Contributions
2,622 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDBA and Ryanair: Customer RefundsThe Government are taking a keen interest in this issue, but it should be noted that refund issues between airlines and travel agents are a contractual matter between those two…15 Jun 2021HANSARDBA and Ryanair: Customer RefundsI point out to the noble Lord that the Government are taking a cautious approach to international travel. We realise that circumstances will change in different countries, at…15 Jun 2021HANSARDBritain’s RailwaysMy Lords, there will not be two types of passenger service contract. There will be many types because the noble Lord is right. Some may incorporate revenue risk in due course to…24 May 2021HANSARDBritain’s RailwaysI thank the noble Lord, Lord Rosser, and the noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, for their generally—I think—fairly positive welcome for these proposals. The noble Lord, Lord Rosser,…24 May 2021HANSARDBritain’s RailwaysMy noble friend raises an important point and highlights why Great British Railways is so desperately needed, in that we have so many different operators and indeed types of train…24 May 2021HANSARDBritain’s RailwaysOn the first issue raised by the noble and gallant Lord, Keith Williams met with the general-secretaries on a number of occasions while he was carrying out this review. As I…24 May 2021HANSARDBritain’s RailwaysI cannot agree with the noble Lord that franchising has been an expensive failure. We have seen an enormous growth in passenger numbers as a result of the involvement of the…24 May 2021HANSARDBritain’s RailwaysMy noble friend is absolutely right: during privatisation, passenger numbers more than doubled, so the involvement of the private sector has had a transformational impact on the…24 May 2021HANSARDBritain’s RailwaysThose were some very interesting observations from the noble Lord, who is clearly well versed in the railways. He is right that we need to make sure that Ministers’…24 May 2021HANSARDBritain’s RailwaysOur engagement with Transport for Wales and the Welsh Government has been very significant and over a long period, both at ministerial and official levels. Next, we want to…24 May 2021HANSARDBritain’s RailwaysI think there are lots of ways to attract passengers back on to the railways, and investment in improving capacity is one of them. Of course, that is why the Government are…24 May 2021HANSARDBritain’s RailwaysThe noble Lord raises an interesting point about stations. Stations are a great asset, particularly in local communities, because sometimes they are not just railway stations.…24 May 2021HANSARDBritain’s RailwaysBring back the Young-Major plan for rail greatness is what I say. I can absolutely confirm all those things to my noble friend. We are retaining the original objectives of…24 May 2021HANSARDBritain’s RailwaysMy Lords, shortly is shortly. I, too, am optimistic about the railways and all forms of transport because they are the great connector. The noble Lord asks about branding.…24 May 2021HANSARDBritain’s RailwaysThe Government are committed to decarbonising the railway as part of our wider, legally binding target of reaching net zero emissions across the whole UK economy by 2050. Our…24 May 2021HANSARDBritain’s RailwaysThe five-year business plan that will be developed by Great British Railways will be in the public domain and it will set out the capital and revenue funding over that period. I…24 May 2021HANSARDTransport Decarbonisation StrategyMy Lords, we are working hard to finalise our bold and ambitious plan to decarbonise transport and expect to publish it shortly. We need to go further and faster to tackle…19 May 2021HANSARDTransport Decarbonisation StrategyI reassure the noble Baroness that the £27 billion figure is not a road-building programme; it includes operating and maintenance of the strategic road network. She mentioned a…19 May 2021HANSARDHitachi Rail: Rail Travel DisruptionI am greatly relieved that my noble friend had a reasonable journey to London this week; I do not think I could have coped with another bad journey. I reassure him that LNER’s…19 May 2021HANSARDHitachi Rail: Rail Travel DisruptionI absolutely agree with the noble Lord. GWR is operating an amended timetable, and passengers need certainty nowadays, so that they can plan when to travel. GWR has every…19 May 2021