Parliamentary search - Transport (Wales) Bill

Type

Parliamentary proceeding

Reference

435 c409-73

Session

2005-06

Department

Wales Office

Legislative stage

Second reading

Procedure

Programme motions
Money resolutions

Chamber / Committee

House of Commons chamber

Transport (Wales) Bill. Explanatory Notes Bill 4-EN also published
Thursday, 19 May 2005
Bills
House of Commons

Proceeding contributions

Peter Law | 435 c447-51 (Link to this contribution) I am very grateful to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for calling me to make my maiden speech this aftern...

Martyn Jones | 435 c451-2 (Link to this contribution) It is customary in this place to make warm comments about hon. Members maiden speeches. I have no di...

Show all contributions (148)

Hywel Williams | 435 c452-3 (Link to this contribution) May I first refer to the speech made by the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Peter Law)—or my hon. Fri...

Sian C James | 435 c455-7 (Link to this contribution) I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak in the debate on Second Reading of the Transport (Wale...

Hywel Williams | 435 c453-5 (Link to this contribution) I thank the Minister for that reassurance. During the summer, we will still be down on the services....

Lembit Opik | 435 c459 (Link to this contribution) I just muse that Cardiff international airport must be the only airport of its size that requires on...

Albert Owen | 435 c460 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman says that there is no demand for transport between north and south, but I tried t...

David TC Davies | 435 c459-60 (Link to this contribution) Indeed. That brings me on to why has the Welsh Assembly not developed some sort of viable road link ...

Stephen Crabb | 435 c443 (Link to this contribution) That is exactly my view, and the hon. Gentleman expresses it better than I did.

Stephen Crabb | 435 c444 (Link to this contribution) I apologise, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I am puzzled by how clause 11(2) will work in practice. Perhaps th...

Speaker | 435 c444 (Link to this contribution) Order. I gently remind the hon. Gentleman that he must use the correct parliamentary language when a...

Stephen Crabb | 435 c443-4 (Link to this contribution) It is not impossible to quantify the benefit. We know that £2.5 million of taxpayers’ money has alre...

Albert Owen | 435 c443 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman says that he is not against subsidies in principle, but he is worried about ongoi...

David Jones | 435 c446 (Link to this contribution) : The hon. Gentleman is making an important point, but does it not support the concern expressed ear...

Ian Lucas | 435 c444-6 (Link to this contribution) I am very pleased to follow the hon. Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire (Mr. Crabb). This is the first...

Stephen Crabb | 435 c444 (Link to this contribution) I recognise those arguments, but it would be helpful to see further research on the matter. If compa...

Lembit Opik | 435 c444 (Link to this contribution) I just wanted to explain why I focused so much on air transport. It is because this is the enabling ...

Ian Lucas | 435 c446-7 (Link to this contribution) I do not know that what I said supports the point made by the hon. Member for Leominster (Bill Wiggi...

Martin Caton | 435 c438-41 (Link to this contribution) Like my hon. Friend the Member for Ynys Môn (Albert Owen), I was a member of the Select Committee th...

Lembit Opik | 435 c436-8 (Link to this contribution) That is the most extraordinary question that I have been asked in the House for a long time. I am a ...

Lembit Opik | 435 c443 (Link to this contribution) In that case, would the hon. Gentleman oppose any Government money going towards the improvement of ...

Stephen Crabb | 435 c441-3 (Link to this contribution) I welcome the Under-Secretary of State for Wales to his new role and wish him all the best in it. W...

Albert Owen | 435 c436 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman knows that a study of intra-Wales air links has already been undertaken by the Na...

Lembit Opik | 435 c435-6 (Link to this contribution) I could provide many examples of industrialists who regard access to good airport facilities in Wale...

David TC Davies | 435 c436 (Link to this contribution) If the hon. Gentleman is so convinced that it is a viable business proposition, would he be willing ...

Lembit Opik | 435 c436 (Link to this contribution) Actually, there were two of them. I am rather surprised by the apparent level of ignorance of the ex...

Stephen Crabb | 435 c443 (Link to this contribution) No, I am not saying that, but I am wary of subsidies being used. I think that they should be used on...

Lembit Opik | 435 c443 (Link to this contribution) That was a helpful clarification. As I understand it, the hon. Gentleman would be concerned if the f...

Lembit Opik | 435 c435 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman has obviously done his own research, but I want to ask him what conversations he ...

David Jones | 435 c434-5 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman not accept that the take-up for such a service is more likely to include civ...

Lembit Opik | 435 c434 (Link to this contribution) On the first point, the Liberal Democrats view emissions trading as the right approach so that accou...

Ian Lucas | 435 c434 (Link to this contribution) I heard a great deal during the general election campaign from the Liberal Democrat candidate about ...

Lembit Opik | 435 c434 (Link to this contribution) If the hon. Gentleman would like to see the benefits of a north-south link, I would be happy to take...

David TC Davies | 435 c434 (Link to this contribution) If we secured a north-south Wales air link, would the hon. Gentleman consider leaving his parliament...

Lembit Opik | 435 c433 (Link to this contribution) On the assumption that there will be further praise for my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, Centr...

David Jones | 435 c435 (Link to this contribution) I fully take the point that there is a demand for regional air services both coming into and going o...

Bill Wiggin | 435 c435 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is being unnecessarily uncharitable to me. The Bill is not about whether or not a...

Lembit Opik | 435 c435 (Link to this contribution) The only reason I am going on about it is, if I may say so without sounding childish, that the hon. ...

Lembit Opik | 435 c433 (Link to this contribution) Unfortunately, because of the decision made by the Conservatives at the time, it does not look feasi...

Bill Wiggin | 435 c433 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is sitting next to his party’s transport spokesman. Could he tell us what the Lib...

Lembit Opik | 435 c432-3 (Link to this contribution) At the time I did not think so, but looking back I would give anything to return to the flawed but m...

Bill Wiggin | 435 c430-1 (Link to this contribution) Following our earlier discussion of air transport, I understood that the hon. Gentleman had made the...

Albert Owen | 435 c431 (Link to this contribution) To get back to the Bill, it obviously deals with the intra-Wales link between Cardiff and Swansea an...

Lembit Opik | 435 c432 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman has confirmed from a sedentary position that he has a strong view on the matter. ...

Lembit Opik | 435 c431-2 (Link to this contribution) Ever since the hills and valleys of Wales were formed some time in the ice age, Wales has been diffi...

Bill Wiggin | 435 c432 (Link to this contribution) Utter nonsense.

David Jones | 435 c430 (Link to this contribution) Has the hon. Gentleman any information as to the likely take-up of such an air service from Anglesey...

Albert Owen | 435 c428-30 (Link to this contribution) The scheme being undertaken started with the figure of 48, and there could be six to eight flights a...

David TC Davies | 435 c430 (Link to this contribution) I enjoy the hon. Gentleman’s vision of thousands of tourists arriving in port and immediately catchi...

Albert Owen | 435 c430 (Link to this contribution) It is difficult to comment, but if the hon. Gentleman had been listening rather than talking to the ...

Albert Owen | 435 c430 (Link to this contribution) I have to disagree with the hon. Gentleman. There are many significant things to see in north-west W...

Lord Hain | 435 c426 (Link to this contribution) I will not stray outside the terms of the debate, but I was intrigued by the assertion that the hon....

Speaker | 435 c426 (Link to this contribution) Order. We are not debating the existence of the Welsh Assembly. The hon. Gentleman should proceed wi...

Bill Wiggin | 435 c427 (Link to this contribution) Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I shall take your wise advice gratefully, but I would have loved to c...

David Jones | 435 c428 (Link to this contribution) How many passengers could each of those light aircraft accommodate?

Bill Wiggin | 435 c426 (Link to this contribution) My personal views on the continuation of the Assembly are widely known, but the question of whether ...

Lord Hain | 435 c426 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman sounds moderate and reasonable, which is untypical. However, he wants to abolish ...

Bill Wiggin | 435 c426 (Link to this contribution) When the hon. Gentleman gets up in the morning and decides not to be churlish, he should stick to th...

Hywel Williams | 435 c425-6 (Link to this contribution) : I do not intend to be churlish today, but perhaps I could refer the hon. Gentleman to the extensiv...

Bill Wiggin | 435 c425 (Link to this contribution) Let me be clear: to have the debate we need to go through the arguments. Clearly, some hon. Members ...

Chris Bryant | 435 c425 (Link to this contribution) Yes.

Albert Owen | 435 c425 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman agree that it is important to add the time that businesses save to the per-m...

Bill Wiggin | 435 c425 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman and I visited RAF Valley together, and he must bear in mind the environmental imp...

Chris Bryant | 435 c425 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is an extremely magnanimous person. He just said, ““some might argue””, and then ...

Bill Wiggin | 435 c425 (Link to this contribution) I am not inclined to use weasel words—I leave that to the Labour party. The best possible use should...

Lembit Opik | 435 c424 (Link to this contribution) I want to clarify the Conservative position, because there is cross-party support for an intra-Wales...

Bill Wiggin | 435 c424 (Link to this contribution) I referred to people who might argue that the money could be better spent elsewhere, because the deb...

Bill Wiggin | 435 c424-5 (Link to this contribution) I knew that I should not give way again to the hon. Gentleman. I will not confirm our position one w...

Lembit Opik | 435 c422 (Link to this contribution) I return to the hon. Gentleman’s point about the phrase ““as soon as practicable””, which looks like...

Bill Wiggin | 435 c420-2 (Link to this contribution) I have a pressing engagement in my constituency, but I shall not share the full details of my diary ...

Albert Owen | 435 c424 (Link to this contribution) : The extra money from the Welsh Assembly budget will be spent on a subsidised transport system. Doe...

Bill Wiggin | 435 c422-4 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman has made his point to the Minister. We will seek to tease out the details in Comm...

Lord Hain | 435 c420 (Link to this contribution) The Welsh Assembly Government, especially under the new provisions setting out the distinction betwe...

Bill Wiggin | 435 c420 (Link to this contribution) May I begin by apologising to the House, as I shall not be able to remain for the closing speeches? ...

Lord Hain | 435 c419 (Link to this contribution) I do not know offhand whether it was all constructed under the last Conservative Administration. The...

Albert Owen | 435 c419 (Link to this contribution) I thank the Secretary of State for giving way and the hon. Member for Clwyd, West (Mr. Jones) for le...

Lord Hain | 435 c418-9 (Link to this contribution) Most of that increase was eaten up by inflation. The hon. Gentleman knows that under the Conservativ...

David Jones | 435 c419 (Link to this contribution) The Secretary of State mentioned the extension of the A55 across Anglesey. Will he concede that by f...

Lord Hain | 435 c419 (Link to this contribution) I can assure you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that I read about nothing else when I go to bed except the his...

Tom Brake | 435 c419-20 (Link to this contribution) Is there a risk that it might become burdensome for the Assembly to review each local transport plan...

Speaker | 435 c419 (Link to this contribution) Order. The history of transport in Wales is, of course, very interesting, but perhaps we could retur...

David TC Davies | 435 c418 (Link to this contribution) : Whatever else we may say about the Secretary of State, he has been generous in giving way. He once...

Lord Hain | 435 c418 (Link to this contribution) That is masses of more money. In fact, it is double the miserable inheritance that we were left by t...

Elfyn Llwyd | 435 c417 (Link to this contribution) Why did the right hon. Gentleman not give that response to the hon. Member for Ynys Môn (Albert Owen...

Lord Hain | 435 c417 (Link to this contribution) I am not covering up anything and I never give woolly answers, certainly not to my hon. Friends. The...

Chris Bryant | 435 c417 (Link to this contribution) : On the slightly different issue of how we ensure that the integrated policy is not just about tran...

Lord Hain | 435 c417 (Link to this contribution) That is exactly the problem that we need to address, and the Bill helps us do that. I shall ask my h...

Lembit Opik | 435 c418 (Link to this contribution) At the risk of sounding like an aviation anorak—perish the thought—the most sensible way to fund the...

Lord Hain | 435 c418 (Link to this contribution) We have to consider the specifics. If there is the possibility of leveraging in—or flying in—more mo...

Ian Lucas | 435 c418 (Link to this contribution) : Does my right hon. Friend agree that the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Mr. Llwyd) is ...

Lord Hain | 435 c417 (Link to this contribution) Yes, it is. The hon. Gentleman would know if he ever got the chance to be in government that that ...

Lord Hain | 435 c413-4 (Link to this contribution) I do not think that the hon. Gentleman was born then. His reading of political history is as dodgy a...

Ian Lucas | 435 c414 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend is right about the introduction of free bus passes for the disabled, but does h...

Lord Hain | 435 c414 (Link to this contribution) I understand my hon. Friend’s point. It is recognised—certainly by the Welsh Assembly Government ...

Lembit Opik | 435 c416 (Link to this contribution) Is the Secretary of State still of the view, as I am, that Wales really needs an integrated intra-Wa...

Lord Hain | 435 c416 (Link to this contribution) The problem would be whether an intra-Wales service was being proposed. I do not think that it would...

Hywel Williams | 435 c416-7 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Member for Ynys Môn (Albert Owen) talked about the transfer of funds. Will the Secretary of...

Betty Williams | 435 c414 (Link to this contribution) Does my right hon. Friend agree that there is a need to strengthen the provisions on the Assembly’s ...

Lord Hain | 435 c414-6 (Link to this contribution) I think that is being addressed, but the commitment to sustainable development, and the fact that th...

Albert Owen | 435 c416 (Link to this contribution) The Secretary of State will be aware that public service obligations are working well in places such...

Lord Hain | 435 c416 (Link to this contribution) I am not quite sure about that. It probably would be allowed, but it would have to be clear that the...

Mark Tami | 435 c412 (Link to this contribution) Very successfully.

Lord Hain | 435 c413 (Link to this contribution) That was a much better question than the hon. Gentleman asked me yesterday, so he is obviously on a ...

David TC Davies | 435 c413 (Link to this contribution) It strikes me that there is a paradox. While the Labour party takes full credit for the national hea...

Lord Hain | 435 c413 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s constructive advice. I shall certainly look at that model, bu...

David TC Davies | 435 c413 (Link to this contribution) Does the Secretary of State regret the Beeching cuts, which took place under the 1964 Wilson Governm...

Lord Hain | 435 c412 (Link to this contribution) I was not aware of that problem, but it is ridiculous. I hope that Virgin Trains can sort it out and...

Lembit Opik | 435 c412-3 (Link to this contribution) The Secretary of State is in the happy position of being able to survey at close hand an example of ...

Lord Hain | 435 c412 (Link to this contribution) Very successfully to help my hon. Friend the Member for Ynys Môn (Albert Owen) achieve his magnifice...

Betty Williams | 435 c412 (Link to this contribution) Does my right hon. Friend foresee more joined-up thinking between train operating companies within W...

Lord Hain | 435 c410-1 (Link to this contribution) That is an important debate. We are talking about a programme that cannot come in for another 10 or ...

Ian Lucas | 435 c410 (Link to this contribution) I am listening with interest to my right hon. Friend’s observations on road pricing. At this early s...

Lord Hain | 435 c411 (Link to this contribution) I fully agree. The hon. Gentleman makes a valid point as the representative of a largely rural area....

Hywel Williams | 435 c411 (Link to this contribution) Does the Secretary of State agree that particular care must be taken in rural Wales, and indeed in r...

Lord Hain | 435 c411 (Link to this contribution) I realise that the hon. Gentleman has a job to do as Opposition spokesman.

Bill Wiggin | 435 c411 (Link to this contribution) The Secretary of State seemed to suggest that the charging regime would be based on the principle of...

Lord Hain | 435 c411-2 (Link to this contribution) No, I would not be so uncharitable as to suggest that. These are early days, and the issues all have...

Mark Tami | 435 c411 (Link to this contribution) And is doing it badly.

Lord Hain | 435 c410 (Link to this contribution) As my hon. Friend knows, rolling stock is constantly being upgraded under our Government, with recor...

Albert Owen | 435 c412 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend mentioned congestion on bridges, and there is absolute chaos, particularly at b...

Elfyn Llwyd | 435 c409 (Link to this contribution) The thrust of the Bill is welcome, but on the subject of an integrated transport policy, may I draw ...

Lord Hain | 435 c409 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. The purpose of the Bill is to provide power...

Lord Hain | 435 c409-10 (Link to this contribution) I am happy to do that. I understand the hon. Gentleman’s concern and that of other north Wales MPs, ...

Chris Bryant | 435 c410 (Link to this contribution) The Secretary of State will know that one of the problems in the south Wales valleys, where many peo...

Lord Barker of Battle | 435 c465-8 (Link to this contribution) Indeed—who knows?—but the hon. Member for Montgomeryshire certainly demonstrated his wide knowledge ...

Nick Ainger | 435 c471-2 (Link to this contribution) I cannot give the hon. Gentleman a direct answer, but I will find out, and I shall certainly take th...

Nick Ainger | 435 c469-71 (Link to this contribution) I again refer the hon. Gentleman to clause 5(5). I give him the categorical assurance that if the As...

David TC Davies | 435 c471 (Link to this contribution) I accept the point about airports. However, on speed limits, on which I know that many hon. Members ...

Nick Ainger | 435 c468-9 (Link to this contribution) This has been a full and interesting debate. I welcome the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle (Grego...

David Jones | 435 c469 (Link to this contribution) Local authority representatives will not necessarily be appointed to the JTAs. It is theoretically p...

Lord Barker of Battle | 435 c464-5 (Link to this contribution) Once again, I apologise for the early departure of the shadow Secretary of State for Wales, and add ...

Mark Tami | 435 c465 (Link to this contribution) Or the Freddie Laker.

Lembit Opik | 435 c464 (Link to this contribution) We are beginning to reach consensus. We have established that pump priming is acceptable and that in...

David Jones | 435 c464 (Link to this contribution) It would be a useful avenue to explore, and if some economic benefit could be proved, Conservative M...

Ian Lucas | 435 c464 (Link to this contribution) I have some good news for the hon. Gentleman. An improvement to the junction that he mentioned was a...

David Jones | 435 c464 (Link to this contribution) I am delighted to hear that, because it is a significant impediment to traffic between the north-wes...

David TC Davies | 435 c460 (Link to this contribution) I was not suggesting that everyone goes to Liverpool, and I am not necessarily disputing the hon. Ge...

Lembit Opik | 435 c460 (Link to this contribution) That is exactly why no one is recommending building a motorway from north to south Wales and exactly...

David TC Davies | 435 c460-2 (Link to this contribution) We are not. We are all in favour of having such a service, but we are not in favour of using Nationa...

David Jones | 435 c462-4 (Link to this contribution) I too pay tribute to the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Peter Law) on his excellent maiden speech. H...

David TC Davies | 435 c457-9 (Link to this contribution) I confess to having something of a sense of déjà vu today, first because many of the issues that we ...

David TC Davies | 435 c432 (Link to this contribution) Is the hon. Gentleman suggesting that the days of British Rail were some kind of golden age for the ...

Albert Owen | 435 c417-8 (Link to this contribution) This is an important point. I understand how the funding works and the money will be new. The public...

Nick Ainger | 435 c453 (Link to this contribution) The matter has been taken up and we are assured that the measure is purely temporary. It is in place...

Lord Hain | 435 c412 (Link to this contribution) I will be very happy to receive a delegation from my hon. Friend. Having visited his constituency be...

Albert Owen | 435 c427-8 (Link to this contribution) I am pleased that the Bill has come back to the House. It has been a good week for Welsh legislation...

Chris Bryant | 435 c420 (Link to this contribution) Why?

Lord Hain | 435 c418 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes the point well. I was simply trying to make it clear that if a flight originate...

Subjects

Devolved matters

Disadvantaged

Bus services

Aviation

Air routes

Cross border cooperation

Fares

Finance

Infrastructure

Franchises

Local government