Draft Merchant Shipping (General Lighthouse Authorities) (Increase of Borrowing Limit) Order 2024

Helen Whately Excerpts

Wednesday 30th October 2024 General Committees

[Helen Whately (Faversham and Mid Kent) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris, to discuss lighthouse borrowing rules. This Budget day does not seem to be a good day to be a borrowing rule. Nevertheless, in this Committee Room, the Opposition are more inclined to see eye to eye with the Government on the necessity of some rule changes.

I expect all Committee members agree that our general lighthouse authorities need to have up-to-date kit to keep mariners safe. I recognise that £100 million went a lot further in 1988 than it does today, and that vessels cost somewhat more now. It was good sense for the Government at the time to include a provision in the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 to increase the borrowing limit, and even better sense to cap the increase at £33 million, just in case a future Government happened to be rather profligate and keen to change the rules so that they might borrow more.

Focusing on the matter in hand, I would like to be assured that the GLAs will make good use of the increase. As an island nation, we always have and always will rely on shipping for trade, travel and connection—as I am only too aware, as a Kent MP with the world’s busiest shipping lane just offshore. Those who operate in UK waters deserve to do so safely, and I put on record my thanks to the general lighthouse authorities for all they do to ensure that. We will be supporting the order.