Smart Motorways
Debate between Baroness Blake of Leeds and Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate(6 days, 11 hours ago)
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Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
The noble Lord touches on a very sensitive point. The ward in Leeds that I represented had the M1 going right through it, and all the litter on the side of the motorways was the responsibility of National Highways. It is a crucial factor, particularly where safety is involved. Given the new smart technology that so many people have in their cars, their ability to report things as soon as they see them should help with improving the performance.
Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Con)
My Lords, we should all congratulate the emergency services that have to attend to accidents on our motorways. Sometimes motorways are closed for quite a long time as a result of accidents, but the emergency services behave admirably.
I want to ask the Minister a question that almost touches on the one we had before. With the increased use of electric vehicles, particularly those powered by lithium batteries, is she happy that our emergency services are sufficiently well educated in dealing with fires from lithium batteries, which I understand are extremely difficult to extinguish?
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
The raw facts of the cost of collisions and fatal and serious injuries in this country are staggering. It is estimated that over £3.1 billion was spent on medical and ambulance costs due to collisions on our roads last year alone. That is a crucial issue, and of course the lithium battery issue is an important one for our fire and emergency services. There is a lot of misinformation around this space, and it would be useful to have the latest figures updated to see how the fire and emergency departments are coping with that.
Zero-emission Vehicle Mandate
Debate between Baroness Blake of Leeds and Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
The noble Viscount is absolutely right that the end date for the electric vehicle tax relief is next year. However, as he and everyone else in this Chamber will be aware, we are approaching a Budget and I cannot comment on any matter that might be raised in that.
Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Con)
My Lords, the noble Lord’s Question was all to do with zero emission in relation to electric vehicles. Will the Minister consider carefully the alternatives that we are faced with in zero emission, such as synthetic fuel, hydrogen power and so on? Are we not putting all our eggs in the wrong basket?
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
I thank the noble Lord for his question. I am sure he is aware that trials are taking place around hydrogen-fuelled vehicles as we speak. Everyone is open to looking at new technologies coming along and making sure that we make the most of our mission to clean up the air in this country for the benefit of those who have to breathe it in as well as for the planet, in terms of the climate change objectives.
London Underground
Debate between Baroness Blake of Leeds and Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
As someone who was diverted on a journey from Cornwall to Leeds via Newport, I understand where the noble Lord is coming from. Of course, discussions with the devolved nations are absolutely central to our overall ambition for growth across all the regions and nations in contributing to the economy of the whole country.
Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Con)
My Lords, in view of the success of the Elizabeth line in London, will the Government now commit to supporting Crossrail 2?
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
The noble Lord is well aware that it would be above my pay grade to make commitments that will be subject to future discussions. We obviously have the Budget coming up and the spending review, and I look forward to those discussions.