Oral Answers to Questions

Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh Excerpts

Thursday 23rd February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

I had a meeting with airlines and airports earlier this week and we will continue to consult the industry carefully. As I have said, people who arrive from all around the world already have to show their passports when they arrive in the United Kingdom, so I do not envisage the dramatic change that some are suggesting.

[Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Ochil and South Perthshire) (SNP)]

21. It is of course likely that queues for inbound passengers will increase in the UK post-Brexit, which will have an effect on the UK’s competitiveness in the pan-European tourism market. What assurances and evidence can the Secretary of State provide that interdepartmental work is being done to ensure that there is as little disruption as possible and our tourism market, which is vital for jobs and the economy, is not adversely affected?

[Chris Grayling]

The hon. Lady makes an assumption that I simply do not accept. It is already the case that people arriving at our borders have to show their passports before entering the country. I do not envisage that changing. We certainly do not envisage a situation in which we create vast additional queues at our borders. We want a smooth, streamlined process so that people who have a right to come here can do so and be welcome.

--- Later in debate ---

[Chris Grayling]

I am happy to look carefully at that option. It is not my policy or the Government’s policy to remove people from trains. Ways of working will change, but we will need more people, not fewer, delivering services to customers on our railways as demand grows.

[Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Ochil and South Perthshire) (SNP)]

T8. Some 54% of all train delays in Scotland are due to the Tory Government’s responsibility for Network Rail, so the Secretary of State must agree with my colleagues here and in the Scottish Government that critical functions, such as capacity planning, major projects delivery, and legal and property management relating to Scotland, could and should be devolved to the Scottish Parliament. Are the Government sitting on their hands for purely political reasons, and not because it is in the best interests of the people of Scotland?

[Chris Grayling]

The thing is that I have seen the SNP make such a hash of education in Scotland that I do not trust it with the transport system. We benefit from having a national rail infrastructure operator as part of the United Kingdom.

Aviation Security

Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh Excerpts

Thursday 5th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

My hon. Friend mentions two airlines, Thomson and EasyJet. When I left the Department for Transport to come here, representatives of both those companies were at the Department going through the arrangements that we need to put into operation. They are being kept very much informed, as they play an important part in what we are doing, and they are being extremely helpful. I should like to place on record my thanks to the airlines for responding so quickly to the situation we found ourselves in yesterday.

[Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Ochil and South Perthshire) (SNP)]

I also thank the Secretary of State for his statement. What work will his Department undertake to ensure that the advice given to UK citizens will be fact based? Or does he believe, as has been stated in the media this morning, that a more precautionary approach is required in this instance? Would that signal a shift in the nature of the travel advice given by the FCO?

[Mr McLoughlin]

We do not give any such advice without having due cause to do so. We consider all the different streams of information that we get and feed them into our decision-making process—of that, the hon. Lady can be certain. These decisions are not taken lightly. They worry the people who are in the resorts, and they worry their families who are here, but it is right that we should take them if we feel that it is necessary to do so.