Aviation Safety (Amendment) Regulations 2024

Lord Trefgarne Excerpts

Wednesday 20th November 2024 Lords Chamber

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill) (Lab)]

My Lords, I beg to move the Motion standing in my name on the Order Paper.

[Lord Trefgarne (Con)]

I apologise if I did not make myself clear, but I am hoping to have a chance to talk about these regulations on another occasion. Is that possible?

[Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)]

My Lords, this lengthy and comprehensive statutory instrument was debated on Monday in Grand Committee and approved. This afternoon is the appropriate opportunity to move this Motion.

Transport Infrastructure: North of England

Lord Trefgarne Excerpts

Tuesday 12th November 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)]

When the Government were elected, they were faced with an unachievable list of infrastructure promises from the previous Government. Various schemes have not been able to be taken forward simply because there is not the money to achieve them—of which the A1 is one.

The east coast main line has had a considerable amount of investment. The struggle recently, because of the fragmentation of the railway, has been to achieve a railway timetable to take advantage of the £4 billion that has been spent on it. I hope that we have got there, but of course that is one of the reasons for rail reform: we should not be investing £4 billion in a railway only to find that we cannot construct a timetable to take advantage of the investment.

[Lord Trefgarne (Con)]

My Lords, is not the runway at Sheffield Airport rather short and suitable for only the smallest aeroplanes?

[Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)]

I am afraid I do not have information about the length of the runway. I am sure that the proposition to reopen the airport takes into account its existing configuration, and I am sure that the public bodies concerned with it are confident that the airport, whatever length of runway it has, can support the local economy with the appropriate air services.

Renewable Transport Fuel Obligations (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) Order 2024

Lord Trefgarne Excerpts

Tuesday 5th November 2024 Grand Committee

[Baroness Randerson (LD)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for his explanation. There is no doubt about the need for action in relation to aviation. UK aviation fuel use more than doubled between 1990 and 2020, despite efficiency improvements in aeroplane design. By 2050, aviation will be one of our largest emitters. The technological advances are not looking optimistic in relation to battery and hydrogen-powered aircraft. Such flights are a long way off becoming long-distance or even medium-distance in terms of practicality. Combine this with the fact that the lifespan of an aircraft is 30-plus years and this is a huge challenge for us. SAF is far from a perfect answer, but it is all we have and it is welcome to see this draft SI here.

I have obediently read this complex and lengthy document and I have some fairly basic questions for the Minister. First, the consultation took place in 2022, I think. Why has it taken so long to get from the consultation process to this SI? I am aware, when I ask that question, that it is deeply unfair, because this was the previous Government’s problem, but I notice that, at the top of the front page, it says that this draft SI replaces one produced on 20 May this year. Is it substantially different in terms of its impact, or is the difference simply that a couple of mistakes have been ironed out? The length of time it has taken is disappointing, because the previous Government announced “jet zero” with a great fanfare several years ago, and therefore the slowdown is a problem.

Secondly, have the new Government changed the plans for the operation of the new system? They might have changed the SI, but have they changed their plans to any practical extent? Thirdly, the aviation industry has been pressing us for government action to stimulate production of SAF for many months or even years. It has been telling us that, if the Government did not take action rapidly, SAF production would take off, if I can use that term, in our competitor countries, we would fall behind and we would not therefore be a leader in SAF production. I am referring here to the manufacture rather than the use of SAF.

Although this SI seems to encourage the use of SAF, it does not seem to directly provide a mechanism to encourage and support the manufacture of SAF, along the lines of the mechanism that we have been pressed by the aviation industry to adopt. Can the Minister explain whether anything in the Budget will help encourage the production of SAF? I noted that money was available for the aerospace industry and was unsure whether that would cover this sort of thing.

Finally, there is good SAF and not so good SAF, which is referred to in this Explanatory Memorandum. Can the Minister explain how industry checks, and government process checks, will ensure that the SAF manufactured and used in the UK is up to the highest environmental standards?

[Lord Trefgarne (Con)]

I apologise to your Lordships for not being in my place when we resumed following the Division.

I have a simple question for the Minister. Can he say whether all this applies to general aviation, in particular aviation involving smaller aircraft which very often run on aviation gasoline and not the fuel that forms part of this agreement? This is important because the price of fuel is a critical part of operators’ costing, they need to know where and when they can get it and that it will be available when required. In essence, the question is, does this apply to general aviation and to smaller aircraft running on gasoline, as well as to larger ones running on turbine fuel?

[Lord Moylan (Con)]

My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for arranging a briefing with officials so that I could better understand this complex proposal. The briefing was indeed helpful and I learned a great deal.

I find this a troubling statutory instrument not because I have any objection to the use of SAF by aircraft—indeed, I welcome that—but because of the chosen mechanism. We are still meant to be a free-market country and the normal means of market operation in this country is that, where there is a demand for something, a supply is forthcoming.

We are told that, despite the fact that SAF is estimated to cost between three times and seven times as much as standard kerosene-based fuel, there is a genuine and strong demand for it from airlines, not because they enjoy paying more for their fuel necessarily but because from their own reputational point of view they wish to do as much as they can to decarbonise the operation of their fleets. SAF is the principal technique available to them for doing that at the moment, as the noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, pointed out, so the demand undoubtedly exists. Why is the supply therefore not forthcoming? Why is it that they would have to go somewhere else to buy SAF—which is the implication of their position—when the demand exists here and we are home to major suppliers? Nobody seems to have explained this.

We have decided, despite the fact that we allegedly operate a market economy, that the Government are going to intervene so as to mandate the supply of this fuel. The means of mandating it is through this instrument —through the mandate—and that will not only oblige it to be produced but oblige it to be sold in certain quantities that will increase every year.

That addresses only the standard available type of SAF—the HEFA-type SAF that the Minister referred to. There are other, more exotic means of producing SAF not yet available, some of them perhaps even undreamt of. They will be subject to a separate mandate so that, to fulfil the mandate, it will be obligatory to produce some SAF by these alternative methods. That graph continues to grow over a period, as illustrated in the table on page 7 of the statutory instrument. What I would really like to know is: why can this not be done by the market?

Road Investment Strategy

Lord Trefgarne Excerpts

Wednesday 11th September 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)]

I can confirm that, following the Chancellor’s Statement and a review of the Treasury’s spending audit, which identified more than £2.9 billion-worth of unfunded transport spend this year, the scheme for the A303 at Stonehenge will no longer go ahead.

[Lord Trefgarne (Con)]

My Lords, can the noble Lord say what progress has been made with constructing the new junction for the A3 and the M25, when he expects it to be complete and what he expects it to cost?

[Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)]

I do not have the precise answer to that question, so I will be delighted to write to the noble Lord to clarify the questions he asked.

Flying Schools: Liquidation

Lord Trefgarne Excerpts

Monday 13th November 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

I am grateful to the noble Lord. The Government have already looked at this and we continue to look at this in some detail. In May this year we published an independent research report commissioned by the Department for Transport which looked into the cost of airline pilot training and the numbers that we are likely to need. It forecast a shortage in about 20 years. However, that prediction was highly uncertain, so I would very much like the airlines to work with the training schools and BALPA to come forward with proposals, which I will happily look at.

[Lord Trefgarne (Con)]

My Lords, is it not the case that many flying schools are having increasing difficulties with the environmental constraints being imposed upon their operations by local authorities, meaning that they can fly for fewer hours during the day than previously, which is beginning to cause something of a problem?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

I was not aware of the issue that my noble friend has raised. It is right that local authorities are able to impose restrictions on aerodromes in certain circumstances. However, they must do that balancing the advantages of having an aerodrome in a certain location, not only in terms of getting people learning to fly, but all the ancillary services and other businesses that are often on aerodromes and are hugely beneficial.

Airports Slot Allocation (Alleviation of Usage Requirements) (No. 2) Regulations 2023

Lord Trefgarne Excerpts

Wednesday 20th September 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

That the draft Regulations laid before the House on 18 July be approved.

Relevant document: 49th Report from Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee. Considered in Grand Committee on 19 September.

[Lord Trefgarne (Con)]

My Lords, I would like to ask a brief question on this matter. As your Lordships will be aware, there have recently been two terrible disasters in Morocco and Libya. Can my noble friend the Minister confirm that the slots required for emergency supplies for those disasters were made available at the right time at both Heathrow and Gatwick?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport (Baroness Vere of Norbiton) (Con)]

I can confirm that slots were available. In these circumstances, ad hoc slots are available during the day. The Government are not responsible for slot allocation; however, there are mechanisms in place such that those flights get slots.

National Air Traffic Services: Operational Failure

Lord Trefgarne Excerpts

Tuesday 5th September 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

I do not think that those two comparisons are quite correct. We have to deal with the situation we are in now, where there are already arrangements for NATS to be penalised financially and for future charges to the airlines to be reduced, should NATS’s performance fall below set levels. I am delighted to say that NATS’s overall performance is incredibly high and it tends to outperform other European air navigation service providers.

[Lord Trefgarne (Con)]

My Lords, was there any disruption to military flying—flying by the Royal Air Force and the other armed services—during the recent NATS problems?

Driving Licences

Lord Trefgarne Excerpts

Monday 5th June 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

I agree with my noble friend that road safety does not only require the safety of drivers. Indeed, that is why the Government adopt the safe system approach, which looks at drivers, vehicles on the road and the road itself. The Government are, of course, looking at e-scooter safety. We are analysing the evidence and will come forward with further proposals soon.

[Lord Trefgarne (Con)]

My Lords, are there any plans to restrict older people in this particular regard, or can we go on driving for ever?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

We have no current plans to restrict anybody on the basis of age. However, as my noble friend will agree, sometimes some people will feel that they are no longer able to drive, or their doctor may recommend that they should no longer drive. In that case, one is legally required to get in touch with the DVLA and have one’s licence revoked.

Airports Slot Allocation (Alleviation of Usage Requirements) (No. 3) Regulations 2022

Lord Trefgarne Excerpts

Wednesday 26th October 2022 Lords Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport (Baroness Vere of Norbiton) (Con)]

My Lords, I beg to move the Motion standing in my name on the Order Paper.

[Lord Trefgarne (Con)]

My Lords, with your Lordships’ permission, may I ask the Minister whether these restrictions mean that the need for slots for most aircraft also applies to the very smallest aircraft operating through Heathrow and Gatwick, for which this is sometimes regarded as an excessive restriction?

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Lord Trefgarne Excerpts

Monday 14th March 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

The noble Baroness is right: there are some excellent interventions. That is why we must upskill the local authorities and increase their knowledge of what is going on. The Department for Transport has funded the Energy Saving Trust. It runs a local government support programme and provides free impartial advice. There are webinars on best practice, particularly in rural areas, and we are about to publish the EV infrastructure guide, a technical guide which will cover the sorts of things which the noble Baroness talks about. It will enable local authorities to find the right solution for their area.

[Lord Trefgarne (Con)]

My Lords, how many charging points are to be found within the Palace of Westminster and available to noble Lords and noble Baronesses?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

Sadly there are not enough. I understand that there are some available in the car park for another place. As I have said previously, it is not for the Government to install charging points in the Palace of Westminster, although I encourage the authorities to do so.