Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alistair Carmichael and Heidi Alexander

Thursday 29th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Heidi Alexander]

I can assure my hon. Friend that we look at these issues in the round. He mentions charge point infrastructure. Only this week, I had a roundtable with the main operators of charge point infrastructure, as well as a meeting with the car manufacturers. We have held a review of the ZEV mandate, on which we consulted this summer. The Chancellor has set out the Government’s intention to respond to that by Christmas, so that we can provide certainty to everyone who is contributing to the EV transition.

[Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) (LD)]

The decision in July to abandon plans for changes to the remuneration of coastguards was widely welcomed, but that was over three months ago. Coastguards around the coastline tell me that there has been radio silence in the Maritime and Coastguard Agency since then. There are a number of whistleblowing complaints about the senior executive team that have simply not been addressed. When will we hear what the Government will do to fix our coastguards?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alistair Carmichael and Heidi Alexander

Thursday 26th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) (LD)]

T8. Airlines are already adding fuel surcharges to ticket prices as a consequence of current events. That may not be surprising, but does the Secretary of State agree with me that, if they are going to do that, they should at the same time publish a trigger point, so that customers will know when those fuel surcharges will be removed from ticket prices?

[Heidi Alexander]

The right hon. Gentleman raises an interesting question, but I reassure the House that, in our many conversations with airlines and airports in recent weeks, we have not been told of any immediate disruptions to jet fuel supply. However, we will continue to monitor the situation closely, and work with airlines and jet fuel suppliers to understand what mitigations may be required should any disruptions arise.