Passenger and Goods Vehicles (Recording Equipment) (Downloading of Data) Regulations 2015

Lord Geddes Excerpts

Tuesday 10th February 2015 Grand Committee

[Baroness Kramer]

My Lords, I shall start by responding to the questions asked about the consultation—there may be some that I cannot cover because I do not have sufficient information at the moment, in which case we will be glad to write. The respondents were hauliers, Unite, traffic commissioners, ACPO, the police and tachograph analysis companies. That is quite a wide range across the industry.

The noble Lord asked about the DVSA. Obviously, we followed up its response to the consultation, and from those discussions our understanding is that it believes its enforcement powers, which enable it to access this information at any time, are the important measure which supports its enforcement activity. Therefore we are comfortable that we are not creating additional problems here for the DVSA. Indeed, the noble Lord will know—and this goes back to the whole question of safety which he discussed—that, increasingly, the whole approach to enforcement has been intelligence-led. That has always been true, but it has become even more so. He will be aware of the London task force, which I believe started its work in October 2013. That is a combined effort by the DVSA, Transport for London, the department and the Met to use a targeted approach, and it has been very successful in London by, again, using intelligence, so that the knowledge of the operators to helps drive the enforcement process, rather than simply using a random process which might have been more prevalent in the past.

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Lord Geddes) (Con)]

A Division has been called in the Chamber. The Grand Committee stands adjourned.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees]

All Members are now present. I rudely interrupted the noble Lord, Lord Rosser, in mid-flow—I beg your pardon, the noble Baroness, Lady Kramer, was speaking.

Infrastructure Bill [HL]

Lord Geddes Excerpts

Tuesday 8th July 2014 Grand Committee

Relevant documents: 2nd Report from the Delegated Powers Committee

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Lord Geddes) (Con)]

My Lords, as is usual on such occasions, I must advise the Grand Committee that if there is a Division in the Chamber while we are sitting, the Committee will adjourn as soon as the Division Bells are rung and will resume after 10 minutes.

Clause 13: Transfer of additional functions

Amendment 32

Moved by

Transport: Bus Services

Lord Geddes Excerpts

Monday 20th May 2013 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

The noble Countess makes a good point, but it is of course up to the operator to select the most suitable bus for its operations. It is a purely operational matter.

[Lord Geddes]

My Lords, has any further consideration been given to moving the central coach station out from Victoria?

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, unfortunately that is a matter for the Mayor of London.

Olympic Games 2012: Traffic

Lord Geddes Excerpts

Tuesday 17th July 2012 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, when I last answered a Question about the Olympic travel arrangements, I used the Get Ahead of the Games website, and it worked. Sometimes these websites take a little bit of getting used to. I urge noble Lords to persist with it. It is a very good tool, particularly to see which Tube stations will be very heavily congested, and at which times.

[Lord Geddes]

Could my noble friend confirm, or otherwise, that while the House is sitting, Members of the House may use the Olympic lanes when coming to and from the House?

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, I suggest that that is an extremely unwise course of action. The policing of the Olympic lanes—the Games lanes—is similar to bus lanes. If the noble Lord thinks he can use a bus lane with impunity then he can try the Olympic lanes, but it is not something that I would recommend.

Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill [HL]

Lord Geddes Excerpts

Tuesday 26th June 2012 Grand Committee

[Lord Grantchester]

I rise to propose Amendment 5. Far be it from me to come between my two noble friends on Amendment 4, but I reflect that although there may be very little between them, there is a slight implication for some of the processes in the Bill. I would be interested to hear the Minister’s response to this question.

In proposing Amendment 5, we have approached it from the—

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Lord Geddes)]

With great respect to the noble Lord, I think he means that he is speaking to Amendment 5, not proposing it.

[Lord Grantchester]

Sorry, speaking to Amendment 5—moving Amendment 5.

[Lord Geddes]

No, speaking to Amendment 5.

[Lord Grantchester]

I thank the Deputy Chairman for clarifying that. We have approached it in a simple, straightforward way: that this is, in fact, the role of a regulator. As we have argued and discussed on previous amendments, the role of the regulator is a high-profile one at the moment, with a wide range of powers to effect change in the UK groceries market. It is only appropriate that the Secretary of State should consult with both the relevant Select Committees in the other place to reflect the standing that such a person will have in the business and parliamentary world, so that it is fully transparent to the supply chain that this has been well considered.

Transport: Automatic Number Plate Recognition

Lord Geddes Excerpts

Tuesday 24th April 2012 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, the noble Lord is absolutely right about the use of ANPR. I cannot give examples because I am not briefed on them, but when I went out with the police, I was in an unmarked police car and the police were interested in all types of crime, not just vehicle crime.

[Lord Geddes]

My Lords, in my ignorance, and perhaps for the benefit of the House, will my noble friend explain whether ANPR is a mobile device or is fixed?

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, ANPR technology can be fixed or mobile. Both technologies are used where appropriate. However, if you want to use ANPR technology for a prosecution, the equipment has to be Home Office approved, and there are some issues there.

Transport Infrastructure: North-east England

Lord Geddes Excerpts

Monday 23rd January 2012 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, I re-emphasise that there is not a scheme at present that we can look at. The previous Administration also found, when they carefully analysed the situation, that there was not a business case for spending £10 per man, woman and child to dual all the way from Morpeth to Berwick-upon-Tweed.

[Lord Geddes]

My Lords, in relation to the Minister’s reply to my noble friend Lord Cormack, could I ask the Minister when he last tried to drive from Newcastle to Carlisle and thence to Scotland? I think he will find that it took a very long time indeed.

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, I did the best research I possibly could on behalf of your Lordships, but I confess that I did not actually drive the route. I did look on the map and I used the excellent AA Route Planner to see what the difference in time for the two would be, whether I went on the M6 or on the single-carriageway A1.

Roads: Long and Heavy Vehicles

Lord Geddes Excerpts

Wednesday 1st December 2010 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, most of what the noble Lord says is right. We are looking at an increase in the cubic capacity of an articulated vehicle, but we have absolutely no intention of increasing the gross weight of a goods vehicle, for precisely the reasons that the noble Lord explained.

[Lord Geddes]

My Lords, is the crucial question in this context not the axle weights rather than the overall weight?

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, the noble Lord makes an important point. The damage to the road goes up in proportion to the fourth power of the axle weight, but we have no intention of altering the permitted axle weights either. However, the type of vehicle we are looking at will require different axle arrangements on the rear of the vehicle.

Roads: Drink-drive Limit

Lord Geddes Excerpts

Thursday 4th November 2010 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, the North report covers this issue in some detail, and we are considering it as part of our deliberations on the North report.

[Lord Geddes]

Is my noble friend aware of the 1998 report of European Union Sub-Committee B? I doubt whether much has changed in this context in 12 years. The report concluded that the benefits of reducing the limit from 80 milligrams to 50 milligrams were at best highly marginal. Would he advise the House of his opinion of the benefits of random testing over the present system?

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, the police already have wide powers to stop vehicles and to test for alcohol, and many forces carry out intelligence-led, targeted breath testing where drinking is known to take place. Sir Peter has recommended a specific power to sanction random testing, and we have to consider whether this is necessary and cost-effective, bearing in mind that most drivers are regulated drinkers or teetotal.