Oral Answers to Questions
Lord Brennan of Canton Excerpts(4 years, 1 month ago)
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The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Andrew Stephenson)
HS2 Ltd takes its responsibilities to secure and maintain land along the line of route extremely seriously. I thank my right hon. Friend for taking the time to show me some of the specific problem sites when I visited her constituency. Where fly-tipping or littering occurs, HS2 Ltd must act to address it as soon as possible.
Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)
Trudy Harrison
I thank the hon. Member for his question, but I refer him to the 31 trials currently ongoing throughout the country to identify how we can legislate in the safest possible way. We regard micro-mobility as an essential part of the transition towards a much cleaner community, but I will endeavour to meet colleagues in the Home Office to discuss matters of policing with regard to illegal electric scooters.
Draft Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) (Amendment) Regulations 2021
Lord Brennan of Canton Excerpts(4 years, 6 months ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Robert Courts)
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) (Amendment) Regulations 2021.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Davies. The draft regulations are necessary because of the ongoing need to reduce pollutant emissions from the maritime sector to protect public health and the environment. They will do that by amending the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) Regulations 2008 in order that our domestic legislation is aligned with the latest international limits and standards for sulphur and nitrogen dioxide emissions. The international requirements are set out in annex VI of the 1973 international convention for the prevention of pollution from ships, which is colloquially known in the industry as the MARPOL convention.
The changes limit the amount of sulphur in marine fuels that are used, or intended for use, by ships to 0.5% by mass or less. They also require that new ships and new engines be certified to meet the latest nitrogen oxide emission standards, both globally and when ships operate inside waters that have been designated as an emission control area, or ECA, by the International Maritime Organisation.
The regulations enable UK ship inspectors to enforce the new limits more effectively on foreign-flagged vessels calling at UK ports. Under port state control regulations, ship inspectors from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency can apply limited sanctions for an offence on ships calling at UK ports. For example, those include recording a deficiency against a ship or temporarily detaining a vessel, or a ship can be ordered to de-bunker, which is emptying its fuel tanks. If the ship is using non-compliant fuel, access to UK ports and anchorages may be denied if there is evidence of significant non-compliance.
Those sanctions can be applied to ships only when in port or at anchor. The new statutory instrument, which we are debating, will allow ship inspectors to use the criminal justice system to impose fines on offenders. That is in line with our current approach to other marine pollution offences.
The ability to impose such fines will be an important deterrent to all foreign-registered vessels in UK waters, whether in transit, in port or at anchor, particularly those that would consider risking non-compliance to reduce costs without the threat of financial penalties. I would stress, however, that compliance with maritime environmental rules is the norm. Enforcement action by the MCA through the courts is extremely rare, and would be funded through existing resources if it were to occur.
The regulations also include an ambulatory reference provision—
Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)
The Minister says that such enforcement action is extremely rare. On how many occasions in the past two decades, for example, have maritime companies been found to be in breach of the regulations?
Robert Courts
I thank the hon. Gentleman for that question. I do not have those details at my fingertips; I apologise, but I will write to him and the Committee.
Kevin Brennan
If officials have the figures, could those be communicated to us during the sitting, because they would be of interest to the Committee? We are introducing further and stricter regulation, so it would be helpful for the Committee to know how much of a problem there is under the existing system.
Robert Courts
If I have that information, I will be delighted to share it. In any event, I would make the point that through the regulations we will ensure that our domestic legislation matches the international standards with respect to the IMO. We have two choices today, essentially. We can choose not to apply those standards—that is certainly an option for the Committee and the House—but if we were to take that option, we would be choosing to have lower standards in our domestic law than those in international law and those that we pushed for in the International Maritime Organisation. In any event, I urge the Committee to consider that these provisions are necessary, but if I have that information, I will of course share it with the hon. Gentleman.
The regulations include an ambulatory reference provision, which will automatically update references in the 2008 regulations to provisions of the convention and its annexes. That implements a key industry request from the red tape challenge that enables some amendments to international requirements to be transposed into domestic law more rapidly and efficiently than was possible previously. An amendment that is accepted will be publicised in advance of its coming into force date by means of a parliamentary statement to both Houses of Parliament. In any event, the ambulatory reference provision is limited. Substantial changes, such as implementing a new chapter in MARPOL annex VI, would still need to be implemented by statutory instrument.
The draft regulations amend obsolete sulphur limits for marine fuels used by ships, which were made under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972. Specifically, the new regulations remove references to the 1% sulphur limit for ships operating inside an emission control area and the 3.5% sulphur limit for ships operating outside an emission control area. Respectively, these have been superseded by the stricter 0.1% and 0.5% sulphur limits. The new regulations also remove references in the 2008 regulations to a 1.5% sulphur limit that applied to passenger ships operating within European waters. This has been superseded because, like all vessels, passenger ships are now subject to the stricter 0.5% sulphur limit or the 0.1% sulphur limit when they operate inside an emission control area—that is, the higher standard.
Although it is important to remove obsolete requirements from our domestic legislation that were introduced under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act, the draft regulations retain other requirements that are still pertinent. They do not, for example, amend the requirement for ships to use 0.1% sulphur fuel when at berth in a UK port.
As the Committee will remember, shipping is the most global of international industries. It is important we apply internationally recognised air quality standards to shipping, which was of course the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Cardiff West a moment ago, along with effective enforcement measures to safeguard and encourage compliance. The draft regulations will ensure that the UK maintains some of the strictest air quality for shipping anywhere in the world, which will of course protect public health and the environment. The Government have made it clear that air quality is one of our top priorities.
The regulations help deliver on the commitments made in Maritime 2050 and our route map for sustainable maritime transport, the clean maritime plan. They will ensure that we enforce the standards we agree at the IMO and I commend them to the Committee.
Kevin Brennan
My hon. Friend is right to welcome the regulations, and this is an extremely important measure and part of our international obligations. I rise, therefore, not to oppose the regulations, but to press the Minister a little around enforcement and costs, and around the resource that the Government are going to put into enforcing these new and stricter regulations in the new form of criminal sanctions.
It is important that the Committee understand the implications of the statutory instrument with respect to Government resource and the effectiveness of enforcement, which will ensure that the regulations have their intended effect on pollution. I note from the explanatory memorandum that the costs overall are deemed to be neutral to business—there will be a cost of £180 million per year to UK businesses as a result of the draft regulations—but the Government judge, probably rightly, that if we did not introduce the regulations, and if those costs were not incurred by UK businesses, those same businesses would face fines, problems, the impounding of ships and so on when travelling to ports in other parts of the world. That is why I am interested to know what we will do to ensure that ships in our waters, as well as UK ones, comply with the regulations so that they are effective in the ultimate aim of reducing pollution, climate change and so on.
Will the Minister tell us whether additional resource is being put into ensuring that the new, stricter regulations are enforced? That would be helpful to the Committee in considering the draft regulations. Also, has he had any electronic inspiration on the question I asked earlier, because that too would be helpful? If not, it would be useful to know in writing. The existing regulations are supposed to be reviewed every five years, so he ought to know the answers to my questions. The Government ought to be able to report to the Committee what the findings of the five-yearly reviews are, as outlined in the explanatory memorandum issued by the Department with the draft regulations.
Finally, on the “Today” programme this morning, I heard a very interesting report about the future potential of hydrogen-powered submarines for marine shipping. I wondered whether in passing, without breaching the strict terms of what we are debating in Committee, the Minister could give us his view of the future potential of that technology to reduce emissions from marine shipping.
The Chair
If Members wish to speak, they should signal. Members of the Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, medically qualified people and others will be concerned about air quality in ports, where people live.
Robert Courts
It is a great pleasure to hear the points made by hon. Members. I appreciate the broad support that is being expressed for the draft statutory instrument and the points made, all of which are excellent. In broad terms, air quality is a huge priority for the Government, as it is for hon. Members throughout the House, and through the legislation we are ensuring that we remain fully aligned with the latest environmental emissions regulations. We are working towards delivering our own commitments for sustainable maritime transport, which I will turn to in a second.
On the specific points raised, I will start with those from the hon. Member for Cardiff West, who asked about the enforcement of the existing regime. I will give him some detail on how that works. Currently, there are civil-only sanctions. We are introducing some criminal sanctions in these regulations. Civil sanctions can, at present, be used under the Merchant Shipping (Port State Control) Regulations 2011. Ship inspectors, as I outlined at the beginning of the debate, can record a deficiency, and they have a range of powers temporarily to detain a vessel, order a ship to de-bunker if it is using non-compliant fuel, and deny access to UK ports and anchorages. Those are carried out by local inspectors. I would have to go back to the MCA to see if it has a record. I am very happy to do that, I undertake to do so and to write to the hon. Gentleman and the Committee.
I think the hon. Gentleman is essentially asking how often the existing powers have been used, and, if not much, why we need extra. It is a perfectly reasonable point. The reason is that civil sanctions can only be applied to ships when in port or at anchor. It would not be possible to apply civil sanctions retrospectively on a vessel that has left UK waters or on the foreign-registered company operating the vessel. We are taking some additional powers not so much to beef up the existing powers, but to slightly broaden them. It is particularly the foreign-registered vessel that the hon. Gentleman might be interested in. We are taking a wider environmental remit, regardless of how often we have used the existing powers. I hope that explanation will help to allay his quite understandable concern about why we are seeking additional powers. The civil sanctions replaced by a criminal sanction is particularly important.
The hon. Gentleman asked about resources. With the new regulations, it will be possible to use the criminal justice system—the courts—to impose the fines or deal with existing contraventions. Enforcement action by the MCA through the courts is extremely rare, but as I outlined at the beginning, because it is very rare, we would expect existing resources to be adequate to deal with any demand. The ability to impose fines has an important deterrent effect, particularly for foreign-registered vessels in UK waters, whether they are transiting, in port or at anchor, and particularly those which are persistent offenders. There is clearly a deterrent effect if we have the ability to impose a fine, which we currently do not have. I understand and would expect any such enforcement action to be very rare and for the cost to be met within existing budgets. I hope that gives the hon. Gentleman a little more detail.
Kevin Brennan
I am grateful to the Minister for that explanation, but I am none the clearer on how likely the provision is to be needed. If there is a deterrent effect on something, we do not know how often it happens. I would welcome further information, although I understand that he cannot give us that now.
Robert Courts
That is a reasonable and pertinent question. I undertake to go away and make the enquiries, and to write to the hon. Gentleman and the Committee with further detail. He tempts me to pick up my crystal ball, but it is of course impossible to judge how likely it is that any powers would be used. I understand that such enforcement action is extremely rare, but I appreciate that one person’s definition of extremely rare may be different from another’s. I will look for the information. In any event, having the ability to take the stronger powers would make the requirement to exercise them less rather than more likely, but I will certainly go away and look at that.
The hon. Gentleman raised some other points—broadly, what else are we doing? I do not want to stray too far into a wider clean maritime debate. This is London International Shipping Week, which the hon. Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East rightly drew attention to. There are a number of aspects to that, including the clean maritime demonstration competition, which is a £20 million fund and one of the largest such funds that the Department has announced. The competition is directly relevant to some of the technologies we are discussing in these regulations, and we will be announcing the winners this week.
Later today, I will be opening the new cruise terminal at Southampton port, which has shore power. That means that cruise ships can plug in and do not need to have their generators running in port, which will help with carbon dioxide, sulphur oxide and particulate emissions, as well as other emissions, and will take us a step forward.
Earlier this week, we announced that we will be pushing for a zero emissions target for international shipping at the IMO. We will be challenging the international community collectively. The hon. Member for Cardiff West asked me what the UK is doing to push this forward; that is what we are doing, and it was announced a couple of days ago. We are pushing the international community to deliver a Paris-compliant outcome when the IMO renegotiates its strategy for climate change in 2023. So, that is our international work.
Domestically, we continue to make good progress on the commitments that we set out in the clean maritime plan, which was drawn up in 2019. We have provided £1.4 million of funding for a competition for innovation in clean maritime through Maritime Research and Innovation UK, a research agency. We have established the marine emissions reduction advisory service as a function of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. We have undertaken research considering the role of maritime clusters onshore, which are companies in a certain area delivering clean innovation and growth. We are exploring the inclusion of maritime elements in the renewable transport fuel obligation as part of a public consultation.
We have built on the clean maritime plan itself. We had the Prime Minister’s 10-point plan in November 2020. We have had the clean maritime demonstration competition, which I referred to earlier, and we will have the results of that later this week. Overarching all this is the transport decarbonisation plan, building on the clean maritime plan and developing our plans to navigate this tricky-to-decarbonise sector, all the way to net zero. There will be a series of consultations in the coming years as we build towards that.
I apologise for not mentioning before now the hon. Member for Gordon, but I think I have addressed some of his points. I am conscious that he raised points similar to those raised by other Members, and I hope I have answered them.
It has been a real pleasure to discuss the issues raised in the debate. As the hon. Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East and I have said, this is the right week to be discussing the subject, as it is London International Shipping Week, the industry event that showcases the important role of the sector globally and here in the UK. That is never more important than while we are still in this pandemic, and it is a timely reminder of how critical the sector is in keeping us all supplied. I know the whole Committee will join me in paying tribute to all those in the maritime sector, who have been unsung heroes, keeping us supplied and fed, sometimes in difficult personal circumstances, throughout the last two years. I know the Committee will join me in thanking them sincerely for that.
I hope the Committee has found the debate interesting and informative, and that it will join me in supporting the regulations.
Question put and agreed to.
Oral Answers to Questions
Lord Brennan of Canton Excerpts(5 years, 6 months ago)
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Grant Shapps
As my hon. Friend knows, we took over the running of Northern earlier in the year because we were so dissatisfied by the progress, and it was then hit by covid, but I can report to the House some numbers that might be helpful. Some 62% of workers across the country are now going back to work. That is the highest level since the crisis began. In particular, the figure for last week—the week commencing 7 September—was 42% back on our national rail services. Northern is doing a great deal of work to make its services ready for people coming back.
Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Rachel Maclean)
The Government have provided the largest ever investment in this area, with a package of £2 billion for cycling and walking and £500 million for electric vehicle infrastructure and e-scooter trials, demonstrating our commitment to a green recovery.
Kevin Brennan
Like many Members, I have recently dusted off my bike, oiled the chain, taken it off the wall and ridden it for the first time in many years, exploring the wonderful cycle trails in my constituency along the River Ely and the River Taff and out to the UK museum of the year, St Fagans, earlier this month. It is great to see a cycling renaissance, but what more can be done to ensure that this country genuinely is world-beating on cycling—I am sorry to throw one of the Minister’s clichés back at her—because at the moment we are not?
International Travel
Lord Brennan of Canton Excerpts(5 years, 6 months ago)
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Grant Shapps
I do accept that this adds to some confusion for people, but none the less, we respect the settlement that is in place. It is important, though, that we work as four nations as closely as possible together, and I will continue to look for opportunities and ways to do that, including through a lot of information sharing to enable us, I hope, to come to decisions that confuse people a bit less.
Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)
I am surprised that the hon. Member for Vale of Clwyd (Dr Davies) did not welcome the fact that the Transport Secretary is following what was done in Wales in relation to having an islands policy. It is good that devolution is helping each different Administration to learn. Can we, though, have a look—as his hon. Friend the Member for South West Bedfordshire (Andrew Selous) said—at the issue of announcements at 4 am on a Thursday, rather than at a time when people can have their travel arrangements in place?
Grant Shapps
Yes, the usual pattern is in the afternoon on a Thursday with the measures then coming in at 4 am, as the hon. Gentleman says. I understand the point about the changeover date, as I mentioned before, which has to be measured against the question, “If you know there is a problem, is it right to wait and allow that problem to develop?” But it is a judgment call and I am not going to pretend otherwise. As I said to my hon. Friend the Member for South West Bedfordshire (Andrew Selous), I will certainly be reflecting on this further.
Seaborne Freight
Lord Brennan of Canton Excerpts(7 years, 1 month ago)
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Chris Grayling
If the hon. Lady wants a non-no-deal Brexit, she should line up behind the deal that the Government have reached with the European Union, but if she is not prepared to vote for it, she should not complain when Ministers are preparing for all eventualities.
Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)
The hon. Member for Argyll and Bute (Brendan O’Hara) has been very unfair; I am sure the Secretary of State is handling this to the best of his ability.
The Secretary of State was very careful not to answer the first part of the question from the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), who directly asked whether there was a contract between Arklow and Seaborne. Is not it the case that the Secretary of State knows full well, as reported in The Irish Times today, that there were numerous discussions between Seaborne and Arklow, but there was no contract or even formal agreement in place—and yet he went ahead?
Chris Grayling
I do not think that Opposition Members are listening at all to what I have said. The agreements were all in place and ready to be signed, but the reality is that, at this moment, Arklow took a step back and did not want to continue. We had commitment now, a month ago and at Christmas time that Arklow was backing this proposal, but to be on the safe side—to be sure—we set up a contractual structure that meant that the taxpayer had no exposure unless the service was delivered. That was the right thing to do.
GWR and Network Performance
Lord Brennan of Canton Excerpts(7 years, 1 month ago)
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Stephen Doughty
Absolutely. I concur with that point. It is a great tragedy that the service problems are turning many potential rail users on to the roads. We do not want that to happen, particularly in the south Wales corridor.
As the Library helpfully summarised for Members in the debate briefing, Great Western Railway is currently run by FirstGroup under a direct award that is due to expire in March 2019. The Department for Transport decided to exercise its option to extend the direct award until April 2020, and we understand that it plans to negotiate another direct award for two years until April 2022. It took that questionable decision despite the fact that, as the Library outlined, Great Western’s performance has seriously deteriorated of late. That is reflected in the declining levels of passenger satisfaction on its part of the network. The autumn 2018 national rail passenger survey revealed that passenger satisfaction was just 78%, and had declined from 84% when the survey was conducted three years earlier. Even more shockingly, only two thirds of GWR passengers were satisfied with the reliability of trains, and only 40% were satisfied with the way GWR handled delays.
The Great Western route is unusual in that it is hugely wide geographically. It stretches right along the historical south Wales and west country main line, famously developed by Brunel, and serves the M4 corridor and the commuter lines into the Thames valley. Crucially, it also goes down to the south-west, Devon, Somerset and Wiltshire. It is a lifeline for many communities. People rely on it for commuting between those regions and travelling to and from London.
There have been substantial problems on the network for the past few years, a variety of which have hit the headlines. The bulk relate to the delayed and altered electrification programmes, the responsibility for which lies with the DFT and Network Rail, and to the introduction of the new trains. Surprisingly, the Department extended the franchise without adequate consultation or consideration. The problems include serious delays, poor service, delays in processing compensation claims and other concerns about performance include catering issues, failures relating to reservations and the management of rail replacement services at crucial periods.
Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)
On the point about new trains, does my hon. Friend find it staggering that the trains that have been commissioned for use on the line are in some cases worse than the old 125s, which were introduced in the 1970s? People cannot even walk the entire length of the trains that have been bought, so they can be stuck at one end of the train with no catering services. Even if there is a perfectly adequate trolley on the train, it may not be able to get to them because the train is split into two units.
Stephen Doughty
Indeed. In fact, I had that experience myself on the last Great Western train that I took. There was hot water in only half of the train—there was no hot water in the toilets or for the catering services. The staff simply shrugged their shoulders and said, “We see this problem all the time.”
I met Hitachi yesterday to discuss some of those concerns. I have to say that it has been very frank and forthcoming about the issues it has experienced with engineering the new trains. Unfortunately, that is what happens if a new fleet is rushed into service without adequate testing and operation time, and without redundancy and additional rolling stock. Great Western’s old HST fleet was sold off to Scotland before enough of the new trains were ready and functioning. That is why many of the problems have happened.
I am disappointed that, despite the many meetings that Members from both sides of the House have had with Great Western management, a blame culture seems to have developed among GWR, Network Rail, the Department for Transport and in some cases the developer of the new rolling stock, Hitachi. As I said, Hitachi has been frank and honest about the problems it has faced and what it is doing to deal with them, but the net result for passengers is poor service. I am sorry to say that the managing director of GWR, Mark Hopwood appears out of touch in relation to some of the problems, and unwilling or unable to get a grip on the litany of failure over the past few years.
Seaborne Freight
Lord Brennan of Canton Excerpts(7 years, 2 months ago)
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Chris Grayling
I appreciate that the Scottish National party does not support Brexit and, indeed, would like to do everything it can to stop Brexit, but we will work to make sure that every part of the United Kingdom, including Scotland, is able to continue to trade freely around the world and gain from the benefits that will be achieved in this country in a post-Brexit world.
Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)
I see no ships, but I do smell something fishy, and I think other colleagues do as well. Is the Secretary of State really saying to the House that the best choice for the contract was a company that cut and pasted its terms and conditions at the last minute from a fast-food company? Is his new Brexit mantra “A meal deal’s better than no deal”?
Chris Grayling
Of course, it is not a single contract. There are multiple contracts, of which 90% is going to two of the biggest cross-channel operators—something the Labour party appears to be completely ignoring. The fact is that we have chosen to give a small proportion of the business to a legitimate bid from a small start-up business, and I think that is something the Government should do more often, not less.
Drones: Consultation Response
Lord Brennan of Canton Excerpts(7 years, 2 months ago)
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Chris Grayling
I quite agree, which is why the strategy is about not only meeting the challenge of the careless, illegal or inappropriate use of drones but setting a direction to ensure that we allow the kind of usage that my hon. Friend talks about. As well as the inspection of infrastructure and policing, there are a whole variety of other ways in which drones can be a positive for our society.
Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)
The Secretary of State is right that what we are discussing was a crime, but it was an entirely foreseeable crime. I, too, asked the previous aviation Minister about this issue two and a half years ago. Is the truth not that these matters really should be the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence, because the consequences of bringing down a civil airliner of this kind are so huge? It may or may not have been the Secretary of State’s fault, but it was beyond the competence of his Department. It is far too serious to be dealt with by the Department for Transport.
Chris Grayling
I do not think it is a question of one Department or another: we have to work as a team. The truth is that the Ministry of Defence has and did have a really important role. The Home Office has a really important role in enforcement and licensing. The Department for Transport manages the use of airspace. It is a policy area in which the Government need to work as a team. My view is that the response, which brought three Departments together, was the right approach.
Oral Answers to Questions
Lord Brennan of Canton Excerpts(8 years, 2 months ago)
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Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)
Has the Secretary of State had a chance to look at early-day motion 775 about taking musical instruments on to aeroplanes? In his coming discussions on aviation, will he take the opportunity to meet the Culture Secretary to talk about how we might solve this real problem for musicians?
Chris Grayling
An airline’s hand luggage policy is obviously a matter for the airline, but I am very happy to have a discussion with the hon. Gentleman about the issue. There may not be a simple solution, but I am always happy to talk to hon. Members about the challenges they face.
Airport Capacity and Airspace Policy
Lord Brennan of Canton Excerpts(9 years, 1 month ago)
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Chris Grayling
My hon. Friend makes an important point, as the impacts of this proposal will be felt up and down the country. It will be felt in small businesses producing equipment for the new airport. It will be felt in colleges that are training apprentices to work on the new airport. It will affect the regional economies of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. He is absolutely right in what he says and I am grateful to him for his support.
Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)
On jobs at Heathrow, would support for the right hon. Gentleman’s proposals not be strengthened if employers such as British Airways treated their workforce decently? He knows that the mixed fleet cabin crew dispute is still going on because this underpaid, mainly female, workforce are being treated appallingly by BA. Will he intervene and ask BA, “Why don’t you make an improved offer and settle this matter?”
Chris Grayling
The hon. Gentleman makes his case well, but he would not expect me to become involved in a dispute of this kind. I simply say that I very much hope that BA and the union will be able to reach a resolution that is mutually acceptable.