Airports: Runways
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Tebbit
Viscount Younger of Leckie
It is fair to say that the expression “long-running saga” can be redefined. On a serious note, the Government made it clear that rolling out the new runway was extremely important. In December 2013, the Airport Commission’s report stated that the need was acute and that by 2030 we needed to address the capacity issue. Failing to address it could cost passengers £21 billion to £23 billion in fare increases and delays, and £30 billion to £45 billion for the wider economy. I am unable to give a timetable at the moment, but the noble Lord will be aware that there are issues such as air quality that are being analysed at present.
Lord Tebbit (Con)
My Lords, is it not clear that the Government cannot direct international airlines to which airport they will go? The alternative to Heathrow is not Gatwick, Stansted or Boris Island but Frankfurt, Schiphol and Paris.
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I am very aware that airports in Europe have been developing, but the transport network within the UK is exceptionally good, and we should always remember that. There is now a great opportunity—even more so after the result of the EU referendum—to spread ourselves more to markets abroad, and that is exactly what we are doing.
Local Authorities: Budget
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Tebbit
Viscount Younger of Leckie
The noble Baroness will know that the 2% adult social care precept will raise up to £2 billion by 2019-20, with a further £1.5 billion available to councils to work with the NHS to ensure that care is available for older people following hospital treatment, through the better care fund.
Lord Tebbit (Con)
My Lords, is my noble friend aware that those of us who have the privilege of living in East Anglia, particularly those of us who live in Bury St Edmunds, where we have an excellent council which has improved services overall and kept rates well under control, do not need an elected mayor? That will only raise costs, introduce another layer of government and lead to further escalation of these problems.
Viscount Younger of Leckie
That may be so, but I reiterate that we think it is right for the local area to decide these matters.
Drones
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Tebbit
Viscount Younger of Leckie
Indeed, I think I have outlined exactly what we are doing. It is important that we look at the facts first and then come back with a full report by September, which is not too far away. However, we are not being complacent about the safety issues and the risks concerned.
Lord Tebbit (Con)
My Lords, should we not require that any person should have a licence before he may be permitted to buy or operate a drone?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
Yes, it is something that is on people’s minds. Of course, the US and Ireland are operating such a scheme but, as I said at the beginning, the question is: can this be enforced? This will also be part of the important review that we will carry out this year.
Volkswagen: Emissions
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Tebbit
Viscount Younger of Leckie
My Lords, as your Lordships might expect me to say, this involves a complicated device. One of the reasons for the delay, according to Volkswagen, is that it is trying to get to the bottom of the device that it fitted and is now looking to fix. It wants to make sure that the solution does not impact on vehicle performance, fuel consumption or driveability.
Lord Tebbit (Con)
My Lords, is it possible that the Americans have been able to take action because they are not subject to European Community law?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
My Lords, as I say, we are looking to get to the bottom of the decision in the US.
Northern Ireland: Defamation Law
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Tebbit
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I am very aware that the noble Lord, Lord McNally, who may or may not be in his place, was instrumental in pressing the benefits of the Defamation Act on the Northern Ireland Executive. The noble Lord, Lord Alderdice, will be more than aware of the Sewel convention and to that extent, Parliament remains sovereign. However, the UK Government will not normally pass primary legislation relating to areas in which a devolved legislature has legislative competence except with the agreement of that devolved legislature in the form of an LCM.
Lord Tebbit (Con)
Is it not strange that we are pressed in this Parliament to grant devolution to other parts of the kingdom, and when those other parts of the kingdom take a view about their law which is different to that held by members of this Parliament, we become all indignant about it? Surely that is what devolution is about. People may take odd decisions. So what? That is the consequence of devolution.
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I agree with my noble friend. He is correct that it is a consequence of devolution. However, there is a little more to it than that in that the civil law on defamation is a devolved matter for Northern Ireland. It remains the case that it is a matter for the Executive and we will see what happens with the Andrew Scott review.
Economy: Business Investment
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Tebbit
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I am not sure that I agree with the noble Lord on that. What matters is the decisive action that the Government are taking to protect the economy in this period of global uncertainty. Our economic policy objective overall is to achieve strong, sustainable and balanced growth that is more evenly shared across the country and between industries, and that has a focus on property, too. We want to create the most competitive tax system in the G20, make the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a business, and create a more educated workforce that is the most flexible in Europe.
Lord Tebbit (Con)
Can my noble friend perhaps have a chat with the noble Lord, Lord Kinnock, to see whether he can help us by pleading with his masters in Brussels to allow us to get on with investing in a nuclear energy programme? That would be really helpful. I see that the noble Lord, Lord Kinnock, shakes his head—he cannot do it.
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I am always happy to have a chat with the noble Lord, Lord Kinnock, and perhaps that will happen.
Trade: Import Substitution
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Tebbit
Viscount Younger of Leckie
The decisions that we are taking, particularly in the light of today’s Budget, will lead to a better climate and to more jobs being created and greater security in that sector.
Lord Tebbit (Con)
My Lords, is it not true that the European Union’s policies on increasing the cost of energy and, of course, widening fuel poverty are also driving chemical engineering firms out of Europe and out of Britain and will cause a grave loss of jobs? Can we not just tell them that we do not wish those policies to apply here?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
My Lords, I have already given my views on Europe. In terms of energy, as the House will be aware, we are continuing to develop some energy-friendly policies, particularly focusing on the automotive sector.
Living Wage
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Tebbit
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I certainly share that wish and the mayor has made his views clear. I said earlier that I also applaud what companies are doing, provided that they can afford it. But to help households manage the costs of their bills—I have said already that I recognise that there is a squeeze on them—this Government have already frozen council tax and cancelled the rise in the fuel duty escalator. We are encouraging competition and that consumers switch to get the best deals. Moreover, advice is available from citizens advice bureaux and the Money Advice Service.
Lord Tebbit (Con)
My Lords, does my noble friend accept that the first priority of a business is to stay profitable and in business if it is to employ anyone at all? It would be a bit odd if the wages paid to a worker were based not on his value to the business, but on his various commitments and obligations. Surely that cannot be right.
Viscount Younger of Leckie
It is certainly true that businesses, particularly small and medium-sized ones, need to decide whether they should increase pay from the national minimum wage to the living wage, but it is very much up to them. Certainly there has been quite a lot of negative media coverage about the Labour Party’s policy, in that small and medium-sized businesses felt that they would not be able to take more people on if they decided to increase pay from the minimum wage to the living wage.
Supermarkets: Pricing
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Tebbit
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I have no intention of apologising but I have recognised that there is a bite on household expenditure. I point out to the noble Baroness that the biggest drivers of UK food price inflation are global commodity prices, exchange rates and oil prices. As regards energy pricing, the Energy Bill, which is being led by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, will ensure that all households get the best deal for their gas and electricity by giving legislative backing to Ofgem’s retail market review.
Lord Tebbit (Con)
My Lords, in view of the crisis in the cost of government, would my noble friend consider getting together a group of senior retailers who would be asked to look at manifestos before an election, price up the promises and make sure that we know the unit price of government as proposed between the various parties?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
My noble friend makes an interesting point and it is firmly noted.
Television: Listed Sporting Events
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Tebbit
Viscount Younger of Leckie
My noble friend makes a valid point, but I should say that the sale of sports rights is a commercial matter between the broadcasters and the rights owners, and the Government do not intervene in this process.
Lord Tebbit
Does my noble friend not agree that the intellectual property, if one might call it that, of a test match, hockey match or any other match belongs to those who have organised it and are playing that game, and it should not be the business of the Government to seek some means of lowering the income to those people by pushing and shoving them on to a free-to-air channel? After all, we do not do that with films, do we? We do not say that the film maker must give his film free to the local cinemas. Why should those who play football or cricket be pushed around in that manner?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I do not think that the noble Lord is right about people being pushed around. However, this is not particularly an issue for government but more an issue between sporting rights-holders and the broadcasters themselves.