Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Greg Mulholland and Lord McLoughlin

Thursday 10th March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Greg Mulholland (Leeds North West) (LD)]

9. What steps he is taking to tackle the use of laser pens to target aircraft.

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Patrick McLoughlin)]

There is already legislation prohibiting the use of lasers on aircraft. It is an offence to direct or shine any light at any aircraft in flight so as to dazzle or distract the pilot of the aircraft. Anyone found guilty of this offence could be liable to a fine, up to a maximum of £2,500. Anyone found guilty of endangering an aircraft, could be liable to up to five years imprisonment. We will keep this under review.

[Greg Mulholland]

I welcome the previous changes, which I backed, but more needs to be done. Half of pilots have reported a laser pen attack in the past 12 months, and it is a particular problem around Leeds-Bradford airport. What measures such as licensing or classification of laser pens as offensive weapons could be considered to put a stop to this dangerous practice?

[Mr McLoughlin]

A number of measures are being considered across Government Departments. I take the matter very seriously, particularly in the light of certain recent events that have been reported.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Greg Mulholland and Lord McLoughlin

Thursday 28th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

I cannot yet say when the resumption of flights might be possible, but the agreement that was reached with the Egyptian authorities in December on a joint action plan was a significant and welcome step forward. Since then we have had an ongoing presence in Sharm el-Sheikh, working with the Egyptians on the implementation of that plan, and I think that good progress is being made. I fully understand the importance to Egypt of the resumption of flights to destinations in the country.

[Greg Mulholland (Leeds North West) (LD)]

Leeds City Council is currently consulting on road options for leaving Bradford airport, but it is ignoring the obvious solution of a rail link to the railway line, which is 1.1 miles away. Why is the council considering those options, given that they are based on flawed assumptions in a flawed report from the Department for Transport?

High-speed Rail

Debate between Greg Mulholland and Lord McLoughlin

Monday 24th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

Before we start talking about fiascos and the TransPennine Express, I chide the hon. Gentleman for not pushing a bit further and getting more electrification when he sat on the Government Benches, and getting more rolling stock—[Interruption.] He says he did, but he did not succeed. We are doing it, we are succeeding, and we will order the rolling stock.

[Greg Mulholland (Leeds North West) (LD)]

I support linking our northern cities with high-speed rail, but does the Secretary of State understand the concerns on the east side of the Pennines about the announcement of the Crewe hub? All along we were given assurances that the link to Sheffield and Leeds would happen at the same time as that to Manchester. Will he commit to looking at the “High Speed UK” proposal that links more cities more quickly and for considerably less cost?

[Mr McLoughlin]

There is a recommendation on the Crewe hub and I have not made a full decision on it yet. A consultation is going on about the Y section from Birmingham to Manchester and Birmingham to Leeds. It is important I do that properly, which is exactly what I will do.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Greg Mulholland and Lord McLoughlin

Thursday 20th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

The hon. Lady should be careful about the points that she makes about that matter. She talks about First Great Western’s right to cancel the contract, but that right was given to it by the last Government when they negotiated the franchise. All it was doing was exercising an option that the last Government gave it. If she is saying that the last Government made a mistake in dealing with that matter, she might be right. I am determined to ensure that the people who are served by that franchise on that route get better services. That is why we will insist that first-class carriages are converted to standard class to provide more capacity on the line, and why we are improving the sleeper services down to Cornwall—something that has been welcomed widely.

[Greg Mulholland (Leeds North West) (LD)]

T5. I am a big supporter of high-speed rail, but it has to link to the north and then to Scotland to bring benefits. May I ask the Secretary of State to do what the previous Government failed to do, which is to look at the viable alternative to HS2, “High Speed UK”, which would cause less environmental damage, would be £14 billion cheaper and would connect more cities than just Birmingham and London?

[Mr McLoughlin]

What we have to do with high-speed rail is vastly to increase capacity, which HS2 does. That is vital. I think that HS2 is the right scheme to go ahead with. Of course it has to link in. In the excellent report that was published this week, David Higgins showed how we will do that and how we will get a train service that is adequate for this country not just for 10 or 20 years, but for the next 150 years.