Airports: London

Debate between Earl Attlee and Lord Richard

Monday 10th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

Absolutely, my Lords. The Airports Commission is charged with taking that into consideration, particularly as regards rail connectivity.

[Lord Richard]

The Minister does not exactly give the impression of a Government who are anxious to find a speedy solution to this problem. He keeps saying that the policy has to survive the next election. What consultative processes does he have in place for trying to ensure that it will survive the next election? Is he, for example, discussing it with other parties?

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, currently it is planned that the final report of the Airports Commission will come out after the next election. Of course, the noble Lord, Lord Davies of Oldham, and I could have a chat before the next election but, even though he and I have solved a lot of problems together and we have rarely needed to seek the opinion of the House, I suspect that this matter will be far beyond our pay grade to determine.

Disabled People: Blue Badge Scheme

Debate between Earl Attlee and Lord Richard

Thursday 25th October 2012 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, disabled people’s groups, such as the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee, agree that greater use of independent mobility assessments is needed to determine eligibility fairly and robustly.

[Lord Richard]

My Lords, will the independent assessors be medically qualified?

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, independent health professionals such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists are often best placed to assess eligibility due to their professional knowledge of mobility.

Gypsies and Travellers

Debate between Earl Attlee and Lord Richard

Thursday 16th February 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Richard]

My Lords, does not the problem go rather deeper than the way in which the Minister seems to be approaching it? The noble Lord, Lord Tebbit, put his finger on one of the issues. Is not the fact that there are not enough sites in this country the real reason why so many people who want to live a nomadic life cannot do so? Therefore, they have to go into static accommodation, which they probably do not want to be in anyway, and which no doubt has planning problems and upsets the neighbours. However, the real problem here is that there are not enough sites for nomadic peoples to go to.

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, the noble Lord is right in his analysis. The problem is to find a long-term solution, which is why I referred to the problem of economic activity. Without legitimate economic activity for Travellers, local communities will not be keen on having Traveller sites near them. That is the nub of the problem.