Infrastructure Bill [Lords]
Debate between Baroness Laing of Elderslie and John Hayes(9 years, 10 months ago)
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Madam Deputy Speaker (Mrs Eleanor Laing)
With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:
Government new clause 17—Route strategies.
Government new clause 18—Periodic reports by the Secretary of State.
New clause 5—Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy—
‘(1) The Secretary of State may at any time—
(a) set a Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy; or
(b) vary a Strategy which has already been set.
(2) A Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy is to relate to such period as the Secretary of State considers appropriate but must be reviewed as least every five years.
(3) A Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy must specify—
(a) the objectives to be achieved during the period to which it relates; and
(b) the financial resources to be provided by the Secretary of State for the purpose of achieving those objectives.
(4) The objectives to be achieved may include—
(a) activities to be performed;
(b) results to be achieved; and
(c) standards to be met.
(5) The Secretary of State must comply with the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy and shall be responsible for updating Parliament annually on his compliance with it.
(6) If a Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy is not currently in place, the Secretary of State must—
(a) lay before Parliament a report explaining why a Strategy has not been set; and
(b) set a Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy as soon as may be reasonably practicable.
(7) Schedule (Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy: Procedure] (which contains provision about the procedure for setting or varying a Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy) has effect.”
Amendment 4, page 1, line 4, leave out clauses 1 and 2.
Amendment 5, in clause 3, page 2, line 40, leave out “a strategic highways company” and insert “the Highways Agency”.
Amendment 6, page 3, line 4, leave out “company” and insert “Highways Agency”.
Amendment 43, page 3, line 7, at end insert—
“(c) the anticipated impact of the Roads Investment Strategy upon the condition and development of the local roads network;
(d) the anticipated impact of the Roads Investment Strategy upon the provision of local transport, including increasing walking and cycling;
(e) the anticipated impact of the Roads Investment Strategy on links with other nationally and regionally significant transport and infrastructure projects, including ports and airports, and;
(f) the anticipated impact of the Roads Investment Strategy on the growth plans of city regions and sub-regional bodies.”
Amendment 7, page 3, line 16, leave out “company” and insert “Highways Agency”.
Amendment 8, page 3, line 18, leave out “a strategic highways company” and insert “the Highways Agency”.
Amendment 10, in clause 4, page 3, line 27, leave out “A strategic highways company” and insert “The Highways Agency”.
Amendment 11, page 3, line 32, leave out “A strategic highways company” and insert “The Highways Agency”.
Amendment 70, page 3, line 34, leave out “the environment, and” and insert
“air quality and other aspects of the environment, and”.
The Amendment would add an explicit obligation on the Strategic Highways Company to address air quality, as recommended by the Sixth Report from the Environmental Audit Committee, Action on Air Quality, HC 212, paragraph 61.
Amendment 12, page 3, line 36, leave out clauses 5 to 7.
Amendment 13, in clause 8, page 5, line 34, leave out “a strategic highways company” and insert “the Highways Agency”.
Amendment 14, page 5, line 38, leave out “a strategic highways company’s” and insert “the Highways Agency’s”.
Amendment 15, page 5, line 42, leave out “a strategic highways company” and insert “the Highways Agency”.
Amendment 16, in clause 9, page 6, line 22, leave out “a strategic highways company” and insert “the Highways Agency”.
Amendment 17, page 6, line 26, leave out “a strategic highways company” and insert “the Highways Agency”.
Government amendment 112.
Amendment 18, page 6, line 29, leave out “a strategic highways company” and insert “the Highways Agency”.
Amendment 19, page 6, line 35, leave out “strategic highways company” and insert “Highways Agency”.
Amendment 20, page 6, line 37, leave out “company” and insert “Highways Agency”.
Amendment 21, page 6, line 39, leave out “strategic highways company” and insert “Highways Agency”.
Government amendments 113 and 114.
Amendment 22, in clause 10, page 7, line 2, leave out “a strategic highways company” and insert “the Highways Agency”.
Amendment 23, page 7, line 8, leave out “company” and insert “Highways Agency”.
Amendment 24, page 7, line 9, leave out “company” and insert “Highways Agency”.
Amendment 25, page 7, line 10, leave out “company” and insert “Highways Agency”.
Amendment 26, in clause 11, page 7, line 16, leave out “strategic highways company” and insert “Highways Agency”.
Amendment 27, page 7, line 20, leave out “strategic highways company” and insert “Highways Agency”.
Amendment 28, page 7, line 22, leave out “strategic highways company” and insert “Highways Agency”.
Amendment 29, page 8, line 2, leave out clauses 13 and 14.
Amendment 30, in clause 15, page 9, line 32, leave out “strategic highways company” and insert “Highways Agency”.
Amendment 31, page 10, line 10, leave out clause 16.
Government amendments 94 and 101.
New schedule 1—“Schedule
Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Strategy: Procedure
1 This Schedule specifies the procedure by which a Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy is set or varied.
2 The proposals in a Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy must include details of—
(a) the objectives to be achieved, including but not limited to—
(i) increasing the share of travel that is walked and cycled;
(ii) increasing the proportion of the population that regularly walks or cycles; and
(iii) improving actual and perceived safety of walking and cycling.
(b) the financial resources to be provided by the Secretary of State for the purpose of achieving those objectives; and
(c) the period to which the proposals relate.
3 Publication of the Cycling and Walking Strategy may be in such manner as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
4 The Secretary of State may only publish or vary a Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy if the Secretary of State has consulted on the proposals with such persons as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
5 In performing functions under this Schedule, the Secretary of State must have regard to the desirability of maintaining certainty and stability in respect of Cycling and Walking Investment Strategies.”
Amendment 32, page 60, line 2, leave out schedule 1.
Amendment 33, in schedule 2, page 87, line 11, leave out “a strategic highways company” and insert “the Highways Agency”.
Amendment 34, page 87, line 19, leave out “company” and insert “Highways Agency”.
Amendment 35, page 87, line 20, leave out “company” and insert “Highways Agency”.
Amendment 36, page 87, line 22, leave out “company” and insert “Highways Agency”.
Amendment 37, page 87, line 27, leave out “strategic highways company” and insert “Highways Agency”.
Amendment 38, page 88, line 4, leave out “strategic highways company” and insert “Highways Agency”.
Amendment 39, page 88, line 7, leave out “company” and insert “Highways Agency”.
Amendment 40, page 88, line 10, leave out “company” and insert “Highways Agency”.
Amendment 41, page 88, line 22, leave out “strategic highways company” and insert “Highways Agency”.
Amendment 42, page 88, line 25, leave out schedule 3.
Amendment 127, in schedule 3, page 89, line 8, at end insert—
‘(2A) The transfer scheme may make consequential, supplementary, incidental or transitional provision and may, if the TUPE regulations do not apply in relation to the transfer, make provision which is the same or similar.”
Amendment 76, page 92, line 5, at end insert—
“(d) that person is protected by the conditions set out in the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006.”
Government amendment 115.
Amendment 77, page 92, line 5, at end insert—
‘(1A) The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 apply to the transfer of a relevant undertaking either.
(a) to a different company appointed as a highway authority under section 1 of this Act, or
(b) to any other equivalent public sector body established to undertake general duties of a strategic highways company.”
Government amendment 116.
Mr Hayes
I rise with some enthusiasm because, as the House knows, cycling has moved up a gear as a result of this Government. New clause 13 reflects the Government’s commitment to cycling and walking, and making these the natural choice for shorter journeys. The cycling fraternity has responded already. No less a personage than Chris Boardman described this proposal as representing
“a massive shift in thinking and, most importantly, commitment.”
He went on to say:
“It brings us one step closer to realising our vision for a cycling nation . . . Everyone who rides a bike should see this as the start of something really exciting.”
Government have to take difficult decisions, and not everything we do is universally popular, but when one gets such acclamation, one has to—I will not say milk it; that would be wrong—draw it to the attention of the House in a measured and humble way, which is what I intend to do in this short debate about cycling.
This is certainly an exciting move forward. Since 2010, the Government’s spending on cycling overall has more than doubled compared with the last four years of the previous Administration, with £374 million committed between 2011 and 2015. The Minister responsible for cycling—I do not count that among my encyclopaedic list of responsibilities—is the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Mr Goodwill). He has been a champion of this and should be recognised for his efforts and dedication in listening to the issues raised by cycling groups and responding to them.