Brexit: Transport

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon Excerpts

Monday 6th February 2017 Lords Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport (Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon) (Con)]

My Lords, I join other noble Lords in thanking the noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, for this opportunity to discuss the important issue of the UK’s exit from the European Union and related transport matters. I am also grateful for the chance to respond to the points raised during this debate, and if there are questions that I am unable to answer within the time limits I shall write to noble Lords about them.

First I will address the general points raised. It is the Government’s very strong view that, as my right honourable friend the Prime Minister herself articulated in her speech of 17 January, we should be “a truly global Britain”. What does this mean? As she explained, it means a “stronger, fairer, more united” country, one that is outward-looking, open for business and a magnet for international talent. It will be,

“an ambitious country that goes out into the world to build relationships with old friends and new allies alike”.

The noble Lord, Lord Whitty, made the role of the single market quite clear. He is right: as the Prime Minister has made clear, Britain will not be a member of the single market. As EU leaders have themselves made clear—it was also a point made by two noble Lords during the debate—staying in the single market would mean accepting the four freedoms and a role for the European Court of Justice. In the Prime Minister’s words:

“It would to all intents and purposes mean not leaving the EU at all”.


The noble Lord, Lord Rosser, in the various questions he raised, asked about the priorities, and I agree with him that transport is vital in realising this vision of a global Britain. These principles will inform our approach for transport in the negotiations ahead.

There have been a number of points about how different modes of transport will be affected by Brexit. As we all acknowledge, transport providers move huge numbers of passengers by air, road, rail and sea, and our logistics providers ensure that vital goods are moved efficiently. Let me be clear: we want them to continue doing that with minimum hindrance. Of course, I acknowledge that when we leave the European Union our relationship will be different. As the Prime Minister has explained, when we leave the EU we will leave the internal market. Our focus as we discuss our future relationship with our EU partners will therefore be on finding sensible ways to allow transport operations to continue. I am sure that noble Lords will accept that it is too soon to say precisely what those arrangements will look like, but I believe that all citizens and businesses in Europe have a shared interest in finding arrangements that work for us here in the United Kingdom and for the remaining members of the European Union.

I will address the point raised by the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, in his contribution on the White Paper and its specifics on different modes of transport. He acknowledged that air and road haulage are mentioned, but he should not infer from that that other modes have been forgotten, namely sea and rail transport. We are making thorough preparations for negotiations covering all modes. As I have said to noble Lords during Questions, we continue to meet practitioners and industry representatives across all modes of transport to ensure that their priorities are reflected in the negotiations with our European partners.

If I may address this issue sector by sector, I will start with my own portfolio as Minister for Aviation. The UK aviation industry is of course world leading. As noble Lords have acknowledged, our airports service the third-largest aviation market in the world and the largest in Europe. Demand for flights continues to grow and UK airlines have seized opportunities globally, including those offered through European aviation markets. The Prime Minister made it clear, as did last week’s White Paper, that we will seek new strategic partnerships with the European Union, including wide-reaching, bold and ambitious free trade agreements. Aviation should be a part of that, so that citizens in the UK and the EU can continue to access air travel as they do now.

I assure your Lordships that the Government are working closely with the aviation industry to ensure we understand its priorities and needs as we start discussions with the EU. I have attended very constructive, pragmatic and positive meetings with representatives from across the aviation industry, along with my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, David Davis. We stressed the point then that our air connections with Europe are important, but we also have an opportunity to widen our horizons. Leaving the European Union gives us more freedom to make our own aviation agreements with countries beyond Europe. Last year, after my appointment as Aviation Minister, I signed a deal with China that will more than double the number of flights operated between our two countries, boosting trade and tourism.

The noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, talked within the aviation context about the importance of the European Aviation Safety Agency, or EASA. As she will be aware, the UK has played a pivotal and active role in developing air safety standards. Our expertise is valued and recognised. We therefore hope and expect that all sides will value our continued participation—a sentiment which my noble friend Lord Patten reflected in his contribution.

Britain is open for business and open to the rest of the world. The connectivity provided by aviation is essential to making this happen. Whether it is new agreements such as that with China, our support for a third runway at Heathrow or the new aviation strategy, we will do what is necessary to support our future prosperity and growth. I assure the noble Lord, Lord Bradshaw, that this includes ensuring the prioritising and protection of jobs. He mentioned the example of Airbus, a corporation which we continue to work with not just in the UK but across Europe to ensure its presence on the global market.

If I may turn to road haulage, I mentioned the importance of the logistics industry in my opening comments. We are of course very much dependent on road hauliers. The noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, makes sure that we are fully aware of the importance of road haulage across many areas when we discuss it in this House. It should not be understated as, without those hauliers, our shops would be empty and our industry would grind to a halt. The logistics industry plays an important role by doing a first-class job in transporting goods to where they need to go.

The vast majority of lorries on our roads undertake domestic deliveries and never leave the country, yet a number make international journeys. Over 80% of these lorries are owned by European firms, not UK ones. Both the UK and the EU will want sensible arrangements in the future that allow goods to flow freely from and to the UK. I also want to ensure that UK hauliers have fair opportunities to win international business. I assure your Lordships that we are working hard on this objective as we prepare for negotiations.

The noble Lord, Lord Bradshaw, raised the important issue of lorries and strict controls on road safety, as did the noble Lord, Lord Roberts, on the particular issue that he raised about the A55. I assure both noble Lords and the House that, as the Government have stated before, the great repeal Bill will act as the basis for ensuring that all EU legislation is transposed into UK legislation. The transition will ensure that those kinds of safety regulations are sustained and maintained.

The maritime sector has been operating successfully for many centuries, as many noble Lords noted, trading freely between ports across the world long before the European Union came into being. There is no reason why that will not continue after we leave. The UK has always been a leading maritime nation, and we will continue to build on this, taking a higher profile in the International Maritime Organization. Of course, as noble Lords will know, that is based in London. We will be facilitating international maritime trade, helping attract more maritime business to the UK and promoting the UK flag. The Government and industry have been working together to identify a shared goal of continued growth over the coming year and beyond. Given our exit from the EU, we will drive forward this work through the maritime growth study.

I turn briefly to railways. The creation of the EU internal market for rail services has been slower than for other modes, but the past 20 years have seen the opening up of international services. The British railway network is essentially a domestic network, so the effects of leaving the EU will be limited. However, we of course have one international connection with continental Europe—the Channel Tunnel. Let us not forget the Belfast-to-Dublin link too. We will focus on ensuring that these services can continue as now. I say to the noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, that we will ensure that, in everyone’s interest.

Across the transport sector we are determined to agree the best arrangements for Britain. The Government will continue to listen to our transport industries as their views develop. The noble Lord, Lord Bradshaw, raised the issue of rail franchising. We will not want to limit EU bidders in bidding for franchises. That will be part of the message to ensure that we are truly open for business.

We have world-class expertise in this country across many sectors, as my noble friend Lord Patten noted—in the automotive sector, in aerospace, in logistics, in transport engineering and much more. We must be confident in offering this to the world. We have every reason to be confident. Anyone who has seen the work on Crossrail—and I am proud to be the Minister for Crossrail—in this city will know that this country is capable of world-class engineering. It is recognised internationally. Country delegations visiting the UK want to see what Crossrail is all about.

Our departure from the EU is an unprecedented opportunity to shape our future. We must take advantage of all the opportunities it offers. We will get out into the world and do business right across the globe. Yes, I say to the noble Baroness, it is a bold and ambitious vision. The message we take to the world is this: the UK remains open for business. We are the same positive, pragmatic, outward-looking, globally minded nation we always were. We will continue to strengthen our role and our international partnerships on the global stage.