Britain’s Railways

Lord Harries of Pentregarth Excerpts

Monday 24th May 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

Our 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 develop a joint working agreement with Transport for Wales and Great British Railways, so that all issues around fares, not only within Wales but for cross-border services, can be considered in the round. We would like them to join us in sharing data and using the single website and app to purchase tickets. We cannot force them to do that, but we look forward to having a close working relationship as we take this forward.

[Lord Harries of Pentregarth (CB) [V]]

Does the Minister agree that rail fares are already far too high—the highest in Europe—but that if they are to be kept at a reasonable level, it is necessary for railways to carry more passengers? This means increasing the capacity and more investment. Are the Government willing to put in the necessary investment? Of course, this would also be highly desirable from an environmental point of view. I understand that Chiltern Railways—which in my experience has always been very efficient—has in fact put in a lot of investment in recent years. I wonder what lessons there are to be learned from its example.

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

I 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 investing many billions of pounds in HS2, which will release capacity on other lines to enable more short-distance services to be put into place. But it is not just about those mega-projects; it is about the small and urgent network capacity upgrades that we can make, and the Government continue to look at these. I reassure the House that the RNEP—which sets out which projects the Government will take forward over what sort of timeframe—will be published soon, and that will set out all the schemes under consideration.

Lifeboats: Ceredigion

Lord Harries of Pentregarth Excerpts

Monday 4th February 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sugg]

My Lords, the noble and learned Lord is right to point out the change in provision. Three 17-knot Mersey class all-weather lifeboats are being replaced with two Shannon lifeboats at Pwllheli and Barmouth and there will be a smaller but faster lifeboat at New Quay. This was based on a risk-based review that looked at the entire area and the RNLI’s decision to replace the all-weather lifeboat was, as I said, underpinned by extensive research. It is convinced that this is the optimal amount of resource for the area.

[Lord Harries of Pentregarth (CB)]

I declare a personal interest as someone with long-standing family connections in the area and as a supporter of this campaign. The RNLI of course does wonderful work, but I am afraid that in this instance it has been totally lacking in transparency with the people of New Quay about the reasons for its decision. Despite what the Minister said, independent research shows that in severe weather conditions—force 7 in daylight and force 6 by night—it does increase the risk. There is a 70-mile gap, as I understand it, between the nearest all-weather lifeboats and it simply takes that much longer to get there. Should not an organisation such as the RNLI that depends on trust be more open about its decisions and in this instance look again at the increased risk of this decision?

[Baroness Sugg]

I thank the noble and right reverend Lord for his question. I know of his long-standing interest in the area. The RNLI, as I said, has shared a 30-page extract of the report and is working closely with a campaign group. I understand that the campaign group is made up of passionate people who want to ensure that they have the optimal provision in the area. As I said, along with the replacement new boat, the all-weather lifeboats in the surrounding area will be replaced with much faster ones. There is also a new helicopter base in St Athan, and the new boats, the helicopter and the increase in lifeguarding on the coast will not only maintain but improve life-saving provision in the area.