St Helena: Airport

Debate between Viscount Ridley and Baroness Verma

Tuesday 7th June 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, the noble Lord is right that commercial airlines are not currently running. He asked why. We have intensive work under way to identify options to enable commercial air services to start as soon as possible. We are considering a range of potential providers. The timing of the commencement of scheduled services will, of course, depend on securing the right aircraft and regulatory approvals. But, as the noble Lord is aware, in the interim we have services going to and from St Helena.

[Viscount Ridley (Con)]

My Lords, my noble friend will be aware that many St Helenans live and work on Ascension Island, although they have no right of abode there. Given that Ascension has one of the longest runways in the world, does my noble friend consider that it is worth negotiating with the Americans to make sure that we can get commercial flights into and out of Ascension Island, which would be of great benefit to a lot of St Helenans who live there? Is it worth revisiting the issue of right of abode on Ascension Island?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, we do work closely with the Americans. My noble friend is right: we use the airport on Ascension Island. But, if we are going to uplift the economy of St Helena, it is right and proper that we continue to work to ensure that we find a solution for St Helena. I am afraid that I will have to come back to my noble friend on the issue of residency.

Health: Ebola

Debate between Viscount Ridley and Baroness Verma

Wednesday 9th March 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Verma]

As the noble Baroness will of course be aware, it is important that during the crisis we draw on the expertise of all volunteers and experts. We were very fortunate to have volunteers from the UK go out, but we also very much drew on local communities and are now building up their local capacities.

[Viscount Ridley (Con)]

My Lords, does my noble friend agree that something that we can do from this country is harness the extraordinary strength of our scientific base, particularly with respect to tropical diseases—in particular, insect-borne diseases such as malaria and Zika, which also threaten people’s livelihoods?

[Baroness Verma]

I absolutely agree with my noble friend. As I said earlier, we are working with other partners in looking at research and the Government are investing a lot more in research to be able to tackle these tropical diseases.

Zika Virus

Debate between Viscount Ridley and Baroness Verma

Tuesday 2nd February 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, the wider point is, as the noble Lord, Lord Patel, said, that the rate of spread of this particular virus is low. However, I agree with the noble Lord that we need to understand better why this virus and others are suddenly increasing at a greater rate than the normal pattern in the past. The UK is showing leadership by putting money behind research and development. Working with countries where outbreaks are taking place will not just benefit our own understanding but will build resilience for those countries.

[Viscount Ridley (Con)]

My Lords—