Contributions
1,117 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDCommercial Vehicles: SafetyI thank the noble Baroness for her question. I have those statistics somewhere and I have up-to-date ones. I will send them to her. Many of the 19 new vehicle technologies are…19 Mar 2025HANSARDCommercial Vehicles: SafetyThere is only one person here who holds a passenger-carrying vehicle licence, which is a broadly similar experience, although the payload complains more often than it does with a…19 Mar 2025HANSARDCommercial Vehicles: SafetyMy Lords, new motor vehicles, including commercial vehicles, must be approved through a broad range of rigorous safety requirements. In addition, the Department for Transport is a…19 Mar 2025HANSARDCommercial Vehicles: SafetyThe standards of professional vocational drivers in Britain are very high. The tests that you have to pass and the continuous professional development, which is broadly similar to…19 Mar 2025HANSARDCommercial Vehicles: SafetyWe very much welcome the noble Lord’s support in this. It is inevitable that the motor manufacturing industry moves on. Contrary to a lot of the noise, there is great evidence…19 Mar 2025HANSARDGreat British Railways: Industrial ActionI was wondering what I had said in April 2022. When I spoke to the Rail Industry Association, it was in respect of industrial relations in Network Rail, which I had the privilege…18 Mar 2025HANSARDGreat British Railways: Industrial ActionMy Lords, when Great British Railways takes over, it will be responsible for the industrial relations of the railway. Its establishment depends, of course, on the passage of the…18 Mar 2025HANSARDGreat British Railways: Industrial ActionThe answer to the noble Lord’s point is that it will have competent long-term management. The longest dispute in recent history on the national railway network was the one which…18 Mar 2025HANSARDGreat British Railways: Industrial ActionThe primary activity that needs to take place is good industrial relations, so that the instances of disputes that affect the train service are much reduced. A feature of good…18 Mar 2025HANSARDGreat British Railways: Industrial ActionI agree with my noble friend, but I will add one point. The Government are responsible for the cost of the railways to the taxpayer and, because of that, Governments need to make…18 Mar 2025HANSARDGreat British Railways: Industrial ActionI have apologised to the noble Baroness for the disruption at Botley Road bridge in Oxford already, and I am happy to do that again. What I am quite clear about is that the…18 Mar 2025HANSARDGreat British Railways: Industrial ActionNot only do I completely agree with my noble friend, but the noble Lord, Lord Moylan, might recall that, when he was deputy chair of Transport for London and I was the…18 Mar 2025HANSARDGreat British Railways: Industrial ActionSo far as the long-distance operator on the east coast main line is concerned, I can very happily give that assurance: LNER is top of the performance league and is actually very…18 Mar 2025HANSARDGreat British RailwaysMy Lords, first, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Young, on securing this timely debate on an important subject. I offer him my wholehearted apologies for the omission of the…13 Mar 2025HANSARDNorth Sea Vessel CollisionMy understanding is that vessels such as these have such a thing, but currently neither has any crew on board, clearly, and the activities are primarily based on keeping the…13 Mar 2025HANSARDNorth Sea Vessel CollisionMy Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Roborough, and the noble Baroness, Lady Pidgeon, for their responses and their commendations of those involved, which I echo. I offer my…13 Mar 2025HANSARDNorth Sea Vessel CollisionThe Secretary of State’s representative for maritime salvage and intervention convened a salvage co-ordination unit yesterday morning to oversee the salvage response to this…13 Mar 2025HANSARDNorth Sea Vessel CollisionI have every confidence that the inquiry will look at all the relevant aspects of this really significant incident and will include all the parties, including the two that the…13 Mar 2025HANSARDNorth Sea Vessel CollisionI will say two things. The noble Baroness, Lady Pidgeon, referred to the previous defects on the motor vessel “Solong”. Although those defects were identified in an inspection…13 Mar 2025HANSARDNorth Sea Vessel CollisionAll I can say is that they are a completely necessary set of organisations and have some pretty brave people who assess on a continuing basis what can be done. They are an…13 Mar 2025