Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Justine Greening and John Leech

Wednesday 18th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

The right hon. Gentleman is right. We can be proud of the Government’s role; we are the second largest country donor providing assistance. He is right that we need to see more countries in the region and internationally stepping up to the plate and putting their hands in their pockets to help to provide assistance to those in the region who are in such dire need.

[Mr John Leech (Manchester, Withington) (LD)]

What support is being given to British nationals, as well as their families, who have been injured in Syria in support of relief action?

[Justine Greening]

There is always consular assistance for those who have been injured overseas. I am not aware of any British nationals being injured, but my hon. Friend is right to point out that a number of humanitarian workers have been injured and—I think I am right in saying—more than 40 killed while delivering aid to people inside Syria.

Syria (Humanitarian Response)

Debate between Justine Greening and John Leech

Monday 4th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

The hon. Gentleman may be aware that in January we hosted a conference with the Syrian National Coalition to talk about how the political transition might work and the challenges that Syria will face when we get beyond the current crisis. It is vital that alongside the humanitarian work in which we are engaged, we put effort into planning for the day-after work that will have to be done. We are engaged in doing that.

[Mr John Leech (Manchester, Withington) (LD)]

Has any assessment been made of the relative effectiveness of the aid provided by different organisations on the ground in Syria?

[Justine Greening]

The short answer is yes. We want to use only agencies that we can absolutely rely on. Many of the agencies that we are using have done fantastic work around the world and we know them very well. Helping those agencies to scale up is our biggest challenge. I assure my hon. Friend that we will get the most out of every single pound that is spent because it is vital that we do so.

Rail Investment

Debate between Justine Greening and John Leech

Monday 16th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

The improvements will take place over the 2014 to 2019 period, as the project is developed and rolled out. I have worked hard to ensure that Sheffield has a good transport package from the Department. Another thing that I managed to get sorted out, which the right hon. Gentleman’s Government never did, was £3 million for a footpath bridge over the railway line, which will mean that his community and others around that area can get into Sheffield from the other side of the railway track. I believe that that, alongside the midland main line scheme and the capacity changes, means that by 2019 he will see a much better service.

[Mr John Leech (Manchester, Withington) (LD)]

The Labour chairman of Transport for Greater Manchester said of today’s announcement:

“Taken together, these investments will change the face of rail services in the North of England in a manner that has not been seen for several generations.

The Northern Hub and electrification programmes will be a catalyst to help drive economic growth across the north”.

I could not agree more. Does that not prove the commitment of the coalition Government to rebalancing the economy and bringing investment and jobs to the north of England?

[Justine Greening]

Absolutely it does. It is this Government who have brought forward the investment plans for the northern hub and been prepared to finance them and it is this Government who have gone on with High Speed 2, which is critical in the longer term for improving connectivity across the whole country. It will particularly benefit the great northern cities, one of which the hon. Gentleman represents.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Justine Greening and John Leech

Thursday 19th April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr John Leech (Manchester, Withington) (LD)]

Has the Secretary of State now calculated the cost associated with increasing the motorway speed limit to 80 mph and the increased number of casualties expected as a result of such a measure?

[Justine Greening]

We would quantify the pros and cons of any move to 80 mph as part of the consultation we would publish, and obviously an impact statement would also be needed. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that we want to reach an informed conclusion on this policy area and will announce our next steps shortly.

Civil Aviation Bill

Debate between Justine Greening and John Leech

Monday 30th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

The Bill cannot deliver absolutely everything in respect of the aviation industry. It will, however, deliver a key element of the regulatory framework that will sit alongside how the industry operates. Competition is working. We need only consider the investment that both Heathrow and Gatwick are putting into winter resilience to see that passengers will make a choice between those two airports based on which one they believe they can rely on. As a result, we are seeing competition lead to far more investment on that side of airport operations. I have seen that development for myself, and I greatly welcome it. Providing the CAA with these new powers will promote effective competition by enabling the CAA to make use of its specialist knowledge and to co-ordinate its use of economic regulation and general competition powers.

Turning to modernising the regulators’ wider role, part 2 of the Bill includes changes to how the CAA operates by improving transparency and accountability, removing unnecessary Government funding and involvement and cutting red tape. Transparent information is of huge benefit to the public. It gives all of us as consumers the means, if we want to use them, to compare different services on offer to us and to judge for ourselves which we want to buy. In keeping with this approach, clauses 83 and 84 introduce two new information duties for the aviation regulator, to serve the interests both of consumers and those affected by air travel.

The CAA would arrange for consumer information to be published to help passengers and freight users make more informed choices about what is on offer, while having regard to the principle that the benefits of information should outweigh the cost. Similarly, the CAA would publish information for the public about the environmental effects of civil aviation in the UK, and the measures taken to limit environmental harm. What is more, it would be able to use both those powers to issue advice and guidance to the industry so that it can improve standards of service and operate more sustainably. As we modernise the legislative framework, we are taking the opportunity to give the CAA new freedoms to appoint its own executive directors and to carry out criminal proceedings without recourse to Government. As criminal proceedings can be both slow and costly, the Bill would also enable the Secretary of State to give the CAA powers to enforce existing offences through civil sanctions where they are more proportionate.

The Bill also includes some other measures enabling the disclosure of anonymised medical data about aviation workers who are subject to health checks by the CAA. That would pave the way for valuable medical research into the particular health risks for specialist workers such as flight crew and air traffic controllers.

Let me move on to our proposals to improve the regulation of aviation security. This section of the Bill is relatively short, amounting to just five clauses and two schedules, but I know the House will rightly consider it carefully. Above everything else, passengers expect the highest levels of safety and security.

For me, keeping people safe and secure when they travel is and will continue to be of key importance. At present, aviation safety is regulated by the CAA while security regulation is carried out by officials in the Department. The CAA has an excellent track record as a safety regulator, as good as any in the world, and it has empowered our airlines and airports to develop safety management systems that keep safety at the heart of their operations, striving for ever safer and more efficient systems. That is why I believe there would be real benefits to bringing the CAA’s impressive specialist expertise to the regulation of aviation security.

In the past, security regulation has been criticised for being too process-driven, too often relying on a tick-box approach. Although those arrangements have kept people safe, too often their inflexibility has caused frustration on the ground at airports. There would be attractive benefits for passengers if we could empower the experts to find the best and most efficient way of maintaining the highest levels of security for air travel. That means more involvement from the experts in aviation operations, which can bring real benefits. Of course, it is essential that the Secretary of State should stay responsible for aviation security policy and for giving security directions, although it also makes sense for the specialist expert regulator to have a role in maintaining and improving aviation security. Consequently, the Bill includes provisions for the CAA to keep under review security directions made by the Secretary of State and for it to provide advice and assistance to the industry and Government. With its track record in handling safety, I believe the CAA will approach those new responsibilities with the rigour they deserve.

[Mr John Leech (Manchester, Withington) (LD)]

Can we be assured that the transfer of staff from the Department to the CAA will not result in a loss of expertise in the security sector within the Department for Transport?

[Justine Greening]

We have considered that very closely and it is one reason why these changes will not happen overnight. They will take place over the next two to three years so that we can ensure we get the right staff transferred with the right expertise. As my hon. Friend points out, we have a wealth of security expertise within the Department and across Government and that will still be there for us to draw on within the Department for Transport. I am assured of that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Justine Greening and John Leech

Thursday 10th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

My right hon. Friend makes an important point. Approximately 3% of accidents are a result of vehicle defects, and he is also right that many of the representations against the review have come from those whose businesses would be affected by it. I have been very clear, however, and as a new Secretary of State it is right that I consider all the points that have been made. I will make an announcement shortly.

[Mr John Leech (Manchester, Withington) (LD)]

Before the election, an Opposition MP wrote:

“I share your concern about the potential implications of moving to the European standard of roadworthiness testing. It seems to me that the road safety and environmental costs of moving from annual to biannual testing, and extending the initial period from three to four years, may far outweigh the predicted costs savings.”

Given that the right hon. Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne) is now the Chancellor of the Exchequer, will the Secretary of State hold discussions with him in order to avoid the Government making a fundamental mistake on changes to MOT testing?

[Justine Greening]

I do not think I can add anything further about my approach to looking at this area, but I can assure the hon. Gentleman that I have regular discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer across the portfolio of transport that I now look after, and I will continue to do so.