Oral Answers to Questions

Graeme Morrice Excerpts

Thursday 23rd February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. We do not use the word “disingenuous” in the Chamber, and I am sure that the Minister of State is happy to withdraw it. We are extremely grateful for her answer.

[Graeme Morrice (Livingston) (Lab)]

3. Whether she plans to consult on draft legislative proposals on use and regulation of armed guards on ships.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mike Penning)]

The Government are not currently putting forward any legislative proposals for the use and regulation of armed guards. The possession of firearms is already regulated by the Home Office under the Firearms Act 1968. We have issued UK-flagged shipping guidance, and we intend to bring forward further work in the near future.

[Graeme Morrice]

I thank the Minister for his answer and welcome the announcement that armed guards can now be used in the protection of UK ships in areas affected by piracy. He will be aware, however, that the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee has described the Government’s interim guidance as “thin on detail”, while ship owners have called for regulation to clarify the use of armed guards. When do the Government intend to bring forward clearer guidance or regulation on this issue?

[Mike Penning]

The protection of the UK fishing fleet is a very important issue, especially given the piracy situation off Somalia. This is not a new development; armed guards were on British flagged ships long before we came into power. The issue was ignored, wrongly, by the previous Administration. We therefore made a conscious decision on whether we ignored it, wrongly, under UK law, or did something about it. Guidance was introduced, although I agree with the Select Committee that it needs to be firmed up. At the moment, we do not need legislation, but if we do, we will bring it forward.

Oral Answers to Questions

Graeme Morrice Excerpts

Thursday 12th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Villiers]

It will be a very important part of the planning process for the construction of HS2 that every effort is made to minimise the disruption on existing rail networks. Indeed, that is one of the reasons why building a new high-speed rail network is a better option than seeking to eke more capacity out of the existing west coast main line, given the decade of disruption that passengers suffered on that. There will be an impact on Euston, but a huge amount of effort is going to be put into ensuring that that is minimised.

[Graeme Morrice (Livingston) (Lab)]

6. What discussions she has had on the route for High Speed 2 and its possible extension to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Justine Greening)]

The former Secretary of State held discussions with Scottish Ministers regarding a potential extension of High Speed 2 to Scotland last year. As I said, the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Hemel Hempstead (Mike Penning), was up there yesterday and we expect to have further discussions with the Scottish Government to identify and evaluate options for developing high-speed rail further in the future.

[Graeme Morrice]

I hope that the Under-Secretary, who was in Scotland yesterday discussing rail issues, took the train to Scotland. The Scottish Council for Development and Industry’s recent survey of leading Scottish businesses demonstrated overwhelming support for extending high-speed rail to Scotland because of the significant economic benefits that it will bring. Will the Secretary of State now give a clear commitment that Scotland will be included in the development of the project from the earliest stage possible?

[Justine Greening]

Yes.

--- Later in debate ---

[Justine Greening]

As my hon. Friend may be aware, high-speed rail will enable capacity on the west coast main line to double, and Network Rail is now able to review the ability to use that released capacity to provide better services for constituencies across the country, hopefully including his own.

[Graeme Morrice (Livingston) (Lab)]

T3. The Secretary of State will be aware that many of the rail enhancement projects in Scotland, including the Edinburgh Glasgow improvement programme and Borders Rail, are being funded by borrowing against the value of Network Rail’s regulatory asset base, which is of course a Great Britain-wide asset. Does she agree that those projects and many in the future would not happen in a separate Scotland, given that there would be no GB assets to borrow against?

[Justine Greening]

That is one of many questions of this nature that a push towards an independent Scotland would raise. The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to raise his concerns about the destabilising impact that independence would have, where none of the benefits hoped for by those who want independence would be realised, but many of the downsides would absolutely come to fruition.

High-speed Rail

Graeme Morrice Excerpts

Tuesday 10th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

The short answer is no. If we did that, we would have to go through the laborious process that we had to go through to sort out phase 1 of the route. It is better to get on with that and then initiate the process of finalising the route as it goes further north.

[Graeme Morrice (Livingston) (Lab)]

The disadvantage of being one of the last Opposition Members to be called is that people have already asked my question. But I will give it another go. I certainly broadly welcome the Secretary of State’s statement and recognise her comments about the project’s economic benefits for the entire United Kingdom—so long as the kingdom remains united, of course. I noted her reference to phases 1 and 2 of the project. Obviously, there was no specific mention of a phase 3 and the line’s extension to Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland, although I accept the Government’s aspirations in that regard. I also noted that on several occasions she told hon. Members that there would be discussions with the Scottish Government and Scottish MPs. I believe that such discussions, being long term and prolonged, should be structured. Will she publish a timetable for those discussions?

[Justine Greening]

I will consider how we can take forward discussions with the Scottish Government. Perhaps I can set out a few more details for the House in the near future.