Haass Talks

Debate between Theresa Villiers and Henry Smith

Wednesday 8th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Villiers]

I certainly agree that the processes on the past need to be balanced and must recognise the proper attributions of responsibility for the deaths during the troubles. I acknowledge that that is one of the most important things to get right. I am impressed by the degree of progress that has been made by the political parties. They have come a great deal closer to an agreement on the past than I ever expected. I hope that in due course we will reach an agreement and a conclusion on that matter.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

On the proposals perhaps to establish a common flag for all communities representing Northern Ireland, will my right hon. Friend say a little more about how the commission on emblems will operate, and tell us whether there is any time scale for it to report?

[Mrs Villiers]

The timing envisaged for the commission on identity and flags is around 18 months. I have always thought that there might be scope for the development of new shared emblems, and I hope that that will be considered seriously by the new commission, if it is set up. I genuinely think that there are merits in trying to have a broader conversation with civic society about moving forward on the issues of culture, identity and tradition that have proved so intractable up to now.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Theresa Villiers and Henry Smith

Thursday 19th April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Villiers]

In deciding the rules on ticket offices, it will of course be important to consider carefully how best to deploy staff in a way that keeps passengers safe and secure, so the issues the hon. Gentleman raises will be an important part of our thinking before we decide whether any changes need to be made.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

T10. Will my right hon. Friend join me in paying tribute to the staff of Virgin Atlantic, Gatwick Airport Ltd and the South East Coast ambulance service for their professionalism when assisting passengers following the emergency landing of flight VS27 earlier this week?

Aviation Industry

Debate between Theresa Villiers and Henry Smith

Tuesday 15th November 2011 Westminster Hall

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Mrs Theresa Villiers)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for Central Ayrshire (Mr Donohoe) on securing the debate, and on Rosie’s arrival. I would also like to associate myself with the comments made about the late Alan Keen and his sad, recent death. He had a long and distinguished record on aviation matters.

I agree wholeheartedly with the importance that hon. Members have attributed to the aviation industry as a strong part of our economy and a vital gateway to the global marketplace for business. Many hon. Members made that point, including the hon. Members for Blackley and Broughton (Graham Stringer) and for Central Ayrshire. I also welcome the emphatic support for the aerospace industry provided by my hon. Friend the Member for Filton and Bradley Stoke (Jack Lopresti). Supporting and providing the right economic climate for manufacturing to flourish is a hugely important part of the Government’s overall economic strategy. It is crucial that aviation in the UK is able to grow and prosper in the future, but I think we are agreed that a dash for major aviation growth regardless of cost is not the right approach. That is why we are developing a new aviation strategy to set out the way forward that will allow the British air transport industry to grow in the years and decades ahead, as well as addressing its environmental and quality of life impacts. No one underestimates the scale of the challenge, because reducing harmful emissions through greener technologies is more complex in aviation than in other transport sectors and will take longer to deliver.

In response to the points made on air passenger duty, we have listened with care to industry concerns, which is why we have made it clear that switching to a flight tax is not viable without wider international support for such a move. We have postponed this year’s inflation-based increase in APD, and proposals for further reform of the tax will be published soon.

In response to the hon. Members for Central Ayrshire and for Blackley and Broughton on the issue of the Thames estuary airport, as the Prime Minister has said, the Government have no plans to build a new airport in the estuary, or in Medway or elsewhere in Kent. The hon. Member for Central Ayrshire outlined some of the practical issues that would have to be surmounted before such a programme could go ahead, including, of course, the very significant airspace capacity issues. Nor do we have plans to redevelop Northolt as a third runway for Heathrow.

I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Reading East (Mr Wilson) that surface access to airports is a crucial part of making them successful. That is why Crossrail and Thameslink are going ahead—both will improve access. We continue to consider other options for western access to Heathrow, including work that could be co-ordinated with the proposed HS2 spur to Heathrow.

We have made it clear that a key plank of the Government’s approach to aviation is the cancellation of Labour’s misguided plans for a third runway at Heathrow. I find it ironic that the shadow Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Garston and Halewood (Maria Eagle), accuses us of having no policy, when the previous Government spent 13 years on an aviation White Paper that everyone agrees is no longer fit for purpose, and on pursuing a runway that is universally agreed to be absolutely the wrong approach for the UK economy. One of the coalition Government’s first acts was to cancel the third runway at Heathrow. I continue to believe that the price in terms of the environmental impact would have been far too high, given that noise already has a significant impact for thousands of people living with a plane overhead every 90 seconds. At the time, Labour described our position as

“politically opportunistic and economically illiterate”.

It seems that those on the shadow Front Bench have learned the error of their ways—but not all on their Back Benches.

We are clear that we need to protect and enhance the connectivity that is vital for our economy, which is why Heathrow’s success as one of the world’s busiest and most successful international airports is so vital. Our aviation strategy is designed to ensure that the UK maintains and improves the success of this leading international gateway. There is no evidence that Heathrow is about to lose its hub status. It remains an immensely successful airport, with more services to China than any of its European rivals, and a particularly strong connection with Hong Kong as China’s main hub airport. Our immediate priority is to make our airports work better within their existing capacity limits.

[Henry Smith]

I was delighted to welcome the Minister to Gatwick airport last month for the opening of new security gates. Will she congratulate Gatwick airport on the more than £1 billion of investment that it is making in enhancing capacity? Indeed, Sir John Major will open the renewed north terminal on Thursday.

[Mrs Villiers]

I am happy to offer my congratulations on that. Contrary to the allegation that the Government have created a policy vacuum, we have a range of initiatives designed to make our airports better—our priority is to make them better, rather than bigger. We are legislating for a much more passenger-focused system of regulation. We are improving air space management through the Future Airspace Strategy in the Single European Sky programme, which is already delivering real benefits in the UK and Ireland. We are changing the way aviation security is regulated to enable the industry to deliver the same high standards in security, but in a more passenger-focused and more hassle-free way.

Our south-east airport taskforce also included proposals to improve resilience and address delays. As a result, we are trialling the tactical use of greater operational freedoms at Heathrow. This is very sensitive, because those freedoms mean that occasionally there will be some incursions into the respite period, with occasional use of both runways for departures, or, occasionally, use of both runways for arrivals. However, I emphasise that that is not mixed mode and the Government remain committed to runway alternation and the benefits it brings. Very careful consideration will be given to the impact of the trial on local communities. I emphasise that the measures being trialled are to be used only to improve resilience, and prevent or recover from disruption, and not to increase capacity, which remains capped at current levels.

We have published our scoping document, setting out the issues to consider for the future of aviation. We know how crucial it is to have a successful regional airport sector, as hon. Members have highlighted today. We will look at ways to harness spare capacity to support economic growth and help to relieve crowding in the south-east. High-speed rail has strong potential to provide an alternative to thousands of domestic and short-haul flights. HS2 to Manchester and Leeds will deliver a three and a half hour journey time between London and Scottish destinations, providing a viable alternative to thousands of Scottish flights.