Aviation Industry

Mike Kane Excerpts

Wednesday 18th November 2020 Westminster Hall

[Mike Kane (Wythenshawe and Sale East) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward. It is normal to thank the Member who secured the debate, but I have to apologise to the right hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling) instead. When he was Secretary of State for Transport, I asked him on the Floor of the House what first attracted him to build a high-speed line from his home in the south-east of England to his season ticket seat at his beloved Old Trafford in Manchester. That is the last time I will be flippant today.

I congratulate the right hon. Gentleman on securing this much-needed debate. It was entitled “Aviation Industry”, but that is the last thing we have talked about—we have talked about the pandemic. I would love to discuss how the sector could evolve to honour our commitments to the Paris agreement; to investigate the scope for even more highly skilled, highly unionised jobs; to discuss airspace modernisation, which is needed in this country; and to talk about how Britain can continue to be a leader of nations. Frankly, there will be no aviation sector in the UK if the Government do not get a grip of the pandemic and provide the appropriate and necessary support that the business needs.

As has been pointed out, the UK is already a world-class leader in aviation. The Prime Minister wants to look for new world-class industries—that is great, but my advice would be to protect the ones we have first. During the first four months of the pandemic, there were 99% fewer passengers. The current lockdown measures mean that, again, many airports are experiencing zero scheduled passenger arrivals or departures. Many hon. Members have defended their airports today. If airports are not turning over a million passengers, they are not really making a profit, so national infrastructure could be wiped out over the next few months if we do not do something.

Before the introduction of the second lockdown, UK airports were already projected to lose at least £4 billion by the end of the year. There will clearly be consequences such as shorter operating hours, fewer routes, long-term job losses and the risk that some airports may close their doors for good. UK aviation has now faced nine months of losses. While the rest of the economy began to open during the summer and early autumn, international quarantine measures prevented air travel from reopening and destroyed consumer confidence in flying.

Decisions such as letting all those people in in the first place, then introducing a global travel ban, and now the hammer of quarantine are killing the industry. The Department for Transport has to talk to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has to talk to the Department for Transport. They both have to talk to the Home Office at the same time. We need a co-ordinated approach from the Government.

Emerging from the most drastic and sustained reduction in passenger numbers that the aviation system has ever seen, UK airports are in a critically poor state to perform their role as enablers of growth and prosperity. A few weeks ago, there was a story about geological activity in another Icelandic volcano. A decade ago, the ash cloud shutdown was over in less than a week and cost the sector more than £1 billion. A new eruption would not do anywhere near the lasting damage that the Government are currently doing by not intervening in the aviation sector.

Aviation sustains 1.6 million jobs around the country. The International Air Transport Association tells us that 300,000 jobs are at imminent risk. The biggest impact of the failing industry will be in local airport communities such as Hounslow, Luton, Crawley, Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds—so much for the levelling-up agenda in our country. Those communities have grown dependent on their airports, which drive much of the local economy. Heathrow is famously the biggest business rates payer in Europe. As has been pointed out, in England and Wales, the Government have refused to give the resources and business rates relief to airports bleeding cash, as has happened in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The sector brings £22 billion a year into the economy and is a critical part of its fabric. We have all seen the impact of cuts and what they have meant for staff, with some 4,500 jobs lost at easyJet; bases closing at Newcastle, Stansted and Southend; 12,000 job losses at British Airways; 3,000 jobs lost at Ryanair; 4,500 jobs lost at Virgin Atlantic; and more job losses at Heathrow, Manchester, Gatwick, Stansted and our smaller regional airports. The country cannot get back to economic health if we erode the foundations of our economy.

It appears that everybody is calling for a sector deal for aviation. It was not that long ago that the Chancellor reflected that the Government would have to make such an intervention. We are led to believe that there was a sectoral deal ready. I have also asked the Minister about that at the Dispatch Box. Where is the plan that we are all expecting?

This has been a terrific debate and I pay tribute to Members who have participated. The hon. Member for South Antrim (Paul Girvan) spoke eloquently about regional connectivity and the importance of airways to Northern Ireland. I disagree on everything politically with the hon. Member for Crawley (Henry Smith), except aviation and the respective Chagossian communities that serve our airports, which is Manchester in my constituency.

I could not agree more with the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael), because I spend most of my holidays there. The sooner we get connectivity up and running, the better for me and my wife. As the hon. Member for Filton and Bradley Stoke (Jack Lopresti) pointed out, the aerospace sector in Bristol is dependent on getting aviation running. There were Members who supported Heathrow. My hon. Friend the Member for Feltham and Heston (Seema Malhotra) made an eloquent speech. The hon. Member for Eastleigh (Paul Holmes) defended Southampton airport.

My right hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) made a really good political point. He knows that my politics is about human dignity. We undermine people’s human dignity when we cut their terms and conditions in the face of a pandemic, when they have gone over and above to help keep that industry going. The hon. Member for East Devon (Simon Jupp) made such a good point: how come Tesco gets rates reductions but our airports do not?

My hon. Friend the Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen), who continually makes good speeches, stood up for her constituency airport. My hon. Friend the Member for Easington (Grahame Morris) and the right hon. Member for East Antrim (Sammy Wilson) asked where the plan was. We are eight months in and we need that leadership. The hon. Member for Meriden (Saqib Bhatti) talked about Birmingham airport and defended it excellently. The Chairman of the Select Committee, the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle (Huw Merriman), has been a clarion voice in standing up for the industry.

The hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire North (Gavin Newlands) said that we are probably now going to listen to the Minister give a list of business loans. Sir Edward, you will get this reference. It will be like a litany of saints, a beatification, on a Roman balcony. There will be one after the after, but what we do not need is lists. We need leadership and we need it now.

[Sir Edward Leigh (in the Chair)]

Thank you for mentioning everybody who spoke in the debate. That does not often happen in wind-ups and it is rather a good habit.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Robert Courts)]

It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward. I shall do my best to acknowledge as many Members as I can in my remarks.

I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling) for securing this debate on the future of the aviation industry, and everybody who has contributed in what has been a wide-ranging and fascinating debate. Every single Member here is passionate about aviation, which was made very clear in the course of the afternoon.

We have heard from a number of hon. Members about the critical role that aviation plays in connecting the whole of the UK and the world. I thank my right hon. Friend for all his tireless work when he was Secretary of State. That was a point that he was keen to make clear during his time, and we have seen that reflected today.

I hope that my right hon. Friend will be pleased to see—as will my hon. Friend the Member for Crawley (Henry Smith), to whom I will return in a moment—that work started in May on upgrades to the Gatwick airport rail station. That is a £150 million project, which my right hon. Friend announced when he was Secretary of State. That expanded, modern station will provide an impressive gateway to a global Britain, and I thank him for his work on that.

I have listened carefully to the points that have been made. I will endeavour to address as many of them as possible. However, as the hon. Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East (Mike Kane) and my hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley (Nick Fletcher) rightly said, it is not always possible for Back Benchers to make all the points they would like in their speeches or for me to acknowledge all of them, but I will do my very best.

These are incredibly challenging times for the aviation sector. We all realise that, and none more so than this aviation Minister. I would like to record at the outset how crucial the sector is to the UK and its economy, as was said eloquently by the Chair of the Select Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Bexhill and Battle (Huw Merriman).

Before the covid-19 outbreak, the UK’s aviation sector was growing rapidly. Air transport and aerospace together contributed £22 billion to GDP and supported half a million jobs. The hon. Member for South Antrim (Paul Girvan) and my hon. Friend the Member for Filton and Bradley Stoke (Jack Lopresti) referred to the aerospace sector. This country and their constituencies excel in it, and they are right to draw attention to that. Aviation supports the economy through trade, aerospace, investment and tourism and by providing regional connectivity. It is the Government’s fervent desire and utmost intention that the aviation sector recovers quickly from the dreadful pandemic that it and the country have been through.

I want to dwell for a moment, in response to hon. Members’ calls, on the support that the Government have given to the sector. We should remember, despite the cynicism of the hon. Members for Paisley and Renfrewshire North (Gavin Newlands) and for Wythenshawe and Sale East, that the response has been unprecedented. It has enabled businesses across the industry to draw upon an unprecedented package of cross-economy support measures, including the Bank of England’s covid corporate financing facility, which has helped airlines’ liquidity. The sector drew down £1.8 billion of support by September 2020. The aviation sector as a whole is the largest beneficiary of CCFF, accounting for approximately 18% of the total amount of CCFF paid out by November.

As hon. Member know, on 5 November the Chancellor announced that workers across the UK will benefit from the increased support of a five-month extension of the furlough scheme—the coronavirus job retention scheme. It will now run until the end of March 2021, with employees receiving 80% of their current salary for hours not worked. My hon. Friends the Members for Meriden (Saqib Bhatti) and for Don Valley are right to point out how significant that support is. Overall, we estimate that the sector has received about £2.5 billion to £3 billion of support through the CCFF and the job retention scheme.

Hon. Members made a number of other points. The hon. Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen) asked me about conversations with individual companies. I hope she will understand that I cannot comment on any commercially confidential matters relating to individual companies. The Government have heard the broader requests for further support and are considering them carefully.

The House has powerfully reminded us that the impact of redundancies on employees, their families and their broader communities is serious. We heard a number of powerful speeches. The hon. Members for Feltham and Heston (Seema Malhotra) and for Ilford South (Sam Tarry) referred to Heathrow in particular, and other hon. Members also made powerful contributions. I see it myself from the correspondence that I receive from hon. Members and people up and down the country, and I understand that the impact on those who work in the aviation sector is very significant indeed. We must always remember that, ultimately, it is people who stand behind this.

My predecessor and officials have met unions regularly—I hope that the hon. Member for Easington (Grahame Morris) will be pleased to hear that—and I will meet them again shortly. I have spoken directly to companies that are considering redundancies and changes to terms and conditions, and I have offered my support and that of the Government for engagement efforts with staff where that is appropriate. I encourage unions and employers to sit down, speak to each other and find a solution where appropriate. The Government recognise that the aviation sector is home to highly skilled, highly trained staff, and their retention is vital. I thank all hon. Members who drew attention to that point.

On quarantine and travel corridors, I recognise the frustration of hon. Members, holidaymakers and businesses about the matters arising from the health measures that we have introduced and changes to the travel corridor exemption list. We must not lose sight—I know that hon. Members do not—of the reason why we have had to make those changes; it is simply to protect the health of the nation.

The right hon. Member for East Antrim (Sammy Wilson) rightly talks of confidence. That is why we took the action that we did with the introduction in July of travel corridors, which were a major step forward in safely reopening international travel while retaining the ability to act quickly if public health were at risk. We continue to keep that policy under review, and it is clear from the steps we have taken that it is an evolving policy. We update the exemptions list weekly to reflect the changing health situation in each country, and we continue to evolve that policy as new and enhanced data becomes available. That allowed us, on 7 September, to introduce the islands policy, under which island destinations can be considered separately from the mainland. That provides increased flexibility to add or remove them, as distinct from the mainland, as infections rates change. Unfortunately, as right hon. and hon. Members will realise, the incidence rates in this country are growing, which is why we had to take the steps that we have taken from 5 November.

I want to say a few words about testing, which has obviously been a major part of the debate. There has been some powerful advocacy, and none more so than from my hon. Friend the Member for Crawley. He represents Gatwick airport, and his constituents who work there, with power and dedication. They could have no finer voice, and I thank him for everything he has said in the debate and outside.

On testing at airports, we have previously explained, and I want to explain again for the record, that we cannot currently endorse testing passengers immediately on arrival—in other words, at airports—as a means of avoiding the 14-day self-isolation period. The reason for that is that the long incubation period means that a significant proportion of infected but asymptomatic passengers might receive a negative result but go on to develop the virus over the following days.

However, we are taking action. My right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell referred to the global travel taskforce that we have created, and I want to explain to the House what that is considering. It is looking at how a domestic testing regime for international arrivals could be implemented in order to boost safe travel to and from the UK, and to allow UK residents to travel with confidence. It will consider what steps we can take to facilitate global business and tourist travel, including through bilateral agreements and multilateral forums. We will continue to explore with key international partners issues such as global common standards, testing models, measures around enforcement, exemptions and other border management measures. Beyond that, we will explore what steps we can take to increase consumer confidence, ensure that current measures are being properly adhered to, and restart international travel safely.

I want to inform the House and the Chair of the Transport Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Bexhill and Battle, who asked the specific question—

[Mike Kane]

Will the Minister give way?

[Robert Courts]

I will in a moment. I want to inform everybody that the taskforce will report back to the Prime Minister very soon.

[Sir Edward Leigh (in the Chair)]

Can you give some time for the right hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling) to sum up?

[Mike Kane]

I withdraw my request to intervene.

[Robert Courts]

There are many points that I would like to make—I am conscious of the time, Sir Edward, and I am grateful to you for reminding me—about recovery, but they have been made very well by right hon. and hon. Members. There are a number of points around decarbonisation that I would like to have addressed. Given the time, perhaps we can have a debate about that on another occasion.

I thank everybody who has taken part in the debate, and I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell once again for securing the debate. We are all aware of the scale of the challenge facing the aviation sector and, indeed, the entire country. The combination of the steps that we are taking on public health, the work that we are taking forward on testing and travel corridors, and the unprecedented economic support provides a strong foundation for the recovery of the sector. My hon. Friend the Member for Meriden encouraged me to work together with the sector. I will do so tirelessly, and I will work with every Member who has spoken in the debate.

Exiting the European Union (Merchant Shipping)

Mike Kane Excerpts

Tuesday 10th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mike Kane (Wythenshawe and Sale East) (Lab)]

Labour does not oppose the regulations, for the sake of a smooth transition for the maritime sector, but we have continued and serious concerns about Northern Ireland, the maritime industry, and UK-EU co-operation after Brexit. Under the amended regulations, the Government will set out a list of ship recycling facilities for UK use in Northern Ireland. The EU will also have an approved list of facilities in Northern Ireland. Those lists might end up overlapping, depending on the separate decisions of the EU Commission and the UK Government. It beggars belief that we might end up with a dizzying mess of two confusing and conflicting lists of facilities that are able to carry out the same work in Northern Ireland. Would it not be easier to negotiate with the EU privately about the list and any potential changes, rather than publishing our own list?

The amendment to the regulations highlights wider issues about Brexit and Northern Ireland. The continued Government mishandling of negotiations has led us to a place where last night, the Lords had to step in and remove illegal clauses from the UK internal market Bill. The Government have wasted vital time needed to prepare, instead having a needless row with the European Union over a deal that has already been done. Rather than tying up these remaining loose ends and accepting the Lords amendments, today we hear that the Prime Minister is continuing to threaten to break the law, setting back trust and the chances of a deal.

Across the wider maritime sector, the coronavirus pandemic has had a huge impact. We have already lost at least one international ferry route from Hull to Zeebrugge, and more international routes are under pressure. An estimated 1,200 maritime jobs have already gone since the start of the pandemic. Labour has asked the Government to step in and protect those vital parts of our international freight and travel infrastructure. This sector needs certainty. We need the Government to publish a clear road map for the implementation of the remaining elements of the protocol, which comes into force in less than two months.

I stress that Labour does not believe this country should be in a situation where Northern Ireland is treated differently from the three other nations. The amendment is proof that the Government have failed in their basic responsibility to achieve equivalence across the whole of our United Kingdom.

RNLI and Independent Lifeboats: Covid-19

Mike Kane Excerpts

Tuesday 13th October 2020 Westminster Hall

[Mike Kane (Wythenshawe and Sale East) (Lab)]

We should form a website after this—CoastalCommunitiesRUs.com. Being a Mancunian, I can say that we do not have a beach; that is the one thing that we do not have in Manchester, so I will not compete on the territory of the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Duncan Baker) about who here today has the best beach. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Hosie, and it is great to be back in Westminster Hall. I agree with the hon. Member for Totnes (Anthony Mangnall) that this is an opportunity to celebrate the work of the RNLI and independent lifeboat associations, and I congratulate him on securing the debate. What was really good was the powerful personal testimonies of people in the room today. I will point out just a few of them.

The hon. Member for Moray (Douglas Ross) referred to Adam and a lifetime’s dedication of work to the RNLI. He is a stalwart of the community. I bet Members know Adams in coastal communities up and down our land, and we could not do without them. The hon. Member for Eastleigh (Paul Holmes) talked about the very sad death of Emily Lewis. May I say, on behalf of the Opposition Front Bench, that we send our condolences to the family?

I join the hon. Member for Hastings and Rye (Sally-Ann Hart) in paying tribute to Oliver and James, who saved two young boys out at sea. I think she referred to there being heroism every day, and that is true. I congratulate the hon. Member for Redcar (Jacob Young) on his first Westminster Hall speech, and Bob on the 50 years of his life that he has given to the RNLI. The hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Alan Brown) spoke about Stuart “Woody” Wood. It is great that the boat was named after him.

The RNLI is an institution indelibly ingrained on the psyche of the British nation, and we give thanks to all the souls who down the years have risked their lives to keep those of us in peril on the sea safe. Those brave men and women are on standby 24 hours a day, every day of the year, launching in minutes, as the hon. Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr (Jonathan Edwards) said, with the equipment, skills and expertise that have saved hundreds of thousands of lives over the last 200 years. I pay tribute not just to the RNLI but to the independent lifeboat stations as well, as many Members have done.

The coronavirus pandemic has not prevented the operation of the continuous maritime and coastal search and rescue service that the RNLI and many independent lifeboat stations provide to HM Coastguard and to people in and around British waters. As has been pointed out, it is of great credit to the voluntary crews that they have maintained that provision even in the midst of a national lockdown this spring. Since the inception of voluntary lifeboats in the 18th century and the subsequent foundation of the RNLI in 1824, voluntary crews, and those they have rescued, have relied on voluntary donations to keep them going, as the hon. Member for Hastings and Rye said.

Many of us—even the landlubbers such as myself, the Minister and the hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, who are far from the sea—are touched by the courageous actions of boat crews, although I can point out that, unlike the constituencies of the two Members I mentioned, Manchester has a ship canal, built by Daniel Adamson in 1890, and therefore has access to the Atlantic. I point that out on every occasion. In a testament to the positive impact of lifeboat crews, one of my best friends was rescued by the RNLI on a cliff as a youngster, and five decades later he is still raising money for it, even though he is a constituent of mine.

The RNLI’s 248 lifeboat stations aided more than 9,000 people last year, saving 220 lives. That is more than four lives saved every week. Lifeboat crews depend on well maintained rescue craft, equipment and facilities. Regular training is also essential. Those costs add up. Personal equipment costs £2,500 per crew member. Lifeboats vary from £50,000 to up to £2.2 million. Even an inshore rescue boat costs more than £10,000. According to the RNLI, it cost it more than £181 million to operate last year, with 94% of its income coming from donations. The RNLI tells us that this year it has received reduced income—an outlook reflected across much of the charity sector during the virus and the national lockdown.

Despite the lowered income, lifeboat crews have continued to provide an around-the-clock service throughout the pandemic. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this summer may have been one of the busiest for British lifeboat crews. That is probably linked to the greater number of “staycations” as was mentioned by the hon. Member for South Antrim (Paul Girvan) and others—particularly as the country came out of lockdown. On top of that increased demand, the RNLI has spent an additional £1.3 million this year on the PPE required to follow public health guidance and maintain safety for crews, as mentioned by the hon. Member for Eastbourne (Caroline Ansell). Steve, my parliamentary assistant, who is a former mountain rescue operative, asked me to mention the skill of the work, particularly at Beachy Head, where it is necessary to rescue people from the cliffs. It is time-consuming work, as the hon. Member for North Norfolk mentioned.

The RNLI has made it clear that it has not sought financial support for the additional costs of the pandemic. Nor has it sought wider Government funding. I nevertheless ask the Minister to do everything in his power to ensure that that truly vital service remains effective. I will end with one simple request to the Minister. Will he review voluntary lifeboat funding and ensure that those courageous crews can continue their lifesaving operations?

Oral Answers to Questions

Mike Kane Excerpts

Thursday 17th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Robert Courts]

It absolutely is the Government’s intention and desire to support these highly trained and highly valued members of our workforce. At the end of the day, we need to concentrate very much on the recovery and restart. The Government have already moved quickly to rebuild consumer confidence, collaborating with industry and the unions and across the sector. It is through that that we will ensure the vitality of the sector and those who work for it.

[Mike Kane (Wythenshawe and Sale East) (Lab)]

Today marks the 10th anniversary of Pope Benedict’s visit to Parliament when he addressed both Houses in Westminster Hall and reminded us that, in the pursuit of public policy, we should always keep the common good at the heart of it and that there is an intrinsic link between human dignity and the value of work. In that spirit and in welcoming the Minister to his post today, will he join me in thanking the tens of thousands of ground handlers in every airport across our nation who have kept our skies open, working for companies such as Swissport, dnata, Menzies and World Freight Services? Will he dust down that aviation-specific package that his predecessor had and bring it back to the table?

[Robert Courts]

I thank the hon. Member for making that absolutely superb point. He is quite right to thank those who work in the aviation sector, particularly the ground handlers, because of the way they have continued to work throughout the sector, which has ensured that vital freight and supplies have continued to come in, and people have been able to get around when they have needed to do so. The Government will be looking—as I will be in the course of settling into the role—at any possible steps that we can take to help the sector, which is absolutely vital for our country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Mike Kane Excerpts

Thursday 2nd July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Grant Shapps]

My hon. Friend has absolutely nailed it; he is spot on. That is of course what we must do. I can report to him that 98% of the purchasing for HS2 so far been from British suppliers. There is of course a supply chain involved, but I absolutely support my hon. Friend’s ambition and I know he will do what Network Rail does—it buys nearly all its steel British.

[Mike Kane (Wythenshawe and Sale East) (Lab)]

British, British, British Airways, easyJet, Airbus and Jet2—every day we get more news of staggering job losses across the aviation industry. Our world-class airports and their supply chains are at critical. The US, Spain, Germany and France have all agreed specific aviation deals so that their countries bounce back more strongly. If not now, when will the Government implement a comprehensive package for our aviation sector matching Labour’s commitment?

[Grant Shapps]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right about the critical importance of our aviation sector, which is the third biggest in the world. These are extremely worrying times. As the air bridges start to unlock, that will help, and we will hear more about those soon. It is not the case that there has not been a massive package. He forgets the £330 billion to support the economy, which has included a number of measures that the aviation sector has been able to take specific assistance from. It is okay to discount it, but that is money it has been using all the way along. In addition, the aviation sector has been able to access a process that other sectors have not necessarily been able to, putting it directly in talks between the Department for Transport and the Treasury. It has been accessing money and cash through that process, as well.

Draft National Minimum Wage (Offshore Employment) (Amendment) Order 2020

Mike Kane Excerpts

Monday 22nd June 2020 General Committees

[Mike Kane (Wythenshawe and Sale East) (Lab)]

I congratulate the Minister on getting through all those legal niceties. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Hosie. I enjoy our long conversations, sometimes into the evening, about your fanaticism for Dundee United. We share a similar passion, as your preferred English premiership team is Manchester City, one of the finest teams to grace the land or the world. I hope I have not ruined your career in the Scottish National party by outing you as having a preferred English team.

There is no doubt that the national minimum wage was one of the last Labour Government’s crowning achievements. However, the legal complexities of maritime meant that it was not introduced on our seas. I thank the Department for Transport, officials, Government Members who worked on it, and the legal working group for creating this legislation that sets a minimum wage at sea.

The Labour party is pleased to support the draft order, but it is only a small step in the right direction. It applies only to ratings and seafarers who are going from port to port in the UK. For instance, some hon. Members may not be aware that it does not cover the Dover to Calais route. Although it is a small step, it is important to protect UK seafarers from low-cost crewing models, which have directly contributed to UK ratings being systematically replaced in the last 30 years. UK seafarers now make up just 19% of seafarers in the UK shipping industry, which is a record we should be ashamed of. We should also be ashamed of importing people from all over the world to work for less than the minimum wage and serve British citizens on ships from this country.

I congratulate the RMT, which, as the Minister said, served on the working group, on its tireless work in campaigning since the late ’90s for national minimum wage legislation to cover seafarers employed on ships working from UK ports. Through its campaign and representation on the legal working group, it should be rightly proud of championing the rights of its members.

Scandalous levels of low pay are used by some operators where they can bring in foreign labour to undercut the British workforce that is already there. It is troubling to see signs that some operators may be using the coronavirus pandemic and the Treasury’s job retention scheme, which we welcome, to restructure their workforces and further reduce the number of UK seafarers.

As highlighted by the legal working group, some businesses are doing the right thing: treating their workers with respect and dignity in the workplace, with good pay and good conditions. I and everyone else should applaud that. I am sure the Minister shares my view that that practice should be adopted across the whole industry. The coronavirus crisis has highlighted the fact that even more needs to be done to protect UK seafarers and the UK maritime industry. Will the Minister consider reconvening the legal working group to consider further legislation to protect UK ratings and maritime interests?

This country was built on the shipping industry. The UK remains one of the world’s leading maritime nations. We must continue to champion this heritage and do everything we can to promote the industry and maritime occupations to UK residents. The primary purpose of leadership is to create more leaders. The Government should be at the forefront of getting more UK residents working in maritime and its associated industries.

Oral Answers to Questions

Mike Kane Excerpts

Monday 18th May 2020 Commons Chamber

[Grant Shapps]

Not only do we have the Bank of England scheme, which enables companies that would not ordinarily have the ability to raise money through a paper route; we also have the business interruption loan scheme for different-sized businesses, the time to pay flexibility, financial supports to employees and the VAT deferrals. We also have a special process in place, available only to the aviation sector, so that when it runs out of those other options, it can talk to us about it. That request needs to be made formally in writing to me. I then discuss it with the Treasury, and many aviation-oriented businesses are in the process of doing that.

[Mike Kane (Wythenshawe and Sale East) (Lab) [V]]

British aviation is in freefall. BA, Ryanair, Virgin Atlantic and now the Emirates are set to lay off tens of thousands of staff. The job retention scheme is becoming the job restructuring scheme. We cannot allow that. With the added difficulty and confusion of the Government’s travel quarantine measures, will the Secretary of State urgently bring forward an aviation support package for the sector, matching Labour’s commitment?

[Grant Shapps]

It is a very welcome change, actually, because ordinarily I stand at this Dispatch Box and from my opposite numbers hear a lot of attacks on the aviation sector. I absolutely will bring forward enormous amounts of support to aviation businesses, including all those schemes I just mentioned. There are 43,500 furloughed staff right now from the airlines alone and another 2,600 from airports. I am acutely aware of the job losses and proposed job losses, about which we are very concerned, which is why we have the additional scheme, the Birch process, with the Treasury. Although I cannot go into details of individual cases, for reasons of confidentiality, I can assure the hon. Gentleman that that work is very much ongoing.

Transport

Mike Kane Excerpts

Wednesday 5th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mike Kane (Wythenshawe and Sale East) (Lab)]

When His Excellency the President of China Xi Jinping visited my constituency in 2015, he spoke eloquently about 30 years of the twinning arrangement between Manchester and Wuhan. I want to say on the record that the prayers of Manchester are with the people of Wuhan as they try to contain the coronavirus.

Pope Francis said, five years ago in his seminal encyclical “Laudato Si’”, that we should hear the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. Economic productivity goes hand in hand with social justice, and I think that that is the essence of the debate. I just want to touch, in the few minutes I have, on how it impacts on my constituency.

First, 28 million passengers go through Manchester Airport—some might say that I have the most visited constituency in the north of England—but we need a more sustainable aviation industry. HS2 will reduce journey times from two hours, 24 minutes from my constituency to London to 59 minutes. That is an incredible amount, but it is not about the speed; it is about releasing capacity on the west coast main line. Tens of millions of freight trucks could be taken off the road and on to our railways. Metrolink needs to be expanded through my constituency. We need the bid that has gone in to the Government—for Metrolink to be able to go from the current stop at Manchester Airport to the new terminal, and eventually to loop right around my constituency—to succeed,. because we know that is a green way to travel.

I have some sympathy for Northern Rail. The Government did invest in the Ordsall Chord and connect Piccadilly railway station to Victoria railway station, but we are still waiting for a decision on platforms 15 and 16. There is a bottleneck across the north, and whoever is operating rail in the north will still have to deal with that bottleneck.

I am pleased with Stagecoach in my constituency, at Sharston bus depot. It has committed to making every bus going through my constituency electric in the next few years. We need the national infrastructure fund to help Mayor Burnham and Chris Boardman, our excellent cycling and walking commissioner, with our network in Manchester—£43 billion needs to be spent on cities outside London.

Finally, air quality has been mentioned. Up to 1,200 people die annually in Greater Manchester because we have the poorest air quality in the country. That has to change by having a joined-up transport system with lower emissions. We need to level up outside the south-east.

Flybe

Mike Kane Excerpts

Tuesday 14th January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Paul Maynard]

My hon. Friend temps me to go into a great, lengthy answer about franchising arrangements with Flybe, which I am trying not to do, but I very much hear his point and I regularly wade into the detail of that.

[Mike Kane (Wythenshawe and Sale East) (Lab)]

The Minister went to school a stone’s throw from Manchester airport in my constituency, but is the voice of northern England being heard? After the Thomas Cook debacle, 2.8 million passengers were taken out of capacity. If this Flybe collapse happens, that will affect 1.8 million passengers out of Manchester airport. I know that people are worried about climate change, but APD was a tax devised by London civil servants in Whitehall cooling towers that crippled the growth of regional airports throughout our country, and we are paying the price for that.

[Paul Maynard]

The hon. Gentleman is always a good defender of Manchester airport—I will grant him that. As he will know, ACL determines slot allocation at Manchester. The Thomas Cook slots have already been reallocated among easyJet and Jet2. ACL has the matter in hand. I recognise Manchester’s interest in the process.

Leaving the EU: Aviation Sector

Mike Kane Excerpts

Wednesday 31st October 2018 Westminster Hall

[Mike Kane (Wythenshawe and Sale East) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the effect on the aviation sector of the UK leaving the EU.

It is, as ever, a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Hollobone. The focus of today’s debate is the aviation sector and the risks and opportunities that will be presented when we leave the EU. Aviation and the international connectivity it provides are one of the key drivers of trade, exports and tourism, bringing economic growth and prosperity to the UK.

To many people, an airport is a place they pass through on their way to and from a summer holiday, and an aircraft is simply a thing they board to go on a weekend away or a business trip. However, like many Members here today with airports in and around their constituencies, I know that aviation is about a lot more than that. It is a large, technical and complex industry, and the ease and regularity with which we use it often hides the expertise and investments that go into making it so safe, simple and affordable for all our constituents.

In my own constituency, the sector is a vital source of employment, with more than 25,000 jobs directly supported on the Manchester airport campus. Hundreds of businesses outside the airport work to supply it, sustaining thousands more jobs. Those benefits come from just one airport, and there are many more like it across the country. Imagine the headlines that would follow if a new business was brought to the UK with the promise of creating 25,000 jobs. Imagine the crisis headlines we would read if even a fraction of employment on that scale was suddenly lost.

Aviation is a key enabler of overseas trade. As an island nation, we rely on flight connectivity more than most as we strive to get British products on the shelves of markets around the world, or foreign goods on ours. In addition, as an economy with such a prominent services sector, being able to move British expertise around the world plays a major role in our overseas trade, and that role will only continue to grow.

It is well known that we as a nation need to export more and to ensure that British businesses are competing effectively on the world stage. It is clear that, for those businesses that export, travel and trade abroad, their international exploits are made a lot easier when they have access to direct air links to their chosen markets. Growing our access to those markets will be even more important after Brexit, as will ensuring that they can access the UK market. I am very proud to represent an airport that has the most point-to-point connections of any airport in the UK.

Tourists from all corners of the world flock to the UK to sample our countryside, our history and our cultural, sporting and other assets. In Manchester alone we are surrounded by the Peak district and the Lake district. We have the world’s most famous and successful football teams—some of my hon. Friends here today might argue about which is the most successful of the two. Manchester has an international cricket ground, fantastic universities and even the British Broadcasting Corporation.

As Britain leaves the EU, we need people from right across the globe to find it quick and easy to visit the UK to support our tourist economy. I am sure that colleagues from all parties in this House, regardless of their political background and how they voted in the EU referendum, would agree that it is critical that we continue to enjoy those benefits and that the choice available to our constituents today remains the same. That is critical to those who rely on tourism as their source of income, and it is critical to the businesses that the Government want to support—those that export and trade with the world.

I want to outline both the risks and the opportunities for the aviation sector as we edge closer to the EU exit door. The most fundamental of those is maintaining the connections that are utilised so much today. Some 74% of flights from Manchester airport go to other EU nations. The EU remains our biggest export market and the place where most Britons travel on holiday, with about two thirds of overseas holidaymakers going to Europe every year. It is clear that we have a mutual interest with the EU in a deal being done so that the doomsday scenario of planes being grounded on 29 March next year does not play out. I ask the Minister whether he can provide reassurance that aviation remains at the top of the list as negotiations continue, and that it will be prioritised quickly should no deal become a reality.

Lucy Chadwick, the director general of the Department for Transport, recently said to the Public Accounts Committee that air and rail services between Britain and the EU are an “area of growing concern.” The House of Lords EU Committee reported last year:

“There is no adequate ‘fall-back’ position for aviation services in the event that no agreement is reached with the EU. Air services are excluded from the WTO.”

That is worth repeating: there is no World Trade Organisation fall-back position for aviation when we exit the EU next year. Although airlines and airports are optimistic that a deal will be negotiated, there is a very real danger that planes will be unable to take off if we leave the EU without a deal. Can the Minister comment on that and, furthermore, describe the practical steps the Government are taking to secure the mutual recognition of aviation safety standards, which is currently provided for under the European Aviation Safety Agency system? This must be about not mitigating any risk to aviation, but actively supporting it after Brexit.

The opportunity is there for us to pull the levers we need to to further improve our links with the rest of the world and to edge ahead of our competitors. We have the chance now to think about the markets we want to access if we are serious about Britain competing on the world stage after Brexit. There is no better time to consider the kind of aviation sector we want and the role we want it to play in driving growth and prosperity, particularly in our regions. It is clear that those benefits need to be spread across the whole of the UK—not only by allowing people in the north to fly south, but by allowing people from all over our country to fly wherever they need to. That strategy goes hand in hand with defining what a post-Brexit Britain will look like.

[Dr Philippa Whitford (Central Ayrshire) (SNP)]

The hon. Gentleman talks about Brexit allowing a reorientation so that we can look at where else in the world UK airlines can fly to. Can he explain why we cannot do that now, and why we need to lose our flights to Europe to gain flights to elsewhere?

[Mike Kane]

We are doing that now at my own airport. I will be going to the inaugural flight from Manchester to Mumbai next week. We now have direct connectivity to Beijing and Hong Kong, and shortly we will announce direct connectivity to Shanghai as well. Airports are increasingly going from point to point, and that seems to be the way of the future.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

I wanted to come in at that point, because my hon. Friend is talking specifically about those connections between Manchester airport and China. I want to touch on air freight, because Manchester has seen a £300 million increase in air freight exports to China in the last two years. To have that thriving air freight sector requires further work to be done. Does he agree that the UK needs to be doing better, given that we are outside the top 10 on the air trade facilitation index and outside the top 20 for electronic freight processing?

[Mike Kane]

The Manchester Airports Group includes East Midlands airport, which is close to my hon. Friend’s constituency, and Stansted. East Midlands is a huge hub for freight leaving the UK, and has huge expansion potential. I am concerned that the Government are not ready to use the opportunity, as we leave the EU, to prepare the aviation sector for the next, crucial five to 10 years.

The welcome that we give to those who visit us is also part and parcel of creating a truly international Britain after Brexit. It is how we tell the world that we are open for business and how we encourage tourists to come to see us time and time again.

Lots of questions still need answering, and there is a risk that questions are not being answered in good time. I am sure we were all concerned by the recent National Audit Office report on our state of preparedness for a no-deal scenario. Airports across the country have repeatedly reported problems of under-resourcing, queues at the border and a total dissatisfaction with the targets that Border Force works to. The Government have continued to cut funding for Border Force, while passenger numbers have grown, so can we really expect a proper service at our borders? I hope the Minister will tell us what the Government are doing to work with airports and Border Force to put in place a realistic, long-term plan to ensure our borders are adequately resourced into the future.

Finally, as I said, the aviation sector is a huge employer in its own right, and millions more are employed in related industries, such as the visitor economy and the logistics sector, which my hon. Friend just mentioned. Across the country, tens of millions of EU nationals make a valuable contribution to those industries. Although I am hopeful that arrangements will be put in place to ensure that people can remain employed in those sectors, we need to think seriously about what happens post Brexit. We must ensure we have the skills and training to support and grow the aviation sector in the years ahead. We have the opportunity to get this right through the industrial strategy process to ensure that Britain is known around the globe for delivering world-class service and hospitality, as well as for having a slick, efficient transport system.

As I have outlined, aviation is an essential component of an outward-looking Britain. It must continue to play a pivotal role in our economy and our social and cultural future, but the question is, how will we harness that potential? How will we use the sector to drive growth through enhanced trade and investment in tourism? How, on a more basic level, will we ensure that consumers continue to enjoy the choices they enjoy today? If we are serious about creating a balanced and truly international Britain, we must prioritise this sector now, during and after our exit from the European Union.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

--- Later in debate ---

[Mike Kane]

Thank you, Mr Hollobone. We have had a good debate. Now we know the Minister has a pilot’s licence, we know he could have brought it in to land himself, but he had to wind up.

Since Richard Arkwright built his mill in 1783, Manchester has been a global trading city. That is why this issue is important to me, my constituents and the 30 million passengers, and that is why I look at a global Britain. I say with all gentleness to the hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Alan Brown) that his was the first contribution from the Scottish National party Front Bench that did not mention air passenger duty. I say to him: “Now that you’ve got the power, use it if you want to be a global Scotland.” That is really important.

I turn to my fellow seafaring city MPs. My hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport (Luke Pollard) made a fine speech, which demonstrated his expert work before he came to the House, and I wish him all the best with his campaign to reopen Plymouth airport. I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull East (Karl Turner) that it would be devastating to leave without a deal. Although the Minister summed up our relationship with the EU on aviation really eloquently, it is still worrying that we have had no negotiations to date. It is important that those do not go down to the last minute.

The hon. Members for Strangford (Jim Shannon) and for Central Ayrshire (Dr Whitford) summed up the issue. As the hon. Gentleman said, this is about confidence and there are options, but the industry needs to know what its options are because, as the hon. Lady said, we are selling slots for summer now. This is not a problem for next summer—it is a problem now. We must get the Government around the table, get a deal and ensure we can go forward in confidence as global Britain with our aviation sector.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered the effect on the aviation sector of the UK leaving the EU.