Brexit: Transport

Lord Rosser Excerpts

Monday 6th February 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Rosser (Lab)]

I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, for securing this debate on an issue that is not necessarily at the top of the list when we consider the implications for this country of leaving the European Union, despite the fact that transport plays a critical role in supporting our economy. For that reason, there needs to be some clarity over what we are seeking to achieve in the forthcoming negotiations on our exit from the European Union in respect of each of the major sectors of our transport industry. The priority should be, at the very least, to avoid any adverse impact on jobs, the economy and living standards. Are those the Government’s priorities or do they consider other objectives more important? If so, what are those different priorities?

Our aviation sector is the largest in Europe and the third largest in the world, supporting some 1 million jobs. Airlines that operate from within the UK are able to rely on the EU single aviation market, which allows any airline owned and controlled by nationals of EU member states to operate freely anywhere within the EU without restrictions on capacity, frequency or pricing. Additionally, EU carriers are able to take advantage of the traffic rights contained in the many air services agreements that the EU has negotiated on behalf of all member states with non-EU countries.

At present, we are a de facto signatory to these agreements as an EU member state. When we leave the EU, and if we do not retain any form of European common aviation area membership, our airlines will need to negotiate new rights, from outside the EU, to operate freely within the EU and to operate transatlantic routes. What are the Government’s objectives in relation to protecting, or not protecting, the existing rights of our airlines over where they can fly under existing European aviation agreements? The Government’s White Paper is not as clear as it might be on this point, referring in paragraph 8.32 to,

“a clear interest for all sides to seek arrangements”.

Between 2011 and 2015, a quarter of all European Investment Bank lending to the United Kingdom was for transport projects. Transport for London, for example, borrowed £1 billion from the EIB to part-finance Crossrail. In addition, the European Commission provides direct funding for transport infrastructure projects. Half the cost of the ground investigation works for phase 1 of the HS2 route between London and the West Midlands was funded from Europe, and potential EU funding formed part of the Government’s case for giving HS2 the go-ahead. Will the Government confirm that they will make up any shortfall in investment in the rail network arising from the loss of direct EU funding or loans from the European Investment Bank? Will the Government also say what they estimate that shortfall in investment is expected to be?

The main European Union legislation as it relates to railways is contained in the three railway packages that have been passed, and in the latest fourth railway package. The individual pieces of legislation which make up these packages are wide-ranging and include prescribing how railways can be structured, financed and run. To what extent do the Government see these packages, and the measures they contain, as relevant and applicable to our rail industry beyond the immediate term, once we have left the European Union? On road haulage, will the Government seek to ensure, as part of the Brexit negotiations, the continuation of the practice that enables British hauliers to carry goods between EU member states? Or do the Government not see this as a priority once we have left the European Union?

Will the Government also seek to ensure that British driving licences will continue to be exchangeable with those of EU member states after we have left the EU, so that UK nationals, for example, who migrate to a country in the EU will not have to take another test in the new country? Or will this issue not be a priority for the Government? More than one-fifth of UK international trade involves transport by ship to and from EU countries, and more than 90% of UK trade in weight is handled by ports. If it is the Government’s expectation that we will no longer be part of the single market and the customs union, what guarantees can the Government give that this will not involve establishing new customs checks on imports and exports, which could cause considerable congestion at UK and mainland European ports and will potentially have an adverse impact on maritime trade and our maritime transport sector, as well as on road, rail and airline freight traffic?

However, it is not just the movement of goods that could be an issue following Brexit. The main transport sectors have been affected by the movement of people across mainland Europe seeking to come to this country. One unauthorised method of trying to reach this country has been through seeking to travel undetected on a heavy goods vehicle. Certainly until recently, some leading figures in the road haulage industry considered that the number coming to this country in this way ran into the tens of thousands per year despite, for example, the checks undertaken, and co-operation given, at ports on the other side of the English Channel.

Can the Minister indicate what the Government’s estimate is of the number of people gaining unauthorised entry to this country per year, and how they intend to address this situation during the negotiations on our withdrawal from the European Union, bearing in mind the current impact on our transport industry despite the checks and co-operation, and the potential impact after we have left the European Union? Will our withdrawal from the European Union lead to the need for more extensive and time-consuming checks at our own ports to control and stop unauthorised entry into this country, or is it envisaged that the existing co-operation and support we receive from adjacent mainland European countries over checking for unauthorised entry to this country will continue after we have left the European Union?

If that existing co-operation and support is less likely to be offered when we break away from, and cease to be part of, the European Union, what do the Government consider could be the consequences for border checks at our points of entry and for those sections of the road haulage, rail and maritime transport industries in this country that are involved in the international carriage of goods and passengers?

There are other potential impacts of Brexit on the transport industry in this country that I have not touched on, including impacts in the fields of the environment and health and safety. I hope, however, that the Minister will be able to provide some answers to the questions I and other noble Lords have raised in this debate about the potential impact of Brexit, and the Government’s objectives and priorities for the different sectors of our transport industry in the forthcoming negotiations on our withdrawal from the European Union.