the Earl of Mar and Kellie: My Lords, this debate has been well informed, and perhaps subsequent speakers will be further informed after I have finished speaking. I am unable to display a Scottish bus pass yet, but I suspect that I will be able to declare that interest in 2009, if I am spared. In preparing for this debate one fundamental question arose which I looked at from a Scottish angle. I wonder whether the...
the Earl of Mar and Kellie: My Lords, only a draft Road Transport Bill is mentioned in the gracious Speech: "A draft Bill will be published to tackle road congestion and to improve publish transport". There is also a Bill about the concessionary bus fares scheme: "Legislation will provide for free off-peak local bus travel for pensioners and disabled people". I hope the Minister will confirm that the concessionary bus...
the Earl of Mar and Kellie: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they have finalised their plans for the new cross-country rail franchise, in particular, the disconnection of west-central Scotland from that new franchise.
the Earl of Mar and Kellie: My Lords, I thank the Minister for that Answer, which shows that it is too late to do anything about the proposed new franchise without withdrawing the franchise process. Glasgow is a rail market worth 31 million journeys per year, and Edinburgh is worth 13.6 million journeys per year. Why is it a good idea to disconnect Glasgow from 45 railway stations in the south and south-west of England,...
the Earl of Mar and Kellie: My Lords, I continue to be unnerved by the issue of intent and therefore must continue to oppose the Government's position.
the Earl of Mar and Kellie: My Lords, how will the service work in Scotland's four island groups? The locations that the Minister listed in response to the question asked by my noble kinsman are all very definitely on the mainland. How much do the Government regard it as reasonable for islanders to have to pay to get to one of these offices, bearing it in mind that the use of the ferry may well involve an overnight stay?
the Earl of Mar and Kellie: My Lords, the proposal is to remove Glasgow and west central Scotland from the cross-country franchise. At a time when we are trying to reduce domestic air travel,how sensible is it to disconnect half the Scottish population from the rail network to the south-west of England? Does not holiday rail travel in particular thrive because people with baggage can travel without having to change trains?
the Earl of Mar and Kellie: Before the Motion is put, could we please ask for a business statement to be made when we reassemble in one hour's time?
the Earl of Mar and Kellie: My Lords, first, I thank the Public Bill Office and, in particular,Mr Nick Besly, for helping me to turn my ideas into something that could be presented to Parliament. I also thank all noble Lords who have taken part in the debate. A recent poll by YouGov identified that 49 per cent of those who answered the poll in Scotland were in favour of political independence, whereas 41 per cent were...
the Earl of Mar and Kellie: My Lords, I beg to move that this Bill be now read a second time. Before I go any further, there are some headline points to make about this short Bill. First, there must be a democratic path to political independence available at all times. Secondly, the withdrawal from the United Kingdom would only be political; an end to the parliamentary union of 1707. Thirdly, the Bill specifically...
the Earl of Mar and Kellie: My Lords, when considering a new railway proposal, does the Minister assess its long-term benefits over, say, 60 years—for example, regeneration—or its immediate costs? If the latter is dominant, will that not lead to a less well engineered railway?
the Earl of Mar and Kellie: My Lords, there is no doubt that the Sewel convention is working well—indeed, it may be working better than was expected. The only problem with it—this is a complaint from the opposition parties—is that, when a Sewel motion is brought before the Scottish Parliament, Members of the Parliament are not clear whether they are supposed to be debating the issue that they are then going to ask...
the Earl of Mar and Kellie: My Lords, we, too, are concerned about the potential increase in night flights that the Bill seems to allow after 2012, and we want to respond to the major worries expressed to us by people who live in the various affected communities. The Government's concept of a "bag of noise" that can be spread further around quieter aircraft on take-off will lead to peri-airport communities suffering...
the Earl of Mar and Kellie: My Lords, I thank all those who have taken part and, indeed, the Minister. The noble Lord, Lord Clinton-Davis, threw out a challenge about inefficient aircraft. My response to him is that, under the Government's proposals, there is more chance of inefficient and hence more polluting aircraft being used than under the amendment that we are discussing. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh...
the Earl of Mar and Kellie: rose to move, as an amendment to Motion A, leave out "not".
the Earl of Mar and Kellie: My Lords, in moving Motion A1, I notice that I have already gathered some support. I apologise for the fact that this is a manuscript Motion, which others may not have seen already. I also pay tribute to my noble friend Lord Bradshaw, who, after vigorous performances in the early stages of the Bill, cannot be with us today. However, he is recovering well and we all look forward to his being...
the Earl of Mar and Kellie: My Lords, I rather think that the noble Baroness, Lady Carnegy of Lour, may be straying out of the legislative area of the Trout (Scotland) Act 1933.
the Earl of Mar and Kellie: My Lords, I, too, welcome the noble and learned Lord to this House and to his new position. I welcome him to the Scottish lobby in this House and hope that we will hear more from him in our Scottish discussions. Like my noble friend Lord Maclennan, the Explanatory Memorandum gave me the impression that this was just a consolidation measure. But the noble and learned Lord has made certain that...
the Earl of Mar and Kellie: My Lords, if the age were reduced to 16, it would mean that, depending on when they were born, some people would still not cast a vote until they were 18, given that in Wales there must be elections at least every two years.
the Earl of Mar and Kellie: My Lords, the amount of money made available to Network Rail has increased. How can either Parliament be sure that the consequential outcome is value for money?