Airport Capacity

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Baroness Tonge

Tuesday 25th October 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

I thank the noble Lord for his welcome of the decision. I am sure he will understand if, in the interests of time, I write to him on his specific questions. I underline that we are committed to ensuring that we make difficult choices. He used the example of my right honourable friend the Prime Minister. She herself chaired the sub-committee meeting which made this decision today. That perhaps underlines her commitment to making tough calls in the best interests of the nation. As to the Government’s commitment to infrastructure, do I need to say more than HS2—£55 billion for regional rail connectivity to ensure that all our regions are serviced in the best way possible? We are also investing in Crossrail, the biggest infrastructure project in Europe. Other countries are now looking towards the United Kingdom to ask, “How did you do it?”. This is how UK plc, under this Conservative Government, is delivering on infrastructure for our country: we are committed to it. I will respond to the noble Lord on his specific issues, but extra capacity means more investment, more companies, more air slots, and more airlines looking to expand. That does mean more jobs.

[Baroness Tonge]

My Lords, is the Minister aware that, after the planning inquiries for the fourth and fifth terminals—I gave evidence to both of them—we were told and promised faithfully that there would be no further development at Heathrow? So that we are clear what is ahead of us, what does he expect to be the next development, once the third runway is under way? Could he also tell us how many migrant labourers will be needed to complete the project?

Hate Crime

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Baroness Tonge

Wednesday 29th June 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

I assure my noble friend that we support the sentiments that he has expressed about ensuring that people from the LGBT community are fully protected. Sometimes you get passing racism; I have experienced the question, “Where are you from?”, myself. I assure them that I am from Wimbledon. On a more positive note, we need to demonstrate what we are as a country. I was heartened by the fact that we had Gay Pride week last week and at the front of the Gay Pride parade was the London Mayor. Yes, he is the son of a bus driver, as is often said, but he is of Pakistani heritage and of Muslim faith.

[Baroness Tonge (Ind LD)]

My Lords, it is well recognised—indeed, the Minister has told us this afternoon—that incitement to racial hatred went on during the referendum campaign. Some disgraceful things were done over the nine weeks of the campaign. Do the Government have any plans to prosecute anyone for the crimes that were committed? At the very least, could they not have a government inquiry into what went on, which was instigated by the campaign managers?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

I assure the noble Baroness that if a specific crime has been reported to the police, they work hand in glove with our criminal justice system. For those who commit a crime, there is a simple message: you will be brought to justice. I look forward to working together to ensure that the kinds of issues that have been raised today across the board on hate crime are addressed and that we collectively protect, sustain and strengthen the kind of country that we are.

Airports: Expansion

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Baroness Tonge

Thursday 4th February 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

The Government have been quite clear: the reasons for further consideration included environmental issues such as air pollution—a subject close to the noble Lord’s heart. This is not about keeping things up in the air. On the contrary, it is about getting those things in the air down on the ground.

[Baroness Tonge (Ind LD)]

My Lords—

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

As I have already said, some of the criticisms of the commission’s report were about environmental issues, particularly noise and air pollution—and those are part and parcel of the Government’s further considerations. All relevant bodies making representations will be part of that consultation process.

[Baroness Tonge]

My Lords, can the Minister promise us faithfully that we will have a decision on expansion at Heathrow Airport after the elections for London Mayor?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

I can assure the noble Baroness—I speak for all my noble friends on the Front Bench and beyond—that we always seek to give answers faithfully from this Dispatch Box.

Davies Commission Report

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Baroness Tonge

Wednesday 1st July 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

As much as we may regard national slots at airports as our national heritage or assets, they are allocated by the EU and are governed by European Union and associated slot regulations. The UK Government are legally prevented from intervening on slot allocation processes—be it at Heathrow, Gatwick or other slot-co-ordinated airports.

[Baroness Tonge (Ind LD)]

I, too, declare an interest as a former chairman of HACAN and a former MP for the constituency of Richmond Park. Some years ago the Prime Minister said that, “no ifs, no buts”, there would never be a third runway at Heathrow. Could the Minister tell us what his line is going to be now?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

I am sure that the noble Baroness heard the Prime Minister responding to PMQs, when he said that the important thing was to move forward on the decision. She referred to the comments of the Prime Minister, “no ifs, no buts”, but what he was commenting on at that time was a very different proposition for Heathrow. Following this, we made the decision to set up the Airports Commission. It was the Prime Minister’s decision and that of the last Government—indeed, the noble Baroness’s party were part of that Government. That is what we have now done, and the option put forward for Heathrow now is a very different one from the one proposed in 2010.