New Railway Line: Bristol to Portishead

Robert Courts Excerpts

Tuesday 19th October 2021 Written Statements

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

I have been asked by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, to make this written ministerial statement. This statement concerns the application made by North Somerset District Council under the Planning Act 2008 for the construction of a new railway on the trackbed on the former branch line from Bristol to Portishead.

Under section 107(1) of the Planning Act 2008, the Secretary of State must make his decision within three months of receipt of the examining authority’s report unless exercising the power under section 107(3) to extend the deadline and make a statement to the Houses of Parliament announcing the new deadline. The Secretary of State received the examining authority’s report on the Portishead branch line-MetroWest phase 1 development consent order application on 19 July 2021 and the current deadline for a decision was 19 October 2021.

The deadline for the decision is to be extended to 19 April 2022—an extension of six months—to allow further consideration of environmental matters.

The decision to set new deadlines is without prejudice to the decisions on whether to grant development consent for the above application.

[HCWS333]

Draft Airports Slot Allocation (Alleviation of Usage Requirements) (No. 2) Regulations 2021

Robert Courts Excerpts

Tuesday 19th October 2021 General Committees

[The Chair]

Before we begin, I would like to remind Members to observe social distancing and only to sit in places that are clearly marked. I would also like to remind Members that Mr Speaker has stated that masks should be worn in Committee. Hansard colleagues would be most grateful if Members could send their speaking notes to [e-mail].

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

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the draft Airports Slot Allocation (Alleviation of Usage Requirements) (No. 2) Regulations 2021.

It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship this morning, Mr Davies.

The draft regulations will be made under the powers conferred by the Air Traffic Management and Unmanned Aircraft Act 2021. The Act created a more flexible set of powers for Ministers to implement slot alleviation measures related to the impact of covid-19, subject to a vote, of course, in both Houses. It allows us to tailor our responses in ways that were not possible before the Act. Ordinarily, airlines must operate slots 80% of the time in order to retain the right to the same slots the following—that is known as the 80:20 rule or the “use it or lose it” rule. However, the powers provided by the Act enable the Secretary of State to provide alleviation from that rule if he is satisfied that there is a reduction in demand due to the covid-19 pandemic, and that the reduction is likely to persist.

Under normal circumstances, the 80:20 rule helps to encourage the efficient use of scarce airport capacity while allowing airlines a degree of flexibility in their operations. In response to the covid-19 pandemic, the EU Commission waived the 80:20 rule for the summer 2020 and winter 2020 seasons. Following the UK’s departure from the EU, the UK Government decided to extend the waiver to cover the summer 2021 season, which runs until 30 October, through the Airports Slot Allocation (Alleviation of Usage Requirements) Regulations 2021, which we debated earlier this year.

By providing airlines with the legal certainty that they would be able to retain their slots even if not operated, the commercial impacts of the covid-19 outbreak on the industry were mitigated. That is because airlines might have otherwise opted to incur the financial costs—the loss—of operating flights at low load factors merely to retain those slots. The policy also supported sustainability by reducing the likelihood of needless emissions from near-empty aircraft.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Chair]

May I inform the Committee that I will call other Members to speak after the Minister and the Opposition spokesperson if anyone wants to elaborate on the matter? I am just making the point to keep interventions short.

[Robert Courts]

Thank you, Mr Davies. If I may, I will make some progress and return to the hon. Gentleman’s point in a moment.

Owing to the continued uncertainty and low passenger demand forecasts, we set out a package of measures on 19 July to alleviate slot usage requirements for the winter 2021 season, which runs from 31 October 2021 to 26 March 2022. That package was developed following consultation with the aviation industry and careful consideration of responses. It is fair to say that there were a range of views, from calls for a full waiver to support for no alleviation.

The draft instrument applies to England, Scotland and Wales. It is a devolved matter for Northern Ireland and does not therefore apply to it.

In the draft instrument, we have set out a package of alleviation measures that are designed to work together. They include changing the minimum usage ratio to 50:50, meaning that airlines are required to sue their slots at least 50% of the time to retain the right to operate those same slots in the following year. The reintroduction of a utilisation rate should encourage efficient slot use while also supporting sector recovery. There is a utilisation rate rather than a full waiver that we have seen in the past.

The draft regulations would also allow airlines that hand back a full series of slots to the slot co-ordinator before the start of the season to retain the right to operate that series of slots the following year. That will provide an opportunity for other airlines, including new entrants, to apply for and operate those slots on a temporary or ad hoc basis. The measure will apply to traded and leased slots, but not to newly allocated slots. That will prevent carriers from acquiring slots with no intention of using them. However, airlines that have announced that they have permanently ceased or will permanently cease operations at an airport before the start of the winter 2022 season will not benefit from the regulations in winter 2022.

The draft regulations expand the reasons that airlines may use to justify not using slots to include covid-19 related restrictions. That provides a guard against the risk of unforeseen covid-19 related measures or restrictions being imposed during the season. It will apply where unforeseen covid-19 related measures, including flight bans, quarantine or self-isolation requirements are applied at either end of a route and have a severe impact on demand for the route or the viability of it. That will apply where restrictions could not reasonably have been foreseen in time to hand back the full slot series. There will be a three-week recovery period during which the provisions, sometimes known as force majeure, may still apply following the end of the covid restrictions. That gives airports and airlines time to respond to any unforeseen restrictions. The measures will cover the winter 2021 scheduling period, from 31 October 2021 to 26 March 2022.

We are currently considering alleviation for summer 2022 and we plan to consult with industry and interested Members to inform our policy later this year.

The instrument provides the necessary relief for the aviation sector for the winter 2021 scheduling period. Through this package of measures we have aimed to strike a balance between supporting the financial health of the sector while encouraging recovery.

[Martin Docherty-Hughes (West Dunbartonshire) (SNP)]

The Minister said that Northern Ireland is excluded from the measure due to devolution. Can he expand on why it is good for them and not good for the rest of us?

[Robert Courts]

The reason is that aerodromes are a devolved matter in relation to Northern Ireland. There are also no co-ordinated slot airports in Northern Ireland, so the Northern Ireland Executive have agreed that it was not necessary for the powers of the 2021 Act to extend to, or apply in relation to, Northern Ireland.

I am conscious that I promised to respond to the query from the hon. Member for Blackley and Broughton.

[Graham Stringer]

The Minister is seeking inspiration.

[The Chair]

It has flown over.

[Robert Courts]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for allowing me time to collect my thoughts. An assessment is always conducted of the impact of any measure that the Government introduce. Obviously, there is also a consultation period that takes into account the views of the sector. In any event that informal assessment is made, but hon. Gentleman asked about a formal impact assessment. In this case, we make provision for a period of less than 24 months, because the winter 2021 season lasts until March 2022 and any alleviation beyond that would require a fresh statutory instrument. I hope that clears up the matter, but I could come back to it later.

I commend the regulation to the Committee and I hope that everyone has found my remarks informative. I can deal with any other points when I reply to the debate.

[The Chair]

I will call the Opposition spokesperson next. There will be an opportunity for others to speak, but this particular slot is limited to one and a half hours and I do not expect it to go on for more than 80% of that.

--- Later in debate ---

[Robert Courts]

I am grateful for the opportunity to respond to the points that hon. Members have made, and I will do my best to go through all of them.

The hon. Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East asked about the hire and refire tactics, and what attitude we would take on slots. As he knows, slot allocation is something that the Government are legally prevented from interfering with or getting involved in; it is a matter for Airport Coordination Limited. I understand the point that he raises, but that is the reason why we cannot do that.

The hon. Gentleman also asked me about the plan for reactivating and re-energising the sector more broadly. He will of course remember that we are due to publish a strategic plan for the recovery of the sector by the end of the year, and I will look to deal with those points in that document. We will be producing that important document in due course. It will also deal with a number of points made by my hon. Friends. My hon. Friend the Member for South Thanet asked about load factors and new entrants. That is an important point and something we should address with a bit of time to breathe and think. What we are dealing with here is essentially an emergency short-term measure. It is not intended to be long-term policy on slots; it is simply providing some alleviation at the current time. He raises important points; we will be considering the matter, and will look to say more about it in the document in due course.

The hon. Member for Rochdale asked a similar question but with regards to the environment. He is familiar with the work of the Jet Zero Council, which has a big part to play. He asked specifically about the environmental impact and slot allocation. We will look at the wider slot policy point in the strategic document on the recovery of the sector and say more about that towards the end of the year. I am not seeking to swerve the question, and the hon. Gentleman has raised an important point, but the regulations are not the right vehicle to consider it, because they are an emergency measure to provide alleviation over the course of the winter season.

My hon. Friend the Member for Bexhill and Battle asked about some of the longer-term implications, and they will be covered in the strategic document. He started by saying that the regulations are essentially a compromise, and he is right. It is a matter of judgment, and to a certain extent that also answers some of the points raised by the hon. Member for Blackley and Broughton. In terms of the financial impact, both hon. Gentlemen will appreciate that that involves an element of judgment. Clearly, the aviation sector has been unable to fly and that has a financial impact. There is a desire for airlines to start to fly their slots again, but without doing so in such a draconian way that it causes them to retrench. That is the challenge.

The Committee will recall that the last time that we debated this issue, it was a matter of full alleviation, so the 80:20 rule did not apply, but now 50% of the time flights are required. There is a judgment and an element of compromise and my hon. Friend for Bexhill and Battle is right to put it in those terms. He also asked about sub-letting, as he put it, and I think he means a full series hand-back, and the ability to come back and to fly some of those slots. If an airline knows that it cannot fly its slots, the intention is to encourage it to hand those slots back rather than to hold on to them and perhaps end up flying them, with all the environmental impact, and the economic impact on that airline. Because we are dealing with an evolving time, airlines may realise that they can fly slots, and that would encourage them to come back to airports where they are already established and start to re-establish services. It may also give an opportunity to new entrants if they are able to fly slots to demonstrate that they are able to do so. It is important to recognise that that would happen over the course of this season, and would not establish a long, historical right to fly slots. The point of the regulations is that airlines will retain their slots for the next season provided that they hand them back in this season.

A wider slot policy issue must be considered, which is why I referred to the strategic document that we will produce and release towards the end of the year. I am keen to stress that we need to look at the policy, but do so with a little bit more time to reflect, and not while the industry is in the midst of the immediate covid challenge.

[Huw Merriman]

I am keen for the Minister to say whether prior notification that an airline is moving away from an airport is indeed the notification that he has cited. Has that airline given the confirmation that it plans no longer to operate from that airport, or will there be a forward, formal date at which to vacate?

[Robert Courts]

I was just about to address that point. I did not mean to give the impression that I was not going to answer. It fundamentally comes down to whether ACL understands that to be a formal revocation. I would have to look at the circumstances to give a proper answer as to exactly what was said. It fundamentally comes down to whether operations have ceased or have been paused.

My hon. Friend also asked about the economic regulation of Heathrow. That is subject to an independent decision taken by the CAA. Obviously, there has been a huge amount of financial challenge over the course of the past 18 months, and that is why a support package, as part of wider economic measures, has been given. When making that independent assessment, the CAA must balance the interests of passengers and the airlines, and the financial viability of the airport. It balances those three factors when it reaches its independent decision.

The hon. Member for Blackley and Broughton asked about the impact assessment, and I apologise for not giving an answer that was quite clear the first time. If I understood him correctly, the November point—he referred to March ’23, which I will address in a second—is about the powers that are conferred by ATMUA, or the Air Traffic Management and Unmanned Aircraft Act 2021, that enable us to introduce this regulation. Although that period is clearly longer than a year, we are dealing here with a shorter period of alleviation. The powers last longer than a year, but the exercise of the powers that we are seeking here is for less than a year. The hon. Gentleman has the draft statutory instrument in front of him. He will see that paragraph 2 refers to a required percentage of

“50 %, in the case of slots with a date falling within the scheduling period from 31 October 2021 until 26 March 2022”.

The start of the period is the date of the end of the month, which I gave in my opening speech, and it will last until 26 March 2022. The powers that we are seeking to exercise apply for this shorter period of less than a year, from the end of October to the end of March.

The hon. Gentleman asked why we did not have an impact assessment for a longer period. That is a perfectly fair and reasonable point, but the difficulty, and the reason why we have not done such an assessment, is that it would depend on the usage ratio that we applied. He will remember that last time we considered this statutory instrument, there was a full alleviation, so there was no requirement to fly the flights at all. That would clearly have one economic impact, whereas we are now talking about a 50% usage rule, which will have a different economic impact. In the next season, there will be another period. I do not know now—we would have to consult—what we would do at that time; clearly that would have another economic impact. We are dealing with a period of less than a year.

The hon. Gentleman also made a point about the end of March 2023. If I understood him correctly, he took that from paragraph 2(4)(b), which is about the entitlement for the air carrier to retain the slots in the next scheduling period. He will remember that the issue we are dealing with here concerns this scheduling period. In normal circumstances, if slots are not flown 80% of the time, they cannot be kept in the next scheduling period. We are operating relief for this scheduling period. New paragraph 2a to the Council regulation states that

“the scheduling period from 31 October 2021 until 26 March 2022 shall entitle the air carrier to the same series of slots for the scheduling period from 30 October 2022 until 25 March 2023”.

If I understood the hon. Gentleman correctly, I think I can answer him by saying that this is not power we are exercising; we are simply pointing out that the airline will get to keep the slot for that scheduling period. I hope that I have explained the detail of the matter, now that I have found the relevant bit of the SI, and that I have understood his point correctly.

The hon. Gentleman asked about a number of other points. He asked about ownership of slots. Slots are a permission to fly, rather than an ownership, and are dealt with by ACL. I understand the substantial point that he makes, which is important, and we will have to look at slots policy, as I have explained, but the slots are a matter that is dealt with by ACL as a process independent of government.

I think I have dealt with the hon. Gentleman’s detailed point. The broader point he made is about assessment of the impact. Clearly there has not been a formal impact assessment, as we have discussed. There is obviously an informal one, but what we are doing here is seeking to allow relief, because if an airline cannot fly, it is quite clearly suffering an economic impact. That is what we are seeking to do. If an airline were not to have this relief, it would be required to fly the flight to keep the slot, and would wasting fuel without a full load factor, and in some cases even empty. Clearly that would have adverse economic impact for the airline, as well as an environmental impact, which I appreciate is separate from the point that he raises.

I think I have dealt with all hon. Members’ points. I am pausing for a second in case anyone thinks I have not. I am grateful for the points that have been made. The regulations are a short-term relief package. If we do not take this action, the default position will accrue and airlines will have to fly 80% of the time or lose the slots. That will mean that an airline either has to lose its slots or fly them empty, with all the adverse financial and environmental consequences that that would have, which I submit to the Committee would be a result that we would all want to avoid. We will, of course, look at the longer-term piece for the aviation industry in more detail at the end of year.

I hope I have covered all the points raised and I urge the Committee to support the regulations.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That the Committee has considered the draft Airport Slot Allocation (Alleviation of Usage Requirements) (No. 2) Regulations 2021.

Cruise Industry

Robert Courts Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd September 2021 Westminster Hall

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

It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Efford. As is often the case when we discuss our wonderful maritime sector, we have had a debate that has been incredibly interesting, inspiring, thought-provoking, amusing, musical, well-informed and above all passionate, and it is an honour to respond to all the hon. and right hon. Members who have made speeches. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton, Itchen (Royston Smith) on securing this timely debate. I know this topic is close to his heart; it is to mine too, and I am keen to debate it with other Members today, particularly during Cruise Lines International Association Cruise Week.

As I have got to know the sector, I have been struck by its incredible variety. We have seen this outlined and explained in the speeches today: the majesty of the large cruise ships; the family ships; the small, boutique exploration ships. It is for this reason that the cruise industry is at the heart of the UK’s maritime identity. More than that, we have seen today that it is a part of the human desire to explore. It brings enormous cultural and social benefits to the country and to the people who cruise, but it also brings identity. The phrase used by my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton, Itchen, with regards to the ever-changing landscape of Southampton, particularly struck me, as we see what this means to his constituency. The value of the sector to the economy is significant and undeniable. Prior to the pandemic, it supported over 82,000 jobs. CLIA estimates that passengers and crew spent £486 million at ports of embarkation and call in 2017. We have heard from hon. Members of the effect that the industry had.

Unlike the hon. Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East (Mike Kane), I am not going to fall into the trap of debating what is the most important cruise destination or port in the UK. There are all manner of beautiful, interesting and amazing places to visit. I always enjoy listening to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), and he did an amazing job in selling his constituency. I am delighted to report that I have been to his constituency and need no persuading of its wonders, but I very much look forward to visiting again as soon as I can. We heard very powerfully from him of the effect that the cruise industry has on Belfast and his constituency.

As we heard from my right hon. Friend the Member for Romsey and Southampton North (Caroline Nokes), every cruise passenger who passes through the terminal is an opportunity for coastal communities all over the UK; from Orkney to Thurrock, Manchester to Northern Ireland, Aberdeen to Inverclyde, to Southampton—we have really seen that today. In particular, it provides opportunities that areas that have been disadvantaged can make the most of. I have been struck by some of the comments made today by hon. Members; I am very keen to work together with councils, and with the devolved Administrations, to ensure that every community benefits. As the hon. Member for Strangford says, we are better together, and I am keen to do everything I can to help.

That is why it has been so devastating that the cruise industry has been at a standstill for over a year. I have also seen the very moving and sad sight of the great ships moored offshore; it is a sight that I hope not to see again, but it made an impact on me. The cruise industry was an early victim of the covid-19 pandemic. We all saw the stories of outbreaks on vessels that were splashed across the papers at the beginning of the pandemic. However, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Romsey and Southampton North pointed out, operators, industry and Government worked very closely together to take action to repatriate over 19,000 UK nationals from vessels around the globe. The UK also facilitated the repatriation of over 13,000 crew members from cruise ships to their home nations, and encouraged other nations to do the same.

The impact of the pandemic on the cruise industry was considerable; we had to find a way forward. My Department brought teams across Whitehall to work together. I emphasise that for a good reason—it really was working together. I pay tribute to the sector; to its stoicism, as was referred to earlier, and to how it put the safety of passengers and crew at the heart of everything it did. I also pay tribute to my team at the Department of Transport, for whom this has been a labour of love. They have worked passionately with the industry to be able restart the sector. That was possible because the industry worked very quickly to produce the comprehensive set of protocols, through the UK Chamber of Shipping, that we have already heard about today. They have been recognised by the International Maritime Organisation as good practice globally. It is a significant achievement for all those involved, and to the industry’s credit that these were produced so quickly, and that they are substantial. Operators submit to an external verification process to achieve hospital-grade infection prevention certification. Indeed, one of the external verification providers that we have heard from as part of the restart process has assured us that in some cases cruise ships have outperformed hospitals. My right hon. Friend the Member for Romsey and Southampton North is right to point out the extraordinary facilities that exist on some of these ships—I have seen some of them—because there really are hospitals on board. That is quite incredible.

So we have seen a phased return of cruising. I was delighted to see the first domestic cruise setting sail from Southampton in May. The attitude of the sector—this positive, outward-going, constructive, go-getting attitude—has really been shown by the creation of a new domestic market for cruising. Customer appetite has been phenomenal and I am absolutely delighted that passengers have experienced the beauty of the UK’s coastline—all around the UK, as we have heard today—despite the summer weather that we have had, which has perhaps been suboptimal, to say the least.

The Department for Transport led the global travel taskforce, of course, and as part of that I led a ministerial task and finish group for cruise restart, to oversee the measures put in place and to ensure that we could restart and restaff in a safe way. I thank my colleagues from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Department of Health and Social Care, and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport for their diligent work, and for working together with me in restarting cruise in a safe way. I cannot say how delighted I was that the first international cruise started again in August from Liverpool, where the hon. Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East and I were the other day. That is a real testament to the extraordinary work that has gone into enhancing the resilience of the sector from Government and industry working together.

Nevertheless, I of course recognise that this long suspension of the industry has had a significant financial impact. We heard that most clearly from my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jackie Doyle-Price), who chairs the all-party parliamentary group on maritime and ports. She very powerfully explained that the financial impact on the sector has been significant. Again, I pay tribute to the sector’s stoicism. However, the impact has not only been felt on the cruise sector itself but on ports, on the wider supply chains and on local communities, from Southampton to Strangford, and from Manchester through to Thurrock. The right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) talked about tour guides, which is a very good example of how local small industries really benefit from the cruise industry.

That aspect is particularly important, of course, for my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton, Itchen. Last week, he and I were both at the unveiling of the fifth cruise terminal at Southampton, the absolutely beautiful new Horizon terminal. It is a state-of-the-art building, equipped with shore power to reduce emissions from cruise ships in port, and it is the result of investment by Associated British Ports with the Government and the Solent local enterprise partnership. That visit was particularly significant for me, because one of the first visits I made after being given this job, within just one or two days, was to Southampton, and almost a year to the day later I revisited the same site and saw that incredible new facility.

Of course, we have heard that there are many other new facilities elsewhere. We have heard from the hon. Members for Inverclyde (Ronnie Cowan) and for Aberdeen North (Kirsty Blackman) about the investment that is being made in their part of the world, including the £350 million expansion in Aberdeen, which includes space for cruise. That is very welcome.

When we look to the future, such investment encapsulates everything that is best about the sector. It is looking to the future, reaching for new standards and looking for goals that are common across the whole of maritime, as we heard in the debate last week. I saw that for myself when I visited the Iona, which is P&O’s newest and most environmentally friendly ship, in Southampton a couple of months ago. It is an incredibly impressive vessel and really shows how the industry is going the extra mile to make itself more environmentally friendly.

Of course, we have the transport decarbonisation plan. Shore power, as we see at that new fifth cruise terminal in Southampton, is a major part of that, because it reduces emissions, meaning that ships do not have to run their generators in port, which will help communities in areas such as Aberdeen or Southampton, Itchen, and help to ensure a greener and cleaner environment for all. This winter, we will consult on how Government can support wider deployment as we transition to net zero.

Of course, cruise is also a major part of levelling up, which is central to this Government’s agenda, to ensure that we have direct investment from the cruise sector in port towns and cities, creating local jobs and initiatives to improve air quality in those constituencies.

[Kirsty Blackman]

I am really pleased to hear about the focus on net zero and the amount that the Minister is able to say about what the cruise industry is doing; that is excellent. On the employment issues that have been raised, we are really clear that people should be paid the real living wage, but if he is not willing to go that far, can he at least confirm that he believes people should be paid the national living wage if they are working on cruise ships that are docking in British ports?

[Robert Courts]

I am grateful to the hon. Member for raising that point. We are always interested to see what more we can do to raise standards for those who work in this most wonderful of sectors. Last year, I signed into law the regulation that meant that the majority of those who work in UK waters are paid that minimum wage, which means that the attractiveness of using seafarers from elsewhere is much reduced. However, I will of course continue to look at what else we might be able to do. We want to make sure that the UK is an excellent place to invest in, and to bring more cruise ships, more seafarers, more jobs and more money into this area. We will continue to support the safe resumption of cruise.

I will make one or two other points before I invite my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton, Itchen to sum up the debate. Making sure that crew changes are managed efficiently and safely is key, and I am pleased to note that cruise companies already implement their own vaccination policies and report very high levels of fully vaccinated passengers, but it is also a matter for seafarers. It has been very difficult to access vaccination for seafarers, because it is complex. We have worked very closely together, and I want to thank the NHS for making clinics available, particularly Solent NHS Trust. That trust has been incredibly impressive, even sending NHS staff onboard to ensure that seafarers are reached, which will clearly have a major impact.

A number of Members have mentioned the seafarers earnings deduction, and I will say a word or two about that. Clearly, the UK has been under extraordinary financial pressure over the past 18 months. A large percentage of UK seafarers are working internationally, and of course being eligible for the seafarers earnings deduction can make an important difference to their financial wellbeing and ability to support families. Unfortunately, the global suspension of the cruise sector has meant that seafarers, through no fault of their own, have been unable to meet or maintain the eligibility requirements for accessing SED. The industry has warned that this will have a significant impact on those seafarers, as all right hon. and hon. Members will realise. My predecessor and I have both engaged extensively with the Treasury on the matter. The effect of it has been difficult to quantify, but I hope that a clearer picture will emerge with the resumption of international cruises. I look forward to working with industry to provide further data to help Government make an informed decision on what further action, if any, they are able to take.

[Kirsty Blackman]

That is a really important point for a significant number of all of our constituents. The Minister has said that he has had talks and that things may be going forward, but if he will undertake to write to us and let us know what is happening with this issue in future, I would really appreciate it.

[Robert Courts]

The substantive point of the comment that I made was about the data—in particular, the clearer picture of the impact—and I can certainly write to hon. Members if that would be helpful, so that they can understand what data is required. I can certainly look at that once it is provided.

In summary, I thank all hon. Members who have taken part in today’s debate. It has been a long and challenging 18 months for cruise, and I cannot express enough times my delight that with co-operation across Government and the industry, this incredibly valuable sector has been able to restart. As we have heard, prior to the pandemic, cruise was one of the fastest-growing sectors of the tourism industry worldwide, and was of huge importance to Britain and the public. As ships sail from our shores again, I want the sector to feel confident that the UK is a great place to do business, and for it to bring more ships and more jobs, and more for our communities all over our United Kingdom.

Decarbonising Aviation

Robert Courts Excerpts

Tuesday 21st September 2021 Westminster Hall

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

I will absolutely ensure that I leave that time, Sir Gary. This has been an interesting and well-informed debate. I am grateful to everybody who has contributed and I congratulate the hon. Member for Putney (Fleur Anderson) on securing the debate. We have heard from the hon. Members for Richmond Park (Sarah Olney) and for Angus (Dave Doogan), the right hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell), the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon)—who need not worry, because he is an institution and we all know who he is—and the hon. Members for Rutherglen and Hamilton West (Margaret Ferrier) and for Bath (Wera Hobhouse), as well as the Opposition Front Bench speakers.

We all agree that aviation decarbonisation is a critical issue for the UK and, of course, for the entire world, as the hon. Member for Bristol East (Kerry McCarthy) rightly said. Equally, the fight against climate change is one of the greatest and most pressing challenges for the world. However, while it is a challenge, it also presents an opportunity. I echo entirely what the hon. Member for Strangford said. He spoke about the opportunities in North Antrim. He is right, but there are also opportunities all over the UK as we reimagine the way that we fly, as we shift the aviation sector towards a more sustainable flightpath and, ultimately, zero emission flight. The whole country can then look to benefit from that technology, which I will come on to in a minute. I know that the hon. Member for Angus will be particularly interested in that.

[Wera Hobhouse]

Is the Minister looking seriously at progress in the production of synthetic fuels?

[Robert Courts]

I thank the hon. Member, who raises a very good point; I will answer her question when I get to that section of my speech.

I entirely hear the concerns raised by hon. Members, but I feel that the UK Government are leading on this and I want to spend a few moments explaining why that is the case. On our overarching approach, we are confident that by working in partnership with industry, non-governmental organisations, academics and, of course, the public, we can deliver net zero aviation by 2050 through technological solutions and not through restricting the freedom to fly.

I think that the hon. Member for Bath said that the problem is not with flying, but with emissions. I agree with that and I will explain why we will be able to get there. We want to encourage the growth of the sector as it encourages innovative new ways to cut aviation emissions while protecting the benefits of travel, which we probably all agree are cultural, economic and social. It also binds our binds our country together, as I experienced recently when I flew back from Aberdeen.

The Government take this issue seriously and have a strong record on it. We have shown steadfast commitment and are the first major economy to pass laws to end our contribution to climate change by 2050, making us one of the first major economies to legislate a net zero target. We have also set the most ambitious climate change target yet, in the sixth carbon budget, which aims to reduce carbon emissions by 78% compared with 1990 levels, in line with the recommendations of the independent Climate Change Committee. Also in line with those recommendations, the Government have formally included, for the first time, the UK’s share of international aviation and shipping emissions, meaning that those emissions can be accounted for consistently with other sectors.

July was another milestone in our pathway to jet zero as we published the jet zero consultation. I hear what the hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire North (Gavin Newlands) says about consultations, but I think we should be using the extraordinary expertise that we have in the industry. We must get this right and we need to ensure that we are working and moving forward in a collegiate fashion.

[Gavin Newlands]

I very much hear what the Minister is sayings, but could he give an indication of the timescales for the four consultations? When will they report back and when will we see action?

--- Later in debate ---

[Robert Courts]

I will hopefully cover that as I go through. It depends which consultation we are talking about. On this issue, the consultation has closed and we will be giving responses shortly. I cannot give precise timescales, but I understand the need for urgency and of course we will move as quickly as we can.

The consultation outlines our approach to reach net zero carbon emissions—or jet zero, as we call it—by 2050, so that we maintain those huge benefits of air travel, and we have clear goals and solutions. There are five policy levers, which are perhaps better understood as three plus two. The first lever is to increase the efficiency of our existing aviation system. I suggest that hon. Members may wish to think about this in terms of timescale: what happens now, what can happen in the shorter term, and what can happen in the medium term.

On the efficiency of our existing aviation system and aircraft, the hon. Member for Angus will realise that, broadly, if we were to see an airliner fly over us today, it might look similar to one from 30 years ago but it would be twice as efficient—to use very approximate figures—because of carbon fibres and engine technology. Those aircraft efficiencies are happening already with the technology that we have. It is not enough, but it is helping.

The hon. Member for Bristol East is quite right to say that airspace can help cut emissions to ensure that fuel is not wasted. If we are more efficient about the way in which aircraft approach airports, that will obviously help. We passed the Air Traffic Management and Unmanned Aircraft Act 2021 in the previous Session. The Civil Aviation Authority is currently reviewing the airspace modernisation strategy and is working to distribute the funds that we gave to further that process. That is the first part: aircraft and airspace.

The second part is about developing ambitious plans for a UK sustainable aviation fuel industry. I will come to that in a bit more detail in a moment. That is not the immediate progress, but the next stage. The third part is about accelerating the development of zero emission flight. That is the sort of thing that we see on the front of the more advanced, new airframe types—the futuristic things that we read about. Those are the first three parts, which go together—that is why I say there are three plus two. The fourth aspect is about developing carbon markets and greenhouse gas removal methods, while is the fifth is about how we influence consumers to make sustainable travel choices, which has been mentioned by a number of hon. Members.

Through the strategy, we will commit the UK aviation sector to reach net zero CO₂ emissions by 2050, but we want to go further. We have consulted on a UK domestic aviation target by 2040. We have also consulted on our ambitious proposals to reduce emissions from airport operations, which has been mentioned by a number of hon. Members, and sought views on what additional measures might be required in order to achieve that. As I have said to the hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, the consultation has closed and we are considering that at the moment.

I want to update the House on the Jet Zero Council, which is the partnership between industry and senior leaders in aviation, aerospace, and academia that is driving the delivery of new technologies. It also involves the Royal Air Force, which joined recently, and I am very excited and encouraged about. I encourage all hon. Members to look at the excellent work that the Air Force is doing on net zero, particularly the leading work taking place at RAF Brize Norton in my constituency.

[Kerry McCarthy]

Are trade unions involved at any of the Jet Zero Council discussions?

[Robert Courts]

The hon. Lady makes a very good point, and I am grateful to her for it. I have a great deal of sympathy with people who ask for the membership of the Jet Zero Council. We have to have a finite number of people on the council, simply because it is a technical body and has to be able to produce results, but trade unions are involved in the sub-groups, which I will spend a moment talking about, particularly to put right some of the misunderstandings.[Official Report, 29 November 2021, Vol. 704, c. 8MC.]

In June, we had the successful third meeting of the Jet Zero Council. The hon. Member for Putney said that she was disappointed that it had not met. I know what she means, but I ask her to remember that it is a plenary body. Perhaps there has been a misunderstanding; I hope I can put it right. At that stage, the Transport Secretary announced plans to formalise and broaden the zero emission flight delivery group, and to establish new sub-groups on ground infrastructure, regulation and commercialisation. I will come to the sub-groups in a moment.

Emma Gilthorpe, the Jet Zero Council chief executive officer, has established new governance arrangements and is really driving them forward. There are two key workstreams at present: sustainable aviation fuels and zero emissions flight. She has also been holding the momentum in between the council meetings because, as we all know, often the work takes place in between, rather than at, meetings, at which people report. If I can put right the misunderstanding that the hon. Member for Putney perhaps fell into inadvertently, the most recent meeting was the 29th meeting across the council’s delivery groups, sub-groups, steering group and plenary council. I hope that that helps and reassures the House about some of the things that we are doing.

I want to spend a few moments talking about sustainable aviation fuels, because they are so important. This is where I will come to the points made by the hon. Member for Bath. It is possible to drop fuels into existing aircraft types, and the synthetic fuels that she mentioned are a form of sustainable aviation fuel. That is part of the mix that is being considered. As I will explain in a moment, the Government are essentially providing the initial money to develop all of those things. I will give her another good example in a moment. This is the sort of thing that we often read about in the papers—turning waste into jet fuel, for example, which is one good example of what can be done with waste, although I accept that perhaps there will be a need for more than that.

The Prime Minister’s 10-point plan announced a package of exciting measures that are designed to introduce the production and use of sustainable aviation fuel. The £15 million “Green Fuels, Green Skies” competition aims to support innovative SAF production technologies at commercial scale, so that they can be produced in the UK and then reduce emissions in the UK. Eight projects have recently been shortlisted for funding. If hon. Members would care to look at the website—I think that the hon. Member for Bath will be particularly interested—they will see that the first project listed, which was in July, combines carbon dioxide captured from the atmosphere with water. It is direct air carbon capture and storage, which I think is what she was asking me about. That is one of the shortlisted projects. Essentially, the answer to her question, “Are synthetic fuels being considered as part of SAF?”, is that they are certainly part of the technological mix, and what we are doing is putting in the money to see them developed. I hope that answer assists her.

The £3 million for a SAF clearing house to build and further develop UK testing and certification expertise is a big part of this process as well. We have also finished consulting on proposals for a sustainable aviation fuels mandate to drive the development and uptake of SAF, which also provides greater support for the development of synthetic fuels, which the hon. Member talked about, as we look to maximise their development.

The consultation sets out a variety of potential SAF uptake scenarios, going up to 10% SAF by 2030 and 75% by 2050, but I am really keen to emphasise the point that the hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire North made, which is that this is not fantasy stuff—it is happening right now, as we heard from him when he talked about the recent British Airways flight to his constituency.

I will try my best to respond to everyone’s points, Sir Gary; I am conscious that I may run out of time, as I want to leave some time for the hon. Member for Putney to respond to the debate.

[Sir Gary Streeter (in the Chair)]

You are doing a good job.

[Robert Courts]

On zero emission flights, we are working with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the new aircraft technology that we have all heard a great deal about today.

The Government have invested heavily in aerospace research and development—£3.9 billion of match funding, from 2013 to 2026, guided by the Aerospace Technology Institute. The hon. Member for Angus listed some of the great British aircraft from the past—we could be here all afternoon talking about those—and our plans for the future. The right hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington said how much he had enjoyed that speech; well, there is plenty more where that came from, if he would like to listen to the hon. Member for Angus and me talking on the subject.

The FlyZero project is one of the key projects run by the ATI. The hon. Member for Richmond Park made some very good points—I agree with many of the points she made—about the excitement generated by the new technology. We have heard about the Airbus project, which is one of the projects on the way. I saw ZeroAvia’s first flight of a hydrogen aircraft last year; ZeroAvia is now working on a 19-seater. Nuncats has a solar-powered battery aircraft, which I saw at Old Buckenham recently. It is very exciting, particularly for connecting people in the developing world. I also recently saw Ampaire’s electric flight from Exeter. That is particularly exciting when we consider the novel uses of this technology.

The hon. Member for Angus asked about battery technology. He is right, of course, that batteries are very heavy, which is a big challenge. Does electric play a part? Yes, it probably does. Does hydrogen play a part? Yes, it probably does. But it is probably not for a Government Minister to say so at this point. What we should be doing, and I suggest that we are doing it, is to put the money—the R&D funding—in place, so that we find out what the answer is. As I have said, electric probably plays a part. The hon. Member rightly talked about the work that Highland and Islands Airports Ltd has been doing, and the hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire North talked about the work that Loganair has been doing. Both companies are world-leading.

The hon. Members for Paisley and Renfrewshire North and for Strangford both told us about the reality of this interconnected world and the importance of aviation. Batteries and electric may well play a part in the sorts of journeys that they make.

We are continuing to look at these detailed plans. As part of the Prime Minister’s 10-point plan, the zero emission flight infrastructure was launched recently, and there are many innovative ideas coming forward to progress R&D. We will announce some more successful projects shortly.

I think that the hon. Member for Bristol East asked me about the emissions trading scheme at one point. Perhaps she did not and I misunderstood her, but I will tell her about it anyway. The scheme will cover all domestic flights, flights from the UK to the European economic area and flights between the UK and Gibraltar, and it goes further than the EU scheme that it replaces. We have reduced its cap by 5% and we will consult on putting it on a clear net zero trajectory.

I am very keen to stress that this is not a domestic-only issue; it is a global problem that requires a global solution. We are continuing to work with the International Civil Aviation Organisation in particular to make sure that we drive the ambition and do the technical work on the feasibility of this long-term goal.

Through ICAO, we are also leading members of the carbon offsetting and reduction scheme for international aviation, which is the first worldwide scheme to address CO₂ emissions in any sector. We are strong supporters of that, although I accept what hon. Members have said, that we cannot rely on that alone. None the less, in the short term it is probably part of the picture. COP26 gives us a great deal of ambition to show how we are leading on this. I look forward to explaining more about that in due course.

I will say a word or two about airport expansion. We take our commitments on the environment very seriously. I will quote from page 38, paragraph 3.41, of the jet zero consultation document, with regard to the impact of covid:

“even if the sector returns to a pre-COVID-19 demand trajectory, as we have assumed in our analysis, we currently believe the sector can achieve Jet Zero without the Government needing to intervene directly to limit aviation growth. The industry’s need to rebuild from a lower base is likely to mean that plans for airport expansion will be slower to come forward.”

We built that into the consultation process. I hope that hon. Members got that reference; I can provide it, if need be.

The hon. Members for Putney and for Richmond Park and the right hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington made a number of points about Heathrow expansion. They made their arguments with great courtesy, passion and power. The Government have been clear that Heathrow expansion is a private sector project, which has to meet strict criteria on air quality, noise and climate change, as well as being privately financed, affordable and delivered in the best interests of consumers. I hope they will understand that I cannot comment any further, in case there were to be a planning matter that would prejudice any further consideration by Ministers. None the less, I refer to that section in the jet zero consultation.

I am conscious that I am now out of time. I hope I have dealt with all queries from right hon. and hon. Members. If I have not, I will do my best to do so in writing later. I hope that what I have outlined today has made it clear that jet zero is a priority for the Government and that we are delivering on it with great enthusiasm and pace.

UK Maritime Sector

Robert Courts Excerpts

Thursday 16th September 2021 Westminster Hall

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

It is very good to see you in the Chair, Sir George. It is also a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East (Mike Kane), who always manages to quote poetry in his speeches and make me feel a very flat speaker in contrast.

I congratulate the right hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones) on securing this truly timely debate on the UK maritime sector. He speaks with enormous enthusiasm, experience and expertise on the matter, and I am grateful to him for everything that he has put before us today. I entirely share his passionate enthusiasm for the sector and agree that it has a very bright future. I thank him for his comments. As it happens, I agree with a great deal of what he said—not quite everything, but a great deal.

[Mr Kevan Jones]

Careful—the reshuffle is not over yet. [Laughter.]

[Robert Courts]

That is a good and timely point. The Government will be relieved to know that we do not agree on quite everything.

I can think of no better moment to discuss this issue than during London International Shipping Week. The right hon. Member is absolutely right that, to quote another of his phrases, the maritime sector is not some “quaint” industry that plays a historic role in our past. This is very much an issue of the present, as we see in London International Shipping Week, which is the second-biggest international gathering this year, I understand, after COP26. It is the highlight of the maritime year and shows that not just the capital but the whole of the UK is the best place in the world to do maritime business.

Maritime business is very varied. As my hon. Friend the Member for Totnes (Anthony Mangnall) rightly pointed out, services are a major part of it as well. It is, of course, seafarers and shipbuilding, but it is also the much wider services side of things. He is quite right to draw attention to that.

I reassure my hon. Friend the Member for Waveney (Peter Aldous) that he need not fear: the maritime sector is not overlooked and never will be, certainly for as long as I am in this position. I appreciate that I do not know how long that will be, as everyone would say. Perhaps the greater reassurance is that, for as long as the Prime Minister, for whom this is also a major priority, is here, the sector will not be overlooked.

I start with the issue of decarbonisation, which has clearly been a major part of the debate today. I would suggest that this country is leading the way on this. We have announced the winners of the clean maritime demonstration competition, a £20-million fund to develop novel zero-emission technologies. It is the biggest competition of its type that the Department for Transport has run, so I ask hon. Members to bear that in mind. The right hon. Member for North Durham mentioned hydrogen; my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jackie Doyle-Price) mentioned Windship. They have asked for demonstrators, essentially. That is what we are seeking to do: to decide and demonstrate what the likely technology is going to be.

We can disagree—we will have to agree to disagree—on whether this is turning point, but I suggest that it is a welcome way forward. I know that hon. Members all accept that, and London International Shipping Week is a great time to showcase the competition. It shows the innovation that is required and that exists, and it also the investment that we are putting into it from both industry and Government—it is key that it is a partnership. We hope that the demonstrators will be a springboard for bolder projects that are yet to come.

It is absolutely clear that there is no shortage of ambition in the sector with regards to greening the sector. That is important for the two reasons that hon. Members have stated: for emissions, clearly, but also, as the hon. Member for Glasgow South West (Chris Stephens) said, for protecting the environment—cleaner in both senses. He is quite right to draw attention to that, and I am grateful to him for doing so.

I will spend a little bit longer talking about shipbuilding, which has been a major part of today’s debate. Shipbuilding will very much be a part of our next chapter. The UK has a long, illustrious shipbuilding heritage. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), who is no longer in his place, spoke movingly and vividly of Harland & Wolff, and the hon. Member for Glasgow South West spoke passionately for Govan, one of the great shipyards of the UK. Together, we have built some of the greatest, most iconic vessels that have ever graced the waves. Shipbuilding remains an integral part of our manufacturing sector, sustains thousands of jobs across the UK and brings millions into the economy, as we have heard.

[Mr Jones]

Will the Minister give way?

[Robert Courts]

Once I have agreed with the right hon. Gentleman one more time, if I may. He asks whether we believe that we will become a world-leading shipbuilder. Yes, we will.

[Mr Jones]

Will the Minister inform the House whether he has any indication of when the refresh of the national shipbuilding strategy will be produced? I know that is in the hands of the Ministry of Defence, and the MOD’s idea of summer—or any season, frankly—bears no relevance to anything that we would think, but I would appreciate some indication because the industry is keen to get on with it.

[Robert Courts]

I cannot give the right hon. Gentleman the precision he would like, but it will be before the end of the year. I hope that provides some indication of going forward.

The industry has historically suffered around productivity and under-investment, and we need to become more competitive on the international stage. Government support is, of course, vital to achieving that aim. It is key that we work in partnership with the sector to reinvigorate its fortunes and those of the wider supply chain, which we have heard so much about today. With that in mind, the new post of shipbuilding tsar—who is, of course, the Secretary of State for Defence, as the right hon. Member for North Durham knows—has been created. That is to support UK industry to enable it to step up and become more productive and innovative. As part of that, a vital step forward has been announced this week: the creation of the National Shipbuilding Office.

The right hon. Member for North Durham spoke of the Carrier Alliance. He is quite right that it has been a fantastic project and that it showcases the best of the UK, but I would suggest that it is also slightly different, given that it is a once-in-a-generation major product. We are looking at something that requires ongoing, routine investment in shipyards and that leaves a legacy, because we need to build on the legacy of the shipyards to have that drumbeat of ships that we all wish to see and to provide that for the future.

That is what the National Shipbuilding Office is looking to do. It will be the strategic centre driving this change across Government and the industry. In other words, it will do precisely what my hon. Friend the Member for Waveney rightly asked for—as, indeed, did the hon. Member for Strangford—and avoid the siloing that my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock rightly referred to.

That is what the National Shipbuilding Office is intended to do. It is to bring together all the Departments that hon. Members have referred to, but then add industry to ensure that it is a key team effort. That will, of course, support innovation—to ensure that skills are also aligned—and the supply chain. It will outline the vision for the UK’s shipbuilding enterprise, and the strategy that I referred to in answer to the intervention from the right hon. Member for North Durham.

A good example of the way the country can showcase its real innovation is the new national flagship, which is a sign of the Government’s determination to support prosperity, jobs and skills in the UK shipbuilding sector. The right hon. Gentleman mentioned Wights, the shipyard company on the Isle of White. I was at the boat show in Southampton yesterday, and met with RS Sailing, which is developing a green, electrically powered, rigid inflatable boat, and with the marine division of Barrus and Bruntons Propellers—highly efficient propeller technology—to give a few examples. The Society of Maritime Industries event, earlier this week on HMS Albion, brought together all those industries, and others.

Companies such as that, with technology such as that, could be showcased in this new national flagship, which is a sign of the Government looking to provide a showcase for technology, and be part of the drumbeat of ships, so they would understand when the Government were procuring new vessels. A major part of that is the MOD’s Type 31s and Type 26s, all the way through to our naval support vessels. However, we also have civilian vessels—ice patrol, ocean surveillance, and, of course, research. The RRS Sir David Attenborough is the latest example of those very high-quality ships being produced by the UK. A new fleet of Home Office cutters is also being considered, should funding be confirmed, with the intention of securing UK value for that.

I will talk about the DFT’s fleet for a moment, too. That fleet is often overlooked, although it is one of the largest civilian fleets. It is operated by our general lighthouse authorities to ensure that navigational aids remain operational in all circumstances, and that seafarers are made aware of dangers such as wrecks. That role is often understated, but it is terribly important, as the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) might agree; I am sure it is important in his constituency. I will take the opportunity to thank everyone who works for Trinity House, the Northern Lighthouse Board, and Irish Lights, for their professionalism in extremely difficult times, and for keeping people safe. We are also commencing projects to build new vessels for Trinity House and the Northern Lighthouse Board. Both will go out to formal tender shortly.

A great deal of vessels, in terms of number and breadth, are available in the Government’s pipeline, and there is no reason for that not to include fishing, as my hon. Friend the Member for Waveney rightly pointed out.

I will say a word or two about skills. Skills are clearly part of the Government’s levelling-up agenda and a massive part of the industry. Today, as we also heard from my hon. Friend, the Maritime UK coastal powerhouse event takes place. Coastal communities are very much part of levelling up and of the industry we are discussing today. We need to ensure, as my hon. Friend the Member for Totnes rightly pointed out, that we have the skills we need not just to recover from covid-19, but to look to the future and to ensure we have the skills we need for the industry. That is a key part of the Maritime 2050 strategy, which the Department produced about two years ago. It brings together, in conjunction and consultation with industry, the plan for the future.

A key part of that plan is the Maritime Skills Commission. Professor Graham Baldwin was appointed as chair, alongside 18 commissioners, and it has £300,000 in funding. One of its recent focuses has been green skills, to which my hon. Friend also drew attention. The Seafarer Cadet Review was also published in June.

I am grateful that hon. Members mentioned East Coast College and South Devon College, which are looking at STEM—science, technology, engineering and maths—skills in their own ways in their parts of the world. That is critically important work, close to all our hearts.

My comments must be slightly constrained by the fact that a spending review has been announced recently. The Government will announce how we will continue to invest in public services, and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is working up a business case for a home shipbuilding credit guarantee, which is part of the spending review considerations. We continue to look at what other financial support might be available to work jointly with industry.

The hon. Member for Glasgow South West asked me about public procurement. There was a Green Paper, and those responses are being considered by the Cabinet Office. The DFT will continue to review the tonnage tax regime.

I am conscious that my speaking time is running out, although there are a great many other things I would like to talk about. My hon. Friend the Member for Totnes rattled off a list of things, each of which could make for a great debate in its own right—flag, tax, supply chain. I would love to have debates on those subjects; maybe he will apply for some. I do not suppose it is my job to encourage the holding of debates, but I just have.

I should also give a plug to the debate on the cruise industry scheduled for next week, which I am sure my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock will attend if she possibly can. I appreciate the support of and constructive criticism from all Members. We have had an interesting, helpful and constructive debate.

Draft Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) (Amendment) Regulations 2021

Robert Courts Excerpts

Wednesday 15th September 2021 General Committees

[The Chair]

Before we begin, can I encourage Members to wear masks when they are not speaking? This is in line with current Government guidance and that of the House of Commons Commission. Please also give each other, and members of staff, space when seated and when entering and leaving the room. Members should send their speaking notes by email to [e-mail]. Similarly, officials in the Gallery should communicate electronically with Ministers.

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

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the draft Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) (Amendment) Regulations 2021.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Davies. The draft regulations are necessary because of the ongoing need to reduce pollutant emissions from the maritime sector to protect public health and the environment. They will do that by amending the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) Regulations 2008 in order that our domestic legislation is aligned with the latest international limits and standards for sulphur and nitrogen dioxide emissions. The international requirements are set out in annex VI of the 1973 international convention for the prevention of pollution from ships, which is colloquially known in the industry as the MARPOL convention.

The changes limit the amount of sulphur in marine fuels that are used, or intended for use, by ships to 0.5% by mass or less. They also require that new ships and new engines be certified to meet the latest nitrogen oxide emission standards, both globally and when ships operate inside waters that have been designated as an emission control area, or ECA, by the International Maritime Organisation.

The regulations enable UK ship inspectors to enforce the new limits more effectively on foreign-flagged vessels calling at UK ports. Under port state control regulations, ship inspectors from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency can apply limited sanctions for an offence on ships calling at UK ports. For example, those include recording a deficiency against a ship or temporarily detaining a vessel, or a ship can be ordered to de-bunker, which is emptying its fuel tanks. If the ship is using non-compliant fuel, access to UK ports and anchorages may be denied if there is evidence of significant non-compliance.

Those sanctions can be applied to ships only when in port or at anchor. The new statutory instrument, which we are debating, will allow ship inspectors to use the criminal justice system to impose fines on offenders. That is in line with our current approach to other marine pollution offences.

The ability to impose such fines will be an important deterrent to all foreign-registered vessels in UK waters, whether in transit, in port or at anchor, particularly those that would consider risking non-compliance to reduce costs without the threat of financial penalties. I would stress, however, that compliance with maritime environmental rules is the norm. Enforcement action by the MCA through the courts is extremely rare, and would be funded through existing resources if it were to occur.

The regulations also include an ambulatory reference provision—

[Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)]

The Minister says that such enforcement action is extremely rare. On how many occasions in the past two decades, for example, have maritime companies been found to be in breach of the regulations?

[Robert Courts]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that question. I do not have those details at my fingertips; I apologise, but I will write to him and the Committee.

[Kevin Brennan]

If officials have the figures, could those be communicated to us during the sitting, because they would be of interest to the Committee? We are introducing further and stricter regulation, so it would be helpful for the Committee to know how much of a problem there is under the existing system.

[Robert Courts]

If I have that information, I will be delighted to share it. In any event, I would make the point that through the regulations we will ensure that our domestic legislation matches the international standards with respect to the IMO. We have two choices today, essentially. We can choose not to apply those standards—that is certainly an option for the Committee and the House—but if we were to take that option, we would be choosing to have lower standards in our domestic law than those in international law and those that we pushed for in the International Maritime Organisation. In any event, I urge the Committee to consider that these provisions are necessary, but if I have that information, I will of course share it with the hon. Gentleman.

The regulations include an ambulatory reference provision, which will automatically update references in the 2008 regulations to provisions of the convention and its annexes. That implements a key industry request from the red tape challenge that enables some amendments to international requirements to be transposed into domestic law more rapidly and efficiently than was possible previously. An amendment that is accepted will be publicised in advance of its coming into force date by means of a parliamentary statement to both Houses of Parliament. In any event, the ambulatory reference provision is limited. Substantial changes, such as implementing a new chapter in MARPOL annex VI, would still need to be implemented by statutory instrument.

The draft regulations amend obsolete sulphur limits for marine fuels used by ships, which were made under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972. Specifically, the new regulations remove references to the 1% sulphur limit for ships operating inside an emission control area and the 3.5% sulphur limit for ships operating outside an emission control area. Respectively, these have been superseded by the stricter 0.1% and 0.5% sulphur limits. The new regulations also remove references in the 2008 regulations to a 1.5% sulphur limit that applied to passenger ships operating within European waters. This has been superseded because, like all vessels, passenger ships are now subject to the stricter 0.5% sulphur limit or the 0.1% sulphur limit when they operate inside an emission control area—that is, the higher standard.

Although it is important to remove obsolete requirements from our domestic legislation that were introduced under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act, the draft regulations retain other requirements that are still pertinent. They do not, for example, amend the requirement for ships to use 0.1% sulphur fuel when at berth in a UK port.

As the Committee will remember, shipping is the most global of international industries. It is important we apply internationally recognised air quality standards to shipping, which was of course the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Cardiff West a moment ago, along with effective enforcement measures to safeguard and encourage compliance. The draft regulations will ensure that the UK maintains some of the strictest air quality for shipping anywhere in the world, which will of course protect public health and the environment. The Government have made it clear that air quality is one of our top priorities.

The regulations help deliver on the commitments made in Maritime 2050 and our route map for sustainable maritime transport, the clean maritime plan. They will ensure that we enforce the standards we agree at the IMO and I commend them to the Committee.

--- Later in debate ---

[Robert Courts]

It is a great pleasure to hear the points made by hon. Members. I appreciate the broad support that is being expressed for the draft statutory instrument and the points made, all of which are excellent. In broad terms, air quality is a huge priority for the Government, as it is for hon. Members throughout the House, and through the legislation we are ensuring that we remain fully aligned with the latest environmental emissions regulations. We are working towards delivering our own commitments for sustainable maritime transport, which I will turn to in a second.

On the specific points raised, I will start with those from the hon. Member for Cardiff West, who asked about the enforcement of the existing regime. I will give him some detail on how that works. Currently, there are civil-only sanctions. We are introducing some criminal sanctions in these regulations. Civil sanctions can, at present, be used under the Merchant Shipping (Port State Control) Regulations 2011. Ship inspectors, as I outlined at the beginning of the debate, can record a deficiency, and they have a range of powers temporarily to detain a vessel, order a ship to de-bunker if it is using non-compliant fuel, and deny access to UK ports and anchorages. Those are carried out by local inspectors. I would have to go back to the MCA to see if it has a record. I am very happy to do that, I undertake to do so and to write to the hon. Gentleman and the Committee.

I think the hon. Gentleman is essentially asking how often the existing powers have been used, and, if not much, why we need extra. It is a perfectly reasonable point. The reason is that civil sanctions can only be applied to ships when in port or at anchor. It would not be possible to apply civil sanctions retrospectively on a vessel that has left UK waters or on the foreign-registered company operating the vessel. We are taking some additional powers not so much to beef up the existing powers, but to slightly broaden them. It is particularly the foreign-registered vessel that the hon. Gentleman might be interested in. We are taking a wider environmental remit, regardless of how often we have used the existing powers. I hope that explanation will help to allay his quite understandable concern about why we are seeking additional powers. The civil sanctions replaced by a criminal sanction is particularly important.

The hon. Gentleman asked about resources. With the new regulations, it will be possible to use the criminal justice system—the courts—to impose the fines or deal with existing contraventions. Enforcement action by the MCA through the courts is extremely rare, but as I outlined at the beginning, because it is very rare, we would expect existing resources to be adequate to deal with any demand. The ability to impose fines has an important deterrent effect, particularly for foreign-registered vessels in UK waters, whether they are transiting, in port or at anchor, and particularly those which are persistent offenders. There is clearly a deterrent effect if we have the ability to impose a fine, which we currently do not have. I understand and would expect any such enforcement action to be very rare and for the cost to be met within existing budgets. I hope that gives the hon. Gentleman a little more detail.

[Kevin Brennan]

I am grateful to the Minister for that explanation, but I am none the clearer on how likely the provision is to be needed. If there is a deterrent effect on something, we do not know how often it happens. I would welcome further information, although I understand that he cannot give us that now.

[Robert Courts]

That is a reasonable and pertinent question. I undertake to go away and make the enquiries, and to write to the hon. Gentleman and the Committee with further detail. He tempts me to pick up my crystal ball, but it is of course impossible to judge how likely it is that any powers would be used. I understand that such enforcement action is extremely rare, but I appreciate that one person’s definition of extremely rare may be different from another’s. I will look for the information. In any event, having the ability to take the stronger powers would make the requirement to exercise them less rather than more likely, but I will certainly go away and look at that.

The hon. Gentleman raised some other points—broadly, what else are we doing? I do not want to stray too far into a wider clean maritime debate. This is London International Shipping Week, which the hon. Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East rightly drew attention to. There are a number of aspects to that, including the clean maritime demonstration competition, which is a £20 million fund and one of the largest such funds that the Department has announced. The competition is directly relevant to some of the technologies we are discussing in these regulations, and we will be announcing the winners this week.

Later today, I will be opening the new cruise terminal at Southampton port, which has shore power. That means that cruise ships can plug in and do not need to have their generators running in port, which will help with carbon dioxide, sulphur oxide and particulate emissions, as well as other emissions, and will take us a step forward.

Earlier this week, we announced that we will be pushing for a zero emissions target for international shipping at the IMO. We will be challenging the international community collectively. The hon. Member for Cardiff West asked me what the UK is doing to push this forward; that is what we are doing, and it was announced a couple of days ago. We are pushing the international community to deliver a Paris-compliant outcome when the IMO renegotiates its strategy for climate change in 2023. So, that is our international work.

Domestically, we continue to make good progress on the commitments that we set out in the clean maritime plan, which was drawn up in 2019. We have provided £1.4 million of funding for a competition for innovation in clean maritime through Maritime Research and Innovation UK, a research agency. We have established the marine emissions reduction advisory service as a function of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. We have undertaken research considering the role of maritime clusters onshore, which are companies in a certain area delivering clean innovation and growth. We are exploring the inclusion of maritime elements in the renewable transport fuel obligation as part of a public consultation.

We have built on the clean maritime plan itself. We had the Prime Minister’s 10-point plan in November 2020. We have had the clean maritime demonstration competition, which I referred to earlier, and we will have the results of that later this week. Overarching all this is the transport decarbonisation plan, building on the clean maritime plan and developing our plans to navigate this tricky-to-decarbonise sector, all the way to net zero. There will be a series of consultations in the coming years as we build towards that.

I apologise for not mentioning before now the hon. Member for Gordon, but I think I have addressed some of his points. I am conscious that he raised points similar to those raised by other Members, and I hope I have answered them.

It has been a real pleasure to discuss the issues raised in the debate. As the hon. Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East and I have said, this is the right week to be discussing the subject, as it is London International Shipping Week, the industry event that showcases the important role of the sector globally and here in the UK. That is never more important than while we are still in this pandemic, and it is a timely reminder of how critical the sector is in keeping us all supplied. I know the whole Committee will join me in paying tribute to all those in the maritime sector, who have been unsung heroes, keeping us supplied and fed, sometimes in difficult personal circumstances, throughout the last two years. I know the Committee will join me in thanking them sincerely for that.

I hope the Committee has found the debate interesting and informative, and that it will join me in supporting the regulations.

Question put and agreed to.

Oral Answers to Questions

Robert Courts Excerpts

Thursday 9th September 2021 Commons Chamber

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

We have set out our plans in the transport decarbonisation plan, and have committed £20 million through the clean maritime demonstration competition.

[Cherilyn Mackrory]

The port of Falmouth has a wonderful maritime heritage and huge potential in the industry. It has already done some fantastic environmental work, including the preservation of more than 100 acres of sea grass. Will my hon. Friend commit to working closely with ports such as Falmouth to ensure that we can sustainably decarbonise the maritime industry, while continuing to enable the industry to grow and prosper?

[Robert Courts]

I can absolutely commit to that. It is vital that we work with all elements of the maritime industry to accelerate the transition to net zero and to take advantage of the very real opportunities for green growth. Both the British Ports Association and the UK Major Ports Group are represented on our clean maritime council, and I and my officials regularly engage with the trade associations and individual ports on environmental issues.

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

I agree with the hon. Member for Truro and Falmouth (Cherilyn Mackrory) that fantastic projects are under way across the UK, including in her constituency, to get the maritime sector down to net zero. There is, however, a significant funding gap when it comes to making these developments a reality, and the Government, despite their record, have not done anywhere near enough to address the significant investment shortfall compared with other maritime nations that we compete with. Does the Minister agree that it is imperative that our vital maritime sector gets the support it needs? Will he commit to addressing that and providing the necessary funding to support the research and innovation that is required?

[Robert Courts]

I agree with the hon. Gentleman about the importance of decarbonising the maritime sector, but I cannot agree with him about the Government investment. We have invested £20 million in the clean maritime demonstration competition. That seedcorn funding will help to develop the technology that we will be using. It is the largest technology competition ever run by the Department for Transport. I am very glad that next week we have London International Shipping Week, which is the flagship event of the maritime year. We will be able to see the glories of the UK’s maritime industry next week, and I look forward to seeing the hon. Gentleman there.

[Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)]

3. What discussions he has had with representatives of (a) haulage and (b) other companies involved in the goods supply chain on recent disruptions to the UK’s supply networks.

--- Later in debate ---

[Bob Seely (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

5. What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of imposing a public service obligation on vehicle and passenger services between the Isle of Wight and UK mainland.

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

We recognise the importance of this route. We will always keep route assessments under review, including if there is any evidence of market failure that requires intervention.

[Bob Seely]

The Secretary of State knows that I hold him and his ministerial team in high regard. However, is it right that we have in the Isle of Wight ferry services a public service without any sense of public service obligation, and can the Minister tell me of a single example elsewhere in the United Kingdom where we have a true lifeline public service with no lifeline obligation attached to those services?

[Robert Courts]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. He is a long-standing advocate of improving the service for his constituents, and he and I have spoken about it on many occasions. He will of course know that service provision to the Island is a matter for the local council, working with service operators. None the less, the Government will continue to monitor the service on this route, and if there is anything he would like to discuss with me at any time he need only ask.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

7. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support travel companies that are affected by ongoing international travel restrictions as a result of the covid-19 pandemic.

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

Where eligible, travel companies have been able to draw on the unprecedented package of measures brought forward by the Chancellor last year, such as the coronavirus job retention scheme, as well as our work to safely restart international travel under the global travel taskforce.

[Wendy Chamberlain]

In addition to being hampered by the international travel restrictions, many transport companies, such as long-distance coach companies, are struggling because of the lack of test provision for drivers. The Secretary of State spoke at length about what is happening for HGV drivers, but will the Minister confirm whether those changes will include PCV—passenger-carrying vehicle—drivers with more capacity for testing, and will the Government consider allowing tests to be taken in the delegated in-house facilities of larger companies such as Stagecoach?

[Robert Courts]

I thank the hon. Member for that question, which I know is something that matters a great deal to her constituents. We are looking to address the problem she raises, and I will be able to give her some further detail on that shortly.

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

Eighty-one thousand people working in air transport are currently on furlough, including approximately 2,200 in my constituency, which covers Manchester airport. Even in non-airport seats such as that of the Secretary of State, just short of 300 souls face the axe in less than a month’s time. Furlough is due to end three weeks today, and if the Government continue to restrict the market in some sort of latter-day corn law way, they have to make a choice: either open up the market, or put in a sectoral deal. Which is it going to be?

[Robert Courts]

The hon. Gentleman is right to raise the importance of the air transport industry and the travel industry more generally, not just to his constituents but to all our constituents. That is certainly the case for my constituents, and I am acutely aware of it. The best way to support them all is to do what we in the Department for Transport are hard at work doing, which is to safely reopen international travel. Since we last spoke, on 2 August we expanded quarantine-free travel to passengers from the European Union and the United States. We are working to expand that further, and will continue to do so.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

Earlier I mentioned the penny dropping with regard to HGV drivers, but the aviation and travel industries can only dream of the Government understanding the magnitude of the crisis they face. Tens, perhaps hundreds, of thousands of jobs have gone in the sector, including 3,000 in my constituency, and that is with a job retention scheme in place. If the scheme ends this month there will be further damage to the sector. Did the Minister make representation to the Treasury to extend the scheme for aviation and travel, and if not, why not?

[Robert Courts]

As I said to the hon. Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East (Mike Kane), the importance of this industry is well understood by me and the entirety of Government. We are working hard to ensure that we get international travel up and running again safely and securely, because that is the best way to protect all our constituents. We will continue to do that.

[Dame Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

8. By what date he plans to implement fully electrified high speed rail on all routes (a) into Hull and (b) between Liverpool and Hull.

--- Later in debate ---

[Jeremy Wright (Kenilworth and Southam) (Con)]

15. What steps he is taking to help reduce the cost of covid-19 testing for air travel.

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

The Government recognise that the cost of testing can be high and continue to work with industry to reduce costs further. The costs of NHS Test and Trace tests for international arrivals were reduced recently, and the Competition and Markets Authority is conducting an urgent review into the testing market.

[Jeremy Wright]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for what he said and for what he is doing, but he knows that this problem affects not just those who want to go on holiday, but those who want to see family and may not have seen them now for years. To help those families—particularly larger families—with these costs and to resuscitate the aviation industry, as I know he is keen to do, will he please do more to make sure that the costs of those tests come down to be as low as they reasonably can be?

[Robert Courts]

I thank my right hon. and learned Friend for that question and particularly for his emphasis on the wide breadth of reasons why people have to travel. Bringing families back together, as well as business and leisure travel, is a major part of that and I thank him for drawing the House’s attention to it. He can be absolutely assured that the DFT will continue to work with travel and testing providers to reduce costs further, for travel that is cheap and easy, as well as safe, is our aim.

--- Later in debate ---

[Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central) (Lab)]

Two of my constituents, a Danish national and a British citizen with Danish residence, were denied boarding a BA flight by the airline’s staff because they did not accept my constituent’s proof of Danish residence even though it was consistent with Danish travel advice. Despite a letter that I received from a Foreign Office Minister confirming that my constituents were right, BA has refused to issue a refund and is standing by its misinterpretation of the advice. Does the Minister agree that airlines need clearer guidance on international travel documentation post-Brexit, and will he raise the issue with the airlines, the Foreign Secretary and the Home Secretary to ensure that this does not happen again?

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

I am grateful to the hon. Member for raising this matter. It is difficult for me to comment on an individual case, but perhaps we could meet and if he could give me further details I would be very happy to take this up.

[Huw Merriman (Bexhill and Battle) (Con)]

This week the Transport Committee has launched yet another inquiry on international travel, and we will shortly be hearing from the chief executives of leading airlines and airports as to why they are doing less than 20% of the business they were doing in usual times while mainland Europe is now up to about 70%. They will be concerned that furlough is coming to an end, and they will want to know whether the barriers to travel will be reduced to make up the shortfall. I know the Secretary of State has done a lot already, but can he offer some optimism and encouragement on how the rules will change to allow the business to do more transactions?

Civil Aviation Noise: Independent Advice to Government

Robert Courts Excerpts

Monday 6th September 2021 Written Statements

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

The aviation sector is vital to our future as a global trading nation as well as playing a critical role in local economies and in the Government’s commitment to level up the economy. However, aviation noise can affect the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities in the vicinity of airports and underneath flightpaths.

Since the onset of the covid-19 pandemic there has been a reduction in aircraft movements in most areas, and with it a reduction in associated noise, but as the Government focus on building back better and ensuring a successful UK aviation sector for the future, aviation noise will increase from current levels. It is therefore vital that Government have appropriate and credible advice on aviation noise related matters.

The Government established the Independent Commission on Civil Aviation Noise (ICCAN) in November 2018 to help ensure that the needs of local communities are properly taken into account when considering the noise impacts of airport expansion, and to help ensure that noise impacts of airspace changes are properly considered.

Following an independent review of ICCAN conducted earlier this year, I have concluded that many of ICCAN’s functions would be more efficiently performed by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which already has a wider environmental remit. This will help ensure that noise is considered alongside other policy outcomes on the basis of high quality research and advice.

As a result, I can confirm that ICCAN will be wound down this month (September). This will be followed by a transitional phase during which my Department will work with the CAA, which will take on the majority of ICCAN’s former functions from April 2022. The CAA also plans to establish a new environment panel to provide it with independent expert advice on a range of environmental issues including carbon, air quality and noise. ICCAN’s existing functions not transferred to the CAA will remain within my Department.

[HCWS251]

International Travel Rules

Robert Courts Excerpts

Monday 19th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Jim McMahon (Oldham West and Royton) (Lab/Co-op)]

(Urgent question): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make a statement on changes to international travel rules.

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

After a hugely challenging 16 months for the aviation industry, I am delighted that new rules allowing fully vaccinated people to travel to nearly all amber list countries, without isolating upon return, came into effect this morning, although people will still need to comply with necessary testing requirements. This coincides with a change in our advice, meaning that the do-not-travel rules for amber countries have now been relaxed, which will be a huge boost to our aviation and travel sectors ahead of the vital summer season.

Also from today, children under the age of 18 will not have to self-isolate when returning to England, making family reunions and holidays far more accessible. Children aged four and under will continue to be exempt from any travel testing, while children aged five to 10 will only need to do a day two PCR. Eleven to 18-year-olds will need to take both a pre-departure test and a day two PCR, as is the case for arrivals from green list countries.

I must reiterate that public health remains our priority, and with our measures on international travel we are safeguarding the gains made by our successful domestic vaccine programme. That is why, on Friday, the Government took the decision to exempt France from the new arrangements for fully vaccinated people returning to England. This decision was taken after concerns were raised by the Joint Biosecurity Centre over the persistent presence of cases in France of the beta variant, which was first identified in South Africa. I understand that the Minister for Covid Vaccine Deployment, my hon. Friend the Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Nadhim Zahawi), will be able to answer questions on the data and the concerns raised by the JBC in a statement shortly.

I can also confirm to the House that, since 4 am this morning, there have been changes to the countries in the traffic-light system. Bulgaria, Croatia, Hong Kong and Taiwan have been added to the Government’s green list; Croatia and Taiwan have also been added to the green watchlist, signalling to passengers that these countries are potentially at risk of moving from green to amber at short notice should swift action be required to protect public health in England.

The Balearic islands and the British Virgin Islands have been added to the amber list and, unfortunately, Cuba, Indonesia, Myanmar and Sierra Leone have been added to the red list.

We keep all these measures under constant review to ensure that they remain necessary and proportionate. The system we have designed is adaptable to the evolving epidemiological picture, and the UK Government are prepared to take action at any time to protect public health.

[Jim McMahon]

I would like to know whether the Transport Secretary, as a genuine pilot, has been forced to self-isolate today. He should be here, he should have made the statement to the House, but that courtesy was not provided.

Again, the Government’s travel rules have been thrown into chaos and confusion. The British people, the travel industry and Members of this House are running out of patience. The Government have been all over the place from the start. Let us remember that the UK was one of the last countries in the world to introduce restrictions on incoming passengers. By the time such restrictions were introduced, 22 million passengers had arrived in the UK. Then, came a blunt intervention with a total lockdown, but without the financial support for aviation.

When the traffic light system was introduced, we were promised full publication of the data and the criteria. That did not happen. It is little wonder—it is as clear as day—that the delay in adding India to the red list was all about the Prime Minister’s vanity and not about the national interest or public health.

We now see even more confusion, with changes being made for travellers coming in from France, but we have also seen reports that the high rates of the beta variant are in fact not in mainland France, but on the Indian ocean island of Réunion, 6,000 miles away. Will the Minister confirm whether that is the case?

Why have a traffic light system, if there are different rules for countries that happen to be in the same category? The Transport Secretary told this House that a country-by-country assessment was published: Mr Speaker, that was not the case. Even the most recent update has only 10 countries listed, and France does not even get a mention. When will the Secretary of State ensure that the full data for every country being assessed is published?

Will the Minister comment on reports over the weekend that travellers from Spain and Greece may well be subjected to the same restrictions as travellers from France? It is remarkable that a major airline CEO commented over the weekend that the Government are

“making it up as they go along and causing confusion and uncertainty”.

The travel industry was promised a rescue deal, but it never arrived. It was promised air corridors and air bridges, but they did not happen either. Now, it is vital that the Government take the action needed, get their house in order and give this important industry the support that it needs.

[Robert Courts]

I will take no lectures from the hon. Gentleman on confusion and uncertainty. The irony of the Labour party calling our position uncertain and confusing will not, I am sure, be lost on the House.

This is the party that supported hotel quarantine, but then said that quarantine should be on a case-by-case basis. This is the party that said no one should be travelling, but then called for more places to be added to the green list. This is the party that supports using covid certification, while at the same time saying that all amber countries should be red and off limits to everyone.

If the hon. Gentleman wants to talk about confusion, before coming to the House maybe he should sit down with the shadow Home Secretary and decide what their position is first. The Opposition party tells us to be cautious and to follow the evidence—that is precisely what we have done with France. That may explain why the hon. Gentleman’s Labour colleagues in the Welsh Government have followed our action precisely.

Through our approach, we are helping to get international travel back on its feet. Fully vaccinated people are now able to travel without isolation to the vast majority of countries in the world. However, we will never hesitate to take action quickly where it is necessary to protect our vaccine roll-out.

[Greg Clark (Tunbridge Wells) (Con)]

I welcome the fact that it is now possible to travel to amber list countries without the need to quarantine, at last, but that is not the case for France. Many travellers, whether for business or leisure purposes, will have their lives disrupted as a result. Will my hon. Friend the Minister publish the data on which this unexpected decision was made? Since we now know it is possible to change initial decisions, will he commit to review this one before waiting three weeks to do so? While he is there, will he also reassure us that there will be no further problems for travellers from this country who have been vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine produced in India being denied entry to any European Union country?

[Robert Courts]

My hon. Friend is right to draw attention to the disruption that is undoubtedly being caused to his constituents and others. I entirely recognise that concern, and he is right to raise it. I know he will understand, however, that the action we have taken is to protect public health, which is, of course, the first duty of any Government in these circumstances and is what I think people would expect us to do. All this policy is kept under constant review in any event. As my hon. Friend will know, there is an assessment of the country listing every three weeks, and there is of course the policy listing as well, which comes up at the end of this month. If he was referring to the concern that existed over Malta’s accepting AstraZeneca vaccinations, my understanding is that that confusion has been resolved.

[Mr Speaker]

Let us now go to the SNP’s spokesperson, Gavin Newlands.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP) [V]]

As it happens, Mr Speaker, I am joining you from Glasgow airport, where I have just been updated on the latest developments.

I have spoken many times about the impact of the pandemic, with more than 3,000 aviation-related jobs in and around the airport having already gone. Notwithstanding the UK Government’s criminal dither and delay over the decision relating to travel from India and the importation of the delta variant, we do take a four-nations approach to international travel, so may I ask whether the Government gave the devolved Administrations notice of the decision on travel from France so that they could prepare?

However, whether we are talking about the decision about France or the fact that, owing to the delta variant, international travel is increasingly not in our gift—for example, Bulgaria added us to its red list just as we put it on our green list—the Minister must surely see the need for a specific package of support for the entire sector. The UK Government’s support does not even compare well domestically, let alone with that of the UK’s international aviation competitors. Is the Treasury not listening, or are the Minister and his colleagues just not shouting loudly enough?

[Robert Courts]

The Government have at all times an ongoing programme of engagement with all interested parties, including those in the devolved Administrations, and, as the hon. Gentleman will appreciate, the Scottish Government have followed our action in this case. We continue to talk to them, as we talk to all our international partners—that, I think, is the answer to the second part of his question—and he will of course be aware that, most importantly, we continue to talk to all parts of the sector to understand how they may best be assisted at this time.

[Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)]

Apart from a rapid roll-out of vaccines, there are only three ways to control this situation: lockdown, which is unthinkable, the rubbish “pingdemic” test and trace, which we should abolish as soon as possible, or and being tough on foreign travel. May I urge my hon. Friend to be honest with the British people and say, “Our advice is going to change constantly. We cannot foresee this disease. Don’t go abroad this summer, but if you do go abroad, you go entirely at your own risk”?

[Robert Courts]

The approach that the Government take is a balanced one. It is important that people are able to travel: it is important to people who have friends and family abroad whom they have not seen for a long time, and to those who need to be able to sustain their businesses, as well as the businesses in the travel sector itself. What we are doing, however, is opening international travel in a way that is robust and sustainable and protects public health. I think that that balance is achievable, and I think it is what we have set out.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

I have a constituent who is currently in Russia caring for a sick relative. She cannot be vaccinated where she is, and will need to return to the UK to get a vaccine that is recognised here, which, given the severity of her relative’s illness, is very difficult to manage. This highlights the difficulties of the status of vaccines for those undertaking international travel. This needs to be managed properly, so may I ask what steps the Government are taking towards developing a mutual recognition of vaccines, particularly in view of the need to secure the longer-term future of the inbound tourism industry?

[Robert Courts]

I am sorry to hear about the case of the hon. Lady’s constituent. If there is any assistance that I can offer, I will offer it. The hon. Lady is, of course, right to point to the fact that so many of the solutions here are international, and we continue to work bilaterally with international partners in, for instance, the World Health Organisation, and also with the International Civil Aviation Organisation, to ensure that we find that international solution as soon as we can.

[Sara Britcliffe (Hyndburn) (Con)]

Constituents across Hyndburn and Haslingden have been in touch with me because they have booked holidays and are due to depart soon, but have unfortunately been “pinged” and forced into isolation after close contacts. Most of these people are double-jabbed. Can the Minister confirm that discussions between his Department and the Department of Health and Social Care are ongoing to resolve this, and to do so before 16 August? It is causing huge numbers of holiday cancellations, and huge disappointment to many families across the country.

[Robert Courts]

My hon. Friend is quite right to raise her constituents’ concerns. I accept that this is a very difficult situation for her constituents, and for others all across the country and in all parts of the industry. I can confirm that across Government we continue to discuss the next steps we may be able to take. When we are able to, we will come back to the House and update people.

[Charlotte Nichols (Warrington North) (Lab) [V]]

Owing to our proximity to both, a large number of my constituents work at Manchester airport and Liverpool John Lennon airport, or otherwise rely on them for their livelihoods, and that includes our local taxi trade. The business rates relief for airports and ground handlers in England was welcomed by the sector and is a much needed boost for everyone, as is the Chancellor’s extension for a further six months. However, those payments, capped at £8 million last year and £4 million this year, barely touched the sides for some airports, yet the Minister repeatedly assures us that the Government are helping the sector. When will the Minister step up and provide real assurances that our aviation industry will be given the support it needs?

[Robert Courts]

The hon. Lady is quite right to draw the attention of the House to the importance of Manchester and Liverpool airports. I visited Liverpool airport not long ago, so I understand how important it is for her area. I am grateful to her for acknowledging that the airport and ground operations support scheme was welcomed and has been of assistance in relation to fixed costs, in particular business rates, to airports around the country. The most important thing we should all be doing is looking to find a way to enable people to get flying again. That is the way we will best be able to support our airlines and airports, which are so important in many different ways to all our constituents across the country.

[Paul Howell (Sedgefield) (Con)]

I think the Minister is as confused as I am by the Opposition’s position. They spent many weeks criticising a non-existent delay in action on the Indian variant and now they criticise prompt action on France.

It is absolutely right that we make the most of our fantastic vaccine roll-out to restore the freedoms we have had to sacrifice. Will my hon. Friend join me in encouraging everyone who has not yet had the jab to get it, whether they live in Thornley, Hurworth, Newton Aycliffe or anywhere else in the UK, so that airports like Teesside International airport can take off again?

[Robert Courts]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We need to enable airports like Teesside to take off again. We are seeking to lay in place a system that enables a robust, cautious and sustainable return to international travel in particular. He is absolutely right that the vaccination programme is a great national triumph. I encourage everybody to get their jab when it is open to them to be able to do so. It will help to protect them, their friends, their family and the people they work with. It will also help, as he quite rightly points out, with travel.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the Minister for his answers so far. I know that he wants to help and assist. I know that that is his purpose. I have been contacted by constituents who have loved ones who have died in Poland, and who are having difficulty travelling. There are those who want to travel from Morocco to visit elderly dying relatives and are also having difficulty travelling. My staff spent 35 minutes on the phone this morning on just one of those issues. I am not being critical, Minister, but it really is an issue. Given the fluidity of travel arrangements, where tourists are already on holiday and restrictions change while they are there, will the Minister make allowances to those who were not expecting to quarantine on arrival back in the UK, as there have been reports of a lack of medication and basic daily needs?

[Robert Courts]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. He is right that the Government wish to see travel restart, provided it is in a safe and sustainable way. He draws attention to the reason for that: often it is not just about people going on holidays, important though that is because of the jobs the industry sustains, but because people have not seen relatives who may be ill. It is important that we do that in a globally connected country, and we will continue to do that in a safe sustainable way. If there is anything I can do to assist any particular constituents, such as those he mentions, I hope he will not hesitate to contact me and I will see if there is anything I can do to assist.

[Damian Green (Ashford) (Con)]

It is unarguable that the effect of imposing quarantine on travellers to France will be significantly to reduce the numbers of those wanting to travel. With that in mind, does my hon. Friend agree that the imposition of Operation Brock on the M20 in Kent, which is designed to cope with long queues at Dover or the tunnel, was a trifle premature, and that Operation Brock should therefore be removed as soon as is humanly possible?

[Robert Courts]

I thank my right hon. Friend for raising that question. I know that it matters a great deal to his constituents and that he has been a leading voice in campaigning on it. I recognise the disruption to his constituents. At the weekend, the Kent Resilience Forum put in place the moveable barrier between junctions 8 and 9 of the M20 that enables Operation Brock to be implemented. That is a precautionary decision by the KRF in advance of the summer holidays. The KRF will keep the decision under review and will deploy Operation Brock for as short a period as possible. I entirely recognise the strength of feeling on this matter. I know that the Minister for Kent will be arranging a meeting between the KRF, my right hon. Friend and other interested MPs as soon as possible.

[Mary Kelly Foy (City of Durham) (Lab) [V]]

Constituents attempting to return from abroad have contacted me in desperation because official Government advice is not to take a PCR test if they have had covid-19 in the last 90 days, yet testing is a requirement both to return to the country and as part of the test and release scheme. Can the Minister offer some much needed clarity for my constituents and say how testing requirements for people returning to the UK apply to those who have recently had a positive PCR test abroad?

[Robert Courts]

The guidance on testing is laid out on the Government website. I know there has been a change as of today, which is worth bearing in mind. I am happy to write to the hon. Member to give her that precise clarity so that she can pass that on to her constituents and indeed to others who may need to refer to it.

[Joy Morrissey (Beaconsfield) (Con)]

I am looking forward to my holiday in the English countryside this summer—and may I invite my SNP colleagues to join me in enjoying the beautiful English countryside? For those who would like to journey abroad, will my hon. Friend provide greater clarification on how his Department will examine the travel corridors and on his further commitment to the aviation sector in the months to come?

[Robert Courts]

The aviation sector is vital to hon. and right hon. Members across the House for the connectivity and employment that it brings and for our place in the world. The Government are committed to continuing to review the measures we have in place and to building a restart of international travel that protects public health and is safe, robust and sustainable. To that end, we review the country allocation regularly, and there are checkpoints at the end of July and in October when we will review the overall policy. I of course commit to keeping that under review.

[Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)]

It feels a little like groundhog day: I stand before the Minister to ask for sector-specific support for aviation and he reels off figures that bear no relation to the reality of what aviation workers and the sector actually need. UK airports, compared with those in other countries, have had an absolute pittance from the Government. Will there be specific support for aviation to get it through a second summer of reduced travel, before it is too late?

[Robert Courts]

I recognise how important this is to the hon. Member, to her constituency and to her constituents who are employed in the sector, and I recognise that this is a difficult time for the sector. As she knows—she recognises the figures—we have provided about £7 billion of support through the cross-economy schemes as well as the AGOSS scheme, to which I referred earlier. We will keep all those things under review. We are really trying to enable the sector to restart in a safe, sustainable way that protects public health. By doing that, we help Luton airport, the airlines that operate from it, and all her constituents.

[Mike Wood (Dudley South) (Con)]

Nearly seven in 10 British adults have now received two doses of the vaccine. Does my hon. Friend agree that we should use the long-term protections that the vaccines provide to restore some of the freedoms that we have lost in the past year, including the ability to travel abroad?

[Robert Courts]

My hon. Friend is quite right that the vaccines have been a major national success story and we are looking at ways to capitalise on that to restore freedom and the ability to travel. Of course, the measures that come into effect today are a major part of that. We will continue to examine ways in which we can take the next step.

[Dave Doogan (Angus) (SNP)]

The Association of Independent Tour Operators says that the changes to travel to France have “squashed” consumer confidence. Of course the SNP upholds the rule that public health must come first, but the continued tumult of international restrictions and rules will deny the travel sector a full recovery any time soon. Businesses such as Travel Your World in Forfar in my Angus constituency desperately need dedicated support, so will the Minister finally accept that and commit to new financial support for the travel sector for as long as this international chaos persists?

[Robert Courts]

I am grateful to the hon. Member for raising that point. I recognise that these are challenging times for his constituents who work in the sector. I am also grateful for his acknowledgment that he supports the principle, as the Scottish Government have done; I think that people would expect us always to protect public health, and I know that he accepts that. As I have said to other right hon. and hon. Members, we are very keen to make sure that we restart international travel in a way that is sustainable and robust and protects public health. That is the way to assist his and all our constituents in the travel sector, wherever we are in the UK.

[Jacob Young (Redcar) (Con)]

I am pleased that Teesside holidaymakers who choose to fly to amber list countries can do so from Teesside International airport once again, but may I ask the Minister to reconsider the position of Dubai on the red list? The United Arab Emirates has vaccinated approximately 82% of its population and is home to hundreds of thousands of British expats who just want to come home.

[Robert Courts]

I pay tribute to Teesside International airport for the expansion in services there; it is very good to see, and I hope to see very much more of it in the weeks and months ahead. My hon. Friend will be pleased to know that we keep the categorisation of all countries under constant review. We are guided by the data provided and the advice given by the Joint Biosecurity Centre for Ministers to make the decisions, and we will continue to review those at all times.

[Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North) (Lab) [V]]

July and August are crucial months for airports, but the modest uplift in travel expected this year means that airports such as Newcastle International will continue to face an extremely challenging financial outlook for some time. Can the Minister confirm when we will see a more targeted comprehensive support package for the sector, as well as further help such as the harmonisation of quarantine rules for UK nationals vaccinated abroad and action to bring down the high cost of testing?

[Robert Courts]

The hon. Member raises a number of points; I will do my best to address them all quickly. She has spoken very compellingly in debates that I have attended about the importance of Newcastle International airport to her constituents and the jobs that are provided. We are continuing to take steps to see what we can do to reduce the cost of testing; she will have noticed that it has been coming down over recent weeks. We will continue to do anything we can to support the sector as we look forward to a successful restart.

[Duncan Baker (North Norfolk) (Con)]

I, too, woke on Saturday morning to lots of concerned residents who were upset about the change in self-isolation rules for people coming back from France. Can my hon. Friend reassure me by answering two particular questions?

First, why did the Government move so quickly to change those rules? I think that that message really needs to be key. Secondly, why was France singled out when beta prevalence is seen in many European countries and it is seen by many to be quite low in France?

[Robert Courts]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. I am conscious that the Minister for Covid Vaccine Deployment will shortly make a statement and may be able to assist further with my hon. Friend’s specific points on data, but he is absolutely right to raise those questions. As I know he will understand, the reason for speed is that, as we have always said, sometimes we just have to act quickly to protect public health. Unfortunately, one thing that we have always found with the pandemic is that things move quickly and sometimes we have to take quick action. We have always said that we will, and I think it is right that we do.

[Sammy Wilson (East Antrim) (DUP) [V]]

The restrictive list of green countries, the expense of numerous tests, the changeability of rules, the severe quarantine arrangements and the refusal to give mutual recognition to vaccine certificates from other countries have discouraged UK citizens from travelling abroad and have stopped much of the inward tourism that generates so much money for our economy. First, will the Minister consider increasing the list of green countries, given the vaccination programmes in some of the countries that tourists would go to? Secondly, will he grant mutual recognition to vaccine certificates issued in other countries, so that tourists from other countries can come here?

[Robert Courts]

Those are two very important points. I would very much like to see more countries on the green list, but we have to be guided by the advice that is sent by the Joint Biosecurity Centre. A number of different factors are taken into account, and they are listed on the website. They include vaccination, prevalence and the presence or otherwise of variants of concern. This has to be data-led, as I know the right hon. Gentleman will understand, but of course we would like to see more countries on the green list as soon as possible. With regard to the mutual recognition of vaccines offered elsewhere, we have said that this is a phased restart. Today, we are allowing those who have been double-vaccinated in this country to travel abroad and then come back without having to self-isolate, and that is a step. We are also looking to see what we can do to offer the same recognition to those from abroad. I cannot tell the right hon. Gentleman any more at the moment, but I hope to be able to come back to the House to do so in due course.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con) [V]]

On freedom day, it is very good news that we can now travel to amber-list countries without restriction. In fact, for someone who is double-vaccinated, they can almost be treated as green countries. However, people can travel to these countries only if the Foreign Office advice says that they are safe to travel to. Could the excellent Minister confirm that the travel advice from the Foreign Office has changed, as well as the advice from the Transport Department?

[Robert Courts]

My hon. Friend puts his finger on a very important point, which it is right to clarify. The advice that we in the Department for Transport give is around the risk of importing a variant or prevalence of the virus back into this country. The Foreign Office, in giving its travel advice, is dealing with the situation that exists in the other country. It has to take into account a number of other factors, such as political stability and the state of the healthcare system in the other country, so it is essentially looking at different things. We are dealing with the risk of incoming; it is dealing with the risks, and the advice to be given to British citizens, in the other country. The Foreign Office will always have the ability to do that.

[Alan Brown (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP)]

As covid cases in England go through the roof, 1,200 scientists have backed a letter to The Lancet saying that it is completely reckless for this Government to lift all restrictions today. International experts are saying that England as an international travel hub is now a risk to the rest of the world. The reality is that the Minister’s traffic light system is going to be meaningless as more countries such as Bulgaria put the UK on their red list, so when are the Government going to provide real support for the travel industry, rather than continuing to cause chaos and uncertainty?

[Robert Courts]

I am afraid that I cannot agree with the hon. Gentleman. I simply do not agree that the system leads to uncertainty. It is a robust system, and we have explained in detail how it is put together to enable the industry and our constituents to have an understanding of the system. We will obviously keep it under review, but I think that when the hon. Gentleman looks at the systems that are in place across the world, he will see that ours is actually quite advanced.

[Alec Shelbrooke (Elmet and Rothwell) (Con)]

I have listened carefully to my hon. Friend and he is absolutely right to put public health first, but he also has to recognise that public confidence in going abroad is now in a ditch. The travel agent industry is on its knees now, and it is on its last knees. My hon. Friend is responsible in the Department for setting the amber-list countries, and he has made the decision on France. If he cannot say when that decision will come to an end and stay like that, which I know he cannot, can I urge him to follow up on this matter? I have written to the Chancellor and to the Secretary of State for Transport to say the travel agent industry needs—in fact, must have—new grants applied to it because it cannot survive. Minister, it cannot survive. It employs thousands of people and produces a huge amount of taxation revenue for this country, but it will not survive. It needs that support, Minister.

[Robert Courts]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for having drawn that to the House’s attention. We will all have seen in our constituencies the critical importance of the travel agency sector, including the employment it brings and the way it opens up the world to all our constituents. We will of course continue to talk to the sector and to all our colleagues across Government in order to understand the way in which the sector may be best supported, but I emphasise the point that I have made today that getting people travelling again in a way that commands public confidence by protecting public health is the way in which we will help all parts of the travel sector.

[Mr Toby Perkins (Chesterfield) (Lab)]

In April, the rate in Britain was very low and the rate in southern Asia was very high, yet there were no restrictions on people coming from southern Asia, leading to the Johnson variant taking hold here. Now the rate in Britain is very high but we are preventing people from travelling to other countries where the rate is much lower, so there is chaos; people are uncertain about what is happening. Simultaneously, we read in The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail that Conservative MPs are turning off the app so that they do not get pinged and are able to go away on their holidays. Does all this not just add to the sense that we have a Government who are not in control and have different rules for the people from those that they are willing to follow?

[Robert Courts]

No.

[Andrew Percy (Brigg and Goole) (Con) [V]]

Travellers from the US and Canada, which have lower covid rates than the UK, can now travel to Europe but they cannot travel to the UK. I heard what the Minister said about the recognition of vaccines. May I urge him to move as quickly as possible on that? Is it not time to stop talking about green or amber countries and to start talking about green or amber travellers?

[Robert Courts]

My hon. Friend puts his finger on a really important point: understanding the importance of vaccines and what that can tell us. There are a number of aspects on which we need to fully understand the science—for example, on the transmissibility of the virus if someone is vaccinated and the effect on different variants. We are working at great speed but doing the work diligently to make sure that we can take full advantage of the success of our vaccine roll-out and protect public health at the same time.

[Nigel Mills (Amber Valley) (Con) [V]]

Is there anything that the Government can do to help families who have a young adult who is currently 17, but who turns 18 during the holiday season? They cannot be vaccinated and, if they can, they cannot have both, and yet they can perhaps travel away but they cannot come back if they have turned 18 in the meantime. Is there any way we can relax the rule, perhaps to apply it from September, so that families can have a holiday together?

[Robert Courts]

The rules as they apply are laid out in detail online and all families can look at those and understand them. I am very happy to consider that suggestion and any others that right hon. and hon. Members may have to refine the system, and I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that point.

[Patricia Gibson (North Ayrshire and Arran) (SNP)]

It is worrying that the Minister fails even to allow for the prospect that it is entirely possible that much of the world may follow Bulgaria and place travel from the UK on a red list. If that were to happen, what comfort can the Minister offer to the UK travel sector? Does he not recognise that now is the time for additional support for that beleaguered sector, as travel disruption looks set to continue for the foreseeable future?

[Robert Courts]

It is difficult for me to comment on the steps that other countries may have taken or may take in future, because they all have differing systems. We continue to talk to all our international partners, both in multilateral and bilateral forums, to understand how best we can enable travel between us, for all the reasons that we have discussed in the House today.

[Mark Jenkinson (Workington) (Con)]

I welcome my hon. Friend’s work on the reopening of international travel while Opposition Members support a complete shutdown. It has been possible thanks only to the success of our historic vaccine roll-out, but while we see the country opening up further today, travel companies in my constituency still have some very rough months ahead, even were travel to be completely unencumbered. They have found themselves low down the grant priority list after 16 months of just refunding customers. Where the Government confiscate, the Government must compensate. Will he therefore add his weight to calls on the Chancellor for ongoing sector-specific support?

[Robert Courts]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that question. Again, he is right to draw attention to the travel agencies in his constituency, which are, of course, having a very challenging time. I entirely recognise the difficulties that they have. As I have said to other hon. Members, the best way we can help all these sectors is by having the vaccine, rolling out the vaccination programme as we have been doing, and then ensuring that we can restart international travel in a way that protects public health.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op) [V]]

When travelling through the channel tunnel or by air, circulating in their respective terminals, people are not just in public places but in workplaces. In the light of soaring infection rates, will the Minister ensure that all measures under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Employment Rights Act 1996 are taken to protect our transport workers, including public health measures such as wearing a mask and social distancing, to stop the transmission of covid-19?

[Robert Courts]

A number of different points were raised in the hon. Lady’s question. All employers and all workplaces of course have to enforce the law as it stands; Parliament has legislated and that must be enforced, and there are authorities to do that. On covid-safe travel, a lot of detailed guidance has been made available and I would expect everybody to continue to follow it, to keep everybody safe, as indeed they very much are doing. Some travel providers may decide to take steps in addition, such as making a mask a condition of carriage or of entry. I am confident that those assessments that each travel provider undertakes on their premises or in their transport means will enable everybody to travel and to remain safe while they travel.

[Dr Ben Spencer (Runnymede and Weybridge) (Con)]

I very much welcome the fact that fully vaccinated people can now travel to amber countries without having to quarantine on return, but I am disappointed with the change in the situation with France and, in effect, the creation of a new “orange-red” category. It is right that the Government act quickly, and it would have been a disaster if France had become a red country, but new variants are going to keep on coming—that is inevitable—and what the sector, families and travellers need is certainty and predictability. Will my hon. Friend assure me that at the next review certainty and predictability particularly will be looked into, and that the traffic light system will remain a three-pronged one, rather than covering all colours of the rainbow?

[Robert Courts]

I am keen to reassure my hon. Friend that the system we have laid out in the Global Travel Taskforce report—the red, amber, green system—remains in place. A precautionary measure has been taken, for the reasons explained, with regard to France. I agree with him that certainty is what we would like to provide—we aim to do that through the system that we have. One difficulty, of course, is that if a situation develops in another country with regard to a variant or increased prevalence, we have to react to that, and it is right that we do so. In answer to his question as to whether these matters will be kept under review as we continue to consider policy, I can tell him that they will, of course.

[Clive Efford (Eltham) (Lab)]

Infection rates are at their highest since January, and the Health Secretary has said that he expects a spike following the relaxation of regulations today. So how can it be responsible of the Government not to require people to wear masks on transport? People spend long periods next to one another on planes, trains, the undergrounds and buses, so how can it be responsible not to require people to wear masks in those environments?

[Robert Courts]

There are two parts to the answer to that question. I believe the hon. Gentleman is referring to the broad range of transport, rather than simply international maritime or aviation—he refers to domestic travel as well. The Government are seeking to ask people to exercise their own judgment and responsibility, which is a situation we do have to get back to. However, we have made it clear that in some circumstances we would expect masks still to be warn, and some travel providers have also made that stipulation. If that is the case, it is right that people follow it. The reason for that is that there are very different circumstances between a crowded tube train and a rural train late at night that has only one person on it. There are different circumstances and we are seeking to make allowances for those.

[Jack Brereton (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Con)]

I want to touch further on points raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Wellingborough (Mr Bone). Recently, I visited Blue Bay Travel, a business based in my constituency, and people there particularly highlighted the mismatch that is causing issues between the traffic light advice for some countries, which would allow people to come back into the UK, and Foreign Office travel advice, which prevents them from leaving in the first place. Will the Minister please look at what more can be done to better join up this advice, to make it easier for travel businesses and for those wishing to travel abroad?

[Robert Courts]

I am very happy to assure my hon. Friend that I, like the Department for Transport more broadly, will continue to talk to our colleagues across government to see what more can be done. I have to point out again that the two issues are dealing with different aspects—almost two sides of the same problem. We are dealing with the risk of importing the virus, or variants of it, into this country. The Foreign Office is seeking to give advice to British citizens when they travel abroad; although we will obviously continue to talk to each other, they are dealing with fundamentally different things.

[Dame Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab) [V]]

There is already confusion over recent international travel announcements as well as an increase in the rates of covid. We all know that masks cut the risk of getting covid and passing it on to others, so leaving face coverings to personal responsibility is just a recipe for further confusion, conflict, chaos and, of course, more covid. It also leaves 3.5 million clinically vulnerable people frightened to travel. Should not wearing a mask just be compulsory on all modes of transport?

[Robert Courts]

It is right that we allow transport providers to assess the situation on their own mode of transport and to make that a condition of carriage if required. Moreover, it is also right that we trust people to take the right decision for themselves and for those around them.

[James Sunderland (Bracknell) (Con)]

It is great that international travel is now happening again, and I am absolutely clear that we must continue to do all we can for our aviation, travel, leisure and hospitality sectors. May I please draw the Minister’s attention to the high cost of covid testing? Our families returning from holidays are forking out lots of money for this, so may I ask him to consider the uniformity of the policy and also to get the costs down, please?

[Robert Courts]

My hon. Friend raises a critically important point. We are working with industry and across Government to see how we can help with the cost of testing; the Government are aware of it. We seek to enable that information to be made available to consumers on the website, which shows the different providers, but he will have noticed that the cost of testing has been coming down over the past few weeks and months, and I am confident that, as we see more travel in a safe, sustainable way, the cost will come down even further.

[Marion Fellows (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP) [V]]

The Minister did not answer the question on support for the aviation sector and associated sectors, such as the travel industry and hospitality posed by my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire North (Gavin Newlands), so, here we go again. Has his Department lobbied the Treasury for additional funds to support jobs in these sectors, and, if so, what was the answer?

[Robert Courts]

The hon. Lady will be aware that we estimate that the aviation sector itself will have benefited from approximately £7 billion-worth of support by September, as well as the other sectors, which have benefited from the cross-economy support schemes that the Government have put in place. The best way that we can assist all of those sectors is to unwrap international travel as soon as we can while protecting public health, because that is the best way to help them.

[Lee Anderson (Ashfield) (Con)]

Almost 70% of Ashfield residents have been double jabbed. Although that has given us back our domestic freedoms, does the Minister agree that another freedom that we need to get back is foreign travel, which will give our aviation industry a much-needed boost?

[Robert Courts]

I am very keen to see foreign travel resume, because of the immense benefits that it brings to this country in individuals’ life experience, the jobs that it brings in, the money that comes into the Treasury, the families who need to be connected, and the businesses who rely on international travel. I am very keen to see all of that increase as much as we can. However, we must do so in a way that reassures the public that we are protecting public health.

[Maria Eagle (Garston and Halewood) (Lab) [V]]

The Minister’s regulations require people wanting to travel abroad to have PCR tests. When will the Government publish an up-to-date and accurate list of suitable, recommended PCR test providers for travellers, and what will he do to protect travellers from those companies that charge a lot and then do not deliver timely results, thus ruining travel plans for families at the last minute?

[Robert Courts]

The Department of Health and Social Care continually reviews the list of providers. It has a rolling programme, and it takes action if providers are not delivering what they have promised.

[Felicity Buchan (Kensington) (Con)]

Travel to the US is very important for businesses headquartered in my constituency. Several own major US subsidiaries, which they cannot adequately oversee—they cannot tour a factory, for instance, by Zoom—and many have major US investors whom they cannot update. Can the Minister assure me that he is doing everything he can to get a travel corridor in place with the US—I know that we have the taskforce—because it is essential that we can have travel going in that direction?

[Robert Courts]

My hon. Friend gives a perfect example of the importance of travel: there are certain things we cannot do over Zoom and she is quite right to draw attention to that. Transatlantic travel is hugely important to the United States and to the United Kingdom for many reasons, and has obviously been greatly affected by the pandemic, which has kept families apart and made trade difficult. We want to restore travel with our closest ally as soon as we possibly can. My hon. Friend will know that the Prime Minister and President Biden made clear the importance of bringing about the return of safe travel as soon as possible, which is why the joint UK-US experts’ working group to which she referred has been formed, and work is well under way to deliver that goal as soon as possible.

[Ruth Cadbury (Brentford and Isleworth) (Lab)]

Significant concerns about conditions for people who return to the UK and in the quarantine hotels have been expressed by Members of this House and by the directors of public health for the local authorities around Heathrow airport. One cannot book a flight until the quarantine hotel is booked. My constituent had to wait for more than a week to receive vital HIV medication while he was waiting to enter the UK and then again while in the quarantine hotel. He contacted me and we were fobbed off by being told: “The hotels have on-site doctors”. He needed a specialist doctor to prescribe his essential medication, which he had to wait too long to receive. That is unacceptable and I worry how many other people’s lives and health are being put at risk due to such delays and the poor management of the quarantine hotels and arrival system. What steps is the Minister taking to prevent this from happening to others who arrive in the UK?

[Robert Courts]

I am concerned to hear about the case raised by the hon. Member. If she would like to share it with me in writing, I will ensure that that complaint is sent to the right place and addressed. I am happy to take action on that individual case. More broadly, we of course continue, across Government, to ensure that the policies we have in place are not only accurate and required but carried out to the satisfaction of all involved. Circumstances have obviously been fast-moving. We are all committed to making sure that the policy is delivered and that quarantine hotels are managed appropriately.

[Simon Jupp (East Devon) (Con)]

I am sorry to say that the further restrictions for France stretch both the credibility of the system and the patience of the travel industry. The whole industry—from regional airports, including Exeter airport, to travel agents in places such as Sidmouth—continues to watch as its reserves are dried up, Government support is reduced and its ability to trade is hampered to an extent beyond that of any other industry. Will my hon. Friend look again at bespoke support for the travel and aviation industry, to avoid further job losses affecting hundreds of thousands of people?

[Robert Courts]

The travel industry and regional airports, particularly Exeter airport, have powerful voices in this place, not least that of my hon. Friend, who is exceptionally eloquent and powerful in making the case to me and others. I commit to remain in close contact with him and all in the sector so that we can best understand how we may be able to support them. As I have said, the best way to do that is to ensure that we are able to travel in a way that protects public health. None the less, we must enable travel.

[Mr Speaker]

I suspend the House for two minutes to enable the necessary arrangements to be made for the next business.

Regional Airports

Robert Courts Excerpts

Wednesday 7th July 2021 Westminster Hall

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

It is a real pleasure and honour to serve under your chairmanship, Ms McVey. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for St Austell and Newquay (Steve Double) for securing this important debate. He and I have spoken on many occasions—not just about his vital airport, but about regional connectivity in general. He is hugely knowledgeable and passionate. As a consequence, he is an incredibly powerful advocate not just for his local community, but for regional air connectivity in Cornwall and the whole of the UK.

I thank all hon. Members for the varied and excellent points that they have made, and I will do my best in the time available to respond to as many of them as possible. The Government entirely understand and recognise the severe economic impact that the covid-19 pandemic has had on regional airports. They are critical regional and national infrastructure, and we continue to work to understand the industry and to see how it can be best supported at this time. Before I address some of the wider points that have been made, I will say a word or two about Newquay airport, because it is so important to my hon. Friend the Member for St Austell and Newquay.

Newquay airport is vital for connections to the south-western corner of our nation. It connects to nine UK airports, the Isles of Scilly, Faro and Alicante. Newquay airport provided vital access for world leaders accessing the G7 summit last month and, as my hon. Friend rightly says, it was clearly vital to the success of the summit. The £7.8 million provided by the Cabinet Office for infrastructure improvements for the G7 enabled the efficient handling of air traffic and the aircraft that were required for the summit. I am pleased that the works will also ensure that the summit leaves a long-term economic legacy at Newquay airport.

I will be in Cornwall tomorrow as part of the Maritime Safety Week programme. I will be returning from Newquay airport, and I am delighted that my hon. Friend will, I hope, be joining me on a visit to and tour of the airport. We will see again, for ourselves, quite how vital this airport is, not only to him, his area and the constituencies surrounding it but to the whole of the UK. That is because the UK enjoys one of the best connected, best value and safest aviation industries anywhere in the world. The aviation industry creates jobs, encourages our economy to grow and connects us, as my hon. Friend the Member for Truro and Falmouth (Cherilyn Mackrory) eloquently explained, with the rest of the world. It consolidates and expands this country’s position as a dynamic trading nation. That is doubly the case with regional airports.

Regional airports serve our local communities. As the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North (Catherine McKinnell) vividly explained today, they support thousands of jobs and act as a gateway to the international opportunities to which I have already referred. They maintain social and family ties, and strengthen the bonds between our four nations.

The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), as ever, made a wonderful contribution. He explained that regional aviation is vital not only to Northern Ireland as a whole but to his weekly commute. The hon. Member is the personification of the vital economic and social link that regional aviation provides for Northern Ireland and for the United Kingdom.

Prior to the pandemic, the aviation sector directly contributed at least £22 billion to GDP each year and supported half a million jobs in the UK. Maintaining a strong, privately operated and competitive aviation industry is vital to our economy. It supports a truly global Britain and the communities that surround airports.

The hon. Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East (Mike Kane) used a wonderful phrase: “the airport community.” He is absolutely right. He referred in particular to Humberside and, of course, to Manchester, which is so important to him. The phrase “the airport community” could apply, and does apply, to so many of the Members who have contributed to this debate, and to many others who would have liked to have done so.

I would like to dwell for a moment, Chair, on some of the points made by my hon. Friend the Member for Mansfield (Ben Bradley). He made powerfully clear the importance of East Midlands airport to his constituency and region. Regional airports are vital for levelling up. They enable local communities and businesses to connect with London and beyond. They play a key role in levelling up our regions and building global Britain. It is absolutely vital that that air network is maintained, because it is key to achieving positive and growing economic outcomes for our regions. Our objective is to ensure that all nations and regions of the UK have the domestic and international air transport connections that local communities and businesses rely on, while of course ensuring that we meet our net zero commitments. I will come to that in a moment.

The importance of this regional aviation network has been seen as never before during the covid crisis. Although it has clearly impacted regional airports across the UK, and the airlines that operate out of them, the sector has continued to perform well and has adapted despite the challenges. We have spoken of Newquay already. The Newquay to London route is operating during the summer, as commercial operators are offering enough flights to be able to meet the demand for staycations. We have heard that the G7 summit was facilitated by that.

As of last week, a new route began operating from Teesside airport to London Heathrow. It will link passengers from Teesside, via Heathrow, to 134 destinations throughout the world. We have seen vividly over the course of the last year that the sector has adapted to provide critical support during the pandemic. For example, aviation freight has been vital for getting the amount of personal protective equipment the UK has needed, both through airports that are freight specialists and through passenger airports that also deal with a heavy amount of freight. My hon. Friend the Member for Mansfield has clearly explained the importance of East Midlands to his region, and Birmingham airport has also stepped up to provide more red-list terminal capability and capacity.

[Gavin Newlands]

The Minister has made a very good argument and case for regional air connectivity, so can he tell us if and when the regional air connectivity review will be published?

[Robert Courts]

I shall return to the hon. Gentleman’s points, but on that point, in brief, we will look to publish that regional connectivity piece as part of the strategic framework for recovery of the sector that we will publish later this year. I will come on to some of the regional connectivity review points in a little while, but that is the brief answer to his question.

I would like to say a word or two about the wider use of airfields, the diversification of them, and the ability for airports and airfields to provide highly skilled, dynamic and innovative businesses with opportunities to grow and flourish. That involves things such as the maintenance of aircraft, manufacturing, aviation services, and research and innovation. Airports and airfields are not just vital for their local economies, but critical to the success of the aviation sector more broadly. My hon. Friend the Member for St Austell and Newquay of course chairs the APPG on general aviation and will know how important they are for that. I know that he shares my passion for that.

My hon. Friend the Member for Truro and Falmouth spoke about the use of commercial airports for aerospace or military aerospace. There are of course many examples all over the country, but Cobham at Teesside airport is one that immediately springs to mind. Then there are regional airports that have diversified into other, additional functions—things such as pilot training. Oxford airport, just outside my own constituency, is a powerful example of that. Perhaps the most vivid example of all is Newquay airport in hosting a spaceport.

The hon. Member for Strangford pointed out that many services need regional aviation. He rightly referred to search-and-rescue helicopters, to police helicopters and, of course, to oil and gas maintenance and facilitation. The mixed use of aviation and airspace is absolutely vital, going far beyond the immediate core vital function that we have spoken about today.

I would like to say a word or two about route support and PSOs—an issue raised by a number of hon. Members, including of course my hon. Friend the Member for St Austell and Newquay but also the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone) and the hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire North (Gavin Newlands), who spoke just a moment ago. The hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross had the wonderful phrase “from Cornwall to Caithness”. I suspect that other hon. Members might wish to add some stops en route, so that we have Cornwall to Caithness via Manchester, via Glasgow and via Belfast, for example; there are many other places. His phrase was wonderful; I apologise to him for having mangled it in the course of including other hon. Members. His essential point, that regional aviation covers the country from Cornwall to Caithness, is of course a very important one.

We continue jointly to fund public service obligation routes from, for example, Londonderry and Dundee into London, protecting air connectivity from some of the most far-flung parts of the UK. We are, as I have stated already, very pleased that commercial services have operated between Newquay and London over the summer and will continue until the end of October. We are working closely with Cornwall Council to ensure that air connectivity on the route can continue beyond the end of the summer season.

I recognise, of course, the significant impact that covid-19 has had on regional airports, airlines, economies and connectivity. We will consider whether there are further opportunities to utilise PSOs alongside other policy measures that look towards meeting our ongoing regional-connectivity and levelling-up objectives.

The hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross asked to meet me about Wick airport. Of course I would be delighted to meet him to discuss that and any other issue that he may wish to discuss with me. He will of course realise that if a PSO is considered to be intra-Scotland, the Scottish Government would be the right place for him to direct his inquiries, but of course I am happy to work with him to see what more we can do to strengthen regional aviation in his part of the world.

A number of Members mentioned air passenger duty. Of course, as part of its plan to boost regional connectivity to support the commitment to net zero by 2050, the Treasury launched a consultation on aviation tax reform that explores reforms to air passenger duty. It is an area often cited by the sector as a barrier to domestic connectivity. That consultation has set out the Government’s initial policy position that, following our departure from the EU, the effective rate of APD on domestic flights should be reduced. The consultation closed on 15 June. The Treasury is now considering responses and will give an update on response timings in due course.

I have already briefly referred to the regional connectivity review, in answer to the hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire North. The Union connectivity review by Sir Peter Hendy is under way and will be published later this year. That will explore how improvements to transport connectivity between the four nations of the United Kingdom can continue. That is independent of Government and is expected to examine various modes, including air links.

A number of hon. Members rightly mentioned decarbonisation: my hon. Friends the Members for St Austell and Newquay and for Truro and Falmouth, and the hon. Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East, in particular. The Government have introduced a wide range of measures to support the decarbonisation of the aviation sector, including a £15 million competition to support the UK production of sustainable aviation fuels—SAF, as they are called—and the introduction of the UK’s emissions trading scheme, which is 5% tougher than the EU equivalent, and covers all domestic and UK to European economic area flights. In June, we launched the first round of the £3 million zero emission flight infrastructure competition, supporting the development of the infrastructure that is required to aid electric and hydrogen aircraft. That will help to build the UK airports and airfields of the future.

The UK’s domestic aviation sector is well placed to be at the forefront of decarbonisation. I welcome the recent announcement from Loganair that its operations will be carbon neutral by 2040, to be achieved through the use of SAF, hydrogen and battery-electric propulsion, as technological advances allow. The Government will shortly consult on our jet zero strategy, setting out the steps that the sector will need to take to achieve net zero by 2050.

A number of hon. Members asked about the future, the recovery of the sector and the strategy: my hon. Friend the Member for St Austell and Newquay, the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North and the right hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) who was not Zoom-bombing—his contributions are always very welcome, whether on Heathrow, the green recovery or any other matter concerning aviation. We will be looking ahead for the sector and will need to set out the path for recovery in a way that supports not only the aviation market but the wider objectives of levelling up and building back greener.

We are working on the strategy for the future of aviation in the UK, to be published later this year. It will explore the sector’s return to growth, including workforce and skills, aviation noise, innovation and regulation, consumer issues and, critically, regional connectivity, as I have explained. It will also consider climate change and decarbonisation, as well as the critical role that aviation plays in retaining the UK’s global reach. As I explained, the strategic framework will be published later this year.

There is no doubt that the pandemic has had a devastating impact on the UK’s aviation sector but regional connectivity and regional airports are a vital part of it, and we are committed to ensuring that they are at the forefront of Government plans to help the sector to recover. The Government are always keen to engage with aviation stakeholders to find ways to ensure the swift recovery of the sector.

Although uncertainty remains in the path ahead, we are committed to this world-leading aviation sector, both its international and regional parts. We will ensure that the sector has the tools it needs to return and grow in a safe and sustainable way. I thank all hon. Members who spoke for such an excellent, wide-ranging, highly knowledgeable and helpful debate on this critical topic.