

My Lords, can the Minister suggest to her right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Transport that he might suggest creating mythical new slots for mythical airlines without planes?

[Baroness Sugg]

My Lords, I was considering how noble Lords might be able to ask a question like that when we were talking about east African slots, but I had not considered that angle. We are interested in delivering real slots for real flights to new countries.

Brexit: Border Crossings

Debate between Lord Tomlinson and Baroness Sugg

Wednesday 22nd November 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sugg]

My Lords, we are fully committed to finding a permanent solution to Operation Stack. Ahead of exiting the EU, we have commissioned Highways England to deliver an interim solution that will store HGVs on the M20 and allow two lanes of traffic in both directions. We are also extending the arrangement with Manston airfield so that, if capacity is exceeded, HGVs can divert to Manston. We are confident that that will be in place in March 2019. That will mean that the M20 will remain open to traffic in both directions and, if Operation Stack is required, the disruption to local traffic will be much lower. Our focus is on engineering a frictionless border.

[Lord Tomlinson (Lab)]

The Minister has said with great confidence but little specific detail that the Government are doing all that they can to ensure a smooth Brexit. Can she perhaps tell us what the most important of those steps is to ensure a smooth Brexit and, at the same time, perhaps comment on the remarks from the Irish Foreign Minister, who said that the Irish would be prepared to use their veto on negotiations were there not to be a seamless border between the Republic and the United Kingdom?

[Baroness Sugg]

My Lords, one of our objectives is, of course, to provide as seamless a border as possible.

[Lord Tomlinson]

How?

[Baroness Sugg]

One thing that the Government have done is to set up the Border Planning Group. Of course, multiple departments and agencies are involved in the border and I am sure that noble Lords will appreciate the complexities of that. The planning group has been set up to understand the interactions, interdependencies and cumulative effects at the border. The group works closely with departments across government to ensure that we have as frictionless a border as possible.