argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Transportation
Nick Herbert (Conservative, Centre-right): The Secretary of State said that the Government accepted the case for expansion. Presumably that is why they set up the commission in the first place, so it did not need three years to tell them that. He also said that the Government accepted the Airports Commission’s shortlist of options. Increasingly, he presents the case as though there are three equal options from the Airports Commission, but has the commission not made an unequivocal recommendation? Should not the Government at least be open about that? Is he aware that last week the chief executive of International Airlines Group, Willie Walsh, while expressing concerns about the cost of Heathrow, said that there was "no business case for expanding Gatwick," and: "Very few airlines support the proposal and no one would move there while Heathrow remains open"?
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Environment
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): I could also cite quotes from Willie Walsh which would put a question mark over the Heathrow proposals. If we are getting into the game of quoting Willie Walsh, we will find many that could be cited on this subject. The correct thing for the Government to do is to look at all three options in light of the environmental work and the mitigation circumstances that we would like to see, and then return to the House once we have decided with which option we will go forward.
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Environment
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sorry that the right hon. Lady was so disappointed with the way I have responded. I responded partly in view of the way in which the Labour Front-Bench team attacked the Government for their indecision. I realise that the right hon. Lady has presented a petition to No. 10 Downing street in support of the expansion of Heathrow airport. This is an issue that divides colleagues in political parties, and I think it right for the Government to make sure that the proper environmental work is done before any move forward is taken.
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Transportation
Mark Andrew Menzies (Conservative, Centre-right): As a member of the Transport Select Committee, I have to observe that the Government have got themselves into a rather big hole on this issue. At least, however, they have my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport, a former miner, to dig them out of it. Can my right hon. Friend assure me that this decision will be taken in the early summer and that it will look favourably at the Davies commission, which made a clear recommendation to build a third runway at Heathrow?
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Energy
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): Oh, that was a good one; I will put that in my book As for the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Fylde (Mark Menzies), the important part of the Davies commission recommendations was having the extra capacity in place by 2030. I believe, given what I have said today, that we are on schedule to be able to deliver that extra capacity by 2030.
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Transportation
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): I have said that I hope to come back to the House in the summer. I am not going to say exactly when that will be from today’s date, but I fully accept the point that services to Northern Ireland are incredibly important. Northern Ireland is already well connected to London. There were around 17,000 flights between Belfast and London in 2014, of which about 6,000 were to Heathrow. I do not underestimate the importance of connectivity to London for Northern Ireland or indeed for Scotland.
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Environment
Iain Aitken Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): If the decision on the new runway were made on the basis of environmental data that are seen not to be robust, it would lead to delays and legal challenges that would last far longer than if we waited for more reliable data. London Gatwick has already briefed me on its concerns about the quality of the Davies commission data. Will my right hon. Friend ensure that he will look at all the data over the next few months and get them as robust as possible, so that when a decision is made, it can be enacted straight away?
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Transportation
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. If any lesson has been learnt from the preparations for HS2, it is the need to ensure that all the processes are gone through diligently and properly. There were a number of attempts to secure judicial reviews in relation to HS2, and nearly all of them failed.
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Transportation
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): I am going to do it again. The shadow Chancellor has just said "That was a compliment." Let me say to the hon. Member for Eltham (Clive Efford)—who has been present for all the exchanges—that it is not my hon. Friend the Member for Richmond Park who has changed his position on the question of Heathrow, but the right hon. Member for Tooting (Sadiq Khan), who, when he was a transport Minister, said that he was firmly in favour of its expansion. As for the date of the mayoral election, if we had initially wanted to put off the decision until after the election, we would have simply said that there would be no decision for 12 months, and would then have considered it for 12 months. The fact is that we are making progress. It is important that we make more progress by 2030, and that is what we shall do.
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Transportation
Philip Andrew Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): No matter how skilfully the Secretary of State tries to pretend otherwise, we all know that this rather grubby little announcement—if I may say so—is all about trying to get the Conservative party and my hon. Friend the Member for Richmond Park (Zac Goldsmith) over next May, and to cross that particular line. This is no way for the Government to make decisions and announcements. They talk about the northern powerhouse as if they really believed in it—which, indeed, I am sure that they do—and the Secretary of State must know that expanding Heathrow is essential for the northern powerhouse, so will he please act in the national interest rather than just making a grubby little announcement to benefit London and our excellent mayoral candidate?
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Transportation
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): I am glad that my hon. Friend is showing support for the northern powerhouse. It is very important to me and very important to the Government, and we are backing it with huge amounts of investment in electrification and new train services. The two new franchises that were announced last week will have a very beneficial effect on transport connectivity between our major cities in the north. That is vital, as is getting the whole question of future aviation capacity right.
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Transportation
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): Political procrastination? In 2001, "Labour ministers are reported to be seriously considering building a third runway" In 2003, "The transport secretary, Alistair Darling, publishes white paper" In 2007, "The government publishes a public consultation document" in favour of expanding Heathrow. 1n 2009, "The government approves a third runway, taking the number of flights handled by the airport from 480,000 to more than 700,000" I will take no lectures on ducking big issues, because the ducking of big issues was done when the hon. Gentleman was a member of the last Labour Government.
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Transportation
David Nuttall (Conservative, Centre-right): I am pleased that the Secretary of State recognises the importance of regional airports while more airport capacity is delivered in the south-east. What is he doing to encourage more airlines to fly on more routes from Manchester airport?
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Transportation
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. While he talks about Manchester, I also talk about Birmingham, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Glasgow. I think it is absolutely essential to try to get more connectivity from airports so that people do not necessarily have to travel to Heathrow or to Gatwick to get the flights they want. That is very important.
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Transportation
Henry Edward Millar Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): Can my right hon. Friend confirm that the independent and impartial Airports Commission clearly stated that Heathrow was the best option? If Governments in the future decide against that and wish to expand Gatwick, may I have a guarantee that the significant investment that will be required in housing, highways, the rail network and healthcare and all other public services will be forthcoming?
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Transportation
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): There are already significant commitments with regard to Gatwick; improving the infrastructure for Gatwick is already taking place and further such schemes will be coming on board over the next few years. It is vital that we get the surface access to our airports correct. That is something we are dealing with over a period of time. My hon. Friend asks whether there would be other consequences if the decision should go towards Gatwick. That will be the case for any option we choose, and of course we want to look at those options and see which ones we would want to take forward.
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Transportation
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): I wholly concur with the way in which Birmingham has gone about its expansion both of the runway and the airport overall, and I think HS2 will have a very important impact for Birmingham airport as well, so I agree with the hon. Gentleman.
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Energy
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): As I have said to the House, I think it is very important that we stick to the timetable of Sir Howard Davies’s report, and that is having extra capacity available by 2030. I will want to follow that timetable.
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Environment
Martin John Vickers (Conservative, Centre-right): I normally try to support my right hon. Friend, but I must admit that I am struggling somewhat on this occasion. Can he give an absolute assurance that if results of the further work on air quality and noise were to go against Heathrow, the default position would be to accept Gatwick and not waste more years by setting up yet another commission?
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Transportation
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): If my hon. Friend looks at my statement, he will see that I made it quite clear that the Government accept that the three options put forward by the commission are the right ones for providing extra capacity, so the answer to his question is that I do accept that I did not fully answer all the questions that the hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Alan Brown) asked. I meant to say that the work will be done by the Department for Transport.
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Transportation
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): I did not mention every airport in the country, but I tried to mention the bigger airports outside London—I will get in trouble for saying that—such as Manchester, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Glasgow. I did not mention East Midlands, which is just down the road from my area, but would I like to see more services from East Midlands airport? The answer is clearly yes.
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Environment
John Michael Howell (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome the decision to delay the final decision until the environmental concerns have been resolved. Colleagues and I are in negotiations with the Civil Aviation Authority and NATS to control noise from aircraft coming in to Heathrow over the Thames valley. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the resolution of that issue is crucial to our future support for Heathrow?
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Environment
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): One of the people who served on the Airports Commission was a member of the Committee on Climate Change, Dame Julia King, who has since been ennobled, so we and the Davies commission took that matter into account. There have obviously been further developments since then, such as the Volkswagen scandal. As the Environmental Audit Committee said, it is right that we should judge our response based on the new information that has become available. Sir Howard Davies also said that in his evidence to that Committee, and I want that to be done. As I have said, I still believe that we can deliver on the 2030 timetable set out in the commission’s report.
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Transportation
Karen Lumley (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my right hon. Friend agree that the decision is important for our regional airports, such as Birmingham International airport, which I recently visited to see its increased capacity and success? Will he acknowledge that we may see a second runway in Birmingham in the future, along with High Speed 2?
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Transportation
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend never misses an opportunity to promote Birmingham airport. The only thing I slightly disagree with her about is that I do not regard airports such as Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, East Midlands, Glasgow and Edinburgh as regional airports.
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Transportation
James Michael Ellwood Berry (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend for confirming that the Government will not outsource key policy decisions to unelected commissions and will not be rushed into making a decision about a runway that will not be operational until 2030. Will he confirm that if the third runway is still to be considered, it will only be with the three caveats that Davies placed on it, about a fourth runway, night flights and meeting EU air quality limits?
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Transportation
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right, in that whatever decision is finally taken—three options are still being discussed—we must get the best mitigation deals possible for the people affected. The three points he mentioned would certainly be important considerations in any decision, including if the decision should be taken for Heathrow. As I say, we are looking at three options.
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Environment
David Mowat (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government seem to have one of two positions, and I would be interested to understand which one it is. Either we have accepted the Davies commission, subject to sorting out these environmental issues, and therefore we will go down that route if we are able, or we have now decided that there are three equal options and we are looking at all three from scratch. Which of the two routes are we going to go down?
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Energy
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): We have accepted the Davies report on the need for capacity by 2030 and the three options, and it is those three options that we are looking at. I know the Davies commission supported one in particular, but the Government have to look at all three of the options available.
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Transportation
Robert Edward Jenrick (Conservative, Centre-right): In the Secretary of State’s defence, we have not built a full runway in the south-east of England since 1946 and so I am not sure whether another six months will make so much difference—so long as he does make the decision in the summer of 2016. When he decides, will he make his decision in the interests of the whole country, including the 9.5 million residents of the midlands, whom he and I represent, and not just in the interests of the denizens of west London?
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Environment
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): If one looks as the record of this Government, one sees that we have always acted in the national interest. We have done that on extra railway capacity and we are going to do it on the other big infrastructure investment proposals. They are always controversial and it is right, in this day and age, that we take every measure we can to mitigate the environmental impacts of any decisions we take.
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Transportation
Marcus John Hudson Fysh (Conservative, Centre-right): Job prospects in the south-west and in the rest of the country outside the south-east would clearly be best enhanced by an expansion at Heathrow, but it needs to be legally secure. Does my right hon. Friend agree that sometimes it is best to have a thorough look at these things and that a stitch in time might in this case save nine?
Airports Capacity — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: Environment
Jeremy Mark Quin (Conservative, Centre-right): What drives air quality is car emissions. Heathrow has far superior and far more rapid public transport links, including four rail links. Gatwick has the one rail link, which, as the Secretary of State is well aware, is not the best one in the country. Will he assure us that in any analysis of air quality, a full understanding will be taken of the impact of the extra car journeys that would inevitably result from the vast increase in passengers and from the employees required, none of whom would be local, were Gatwick to be chosen as the option?
European Union (Approvals) Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: International Affairs
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): Clause 1 provides for approval by Parliament of two draft EU legislative measures, as required under section 8 of the European Union Act 2011. Such approval is needed because both measures are made under article 352 of the treaty on the functioning of the European Union. Section 8 of the Act does provide for exemptions, in order to avoid the requirement for an Act of Parliament, but the measures here do not fall within any of the exempt purposes Clause 2 concerns the territorial extent of the Bill, its commencement date and short title. Subsection (1) 2 provides that the Bill extends to the whole of the United Kingdom. Subsection (2) provides that the Bill will come into force on the day that it receives Royal Assent. Subsection (3) provides for the Bill’s short title. I ask hon. Members to agree to clauses 1 and 2 standing part of the Bill Question put and agreed to. Clause 1 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 2 ordered to stand part of the Bill. The Deputy Speaker resumed the Chair. Bill reported, without amendment. Third Reading
European Union (Approvals) Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: International Affairs
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time The brief explanation that accompanied the clause stand parts in the Committee stage covered all the points that need to be made about the content of this very short Bill and the reason it is required. Obviously, we covered some of the points on Second Reading. It is fair to say that our debates on this Bill have covered the two clauses sufficiently. Perhaps it is worth reflecting on the fact that the Bill before us forms part of the ability of Parliament to examine and give clearance through the much broader protection and oversight that the European Union Act 2011 affords us. Bills such as this give another layer of protection in dealing with European Union legislation.
European Union (Approvals) Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: International Affairs
David Nuttall (Conservative, Centre-right): As my right hon. Friend rightly says, the only concern is why such trivial matters are being dealt with by way of an Act of Parliament. Does she agree that, while these might be trivial matters and while the public might be concerned that they are being dealt with by way of an Act of Parliament, the public will be equally concerned that major matters such as perhaps the accession of Turkey to the European Union will go through exactly the same procedure?
European Union (Approvals) Bill [Lords] — House of Commons, 2015-12-14
Topic: International Affairs
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for his remarks. It is fair to say that, when it comes to debating such matters, I would not use the term "trivial". The European Union covers not just that particular area, but other aspects, such as the accession of Turkey to the European Union. There will be debates on that matter and engagement with the European Scrutiny Committee. I am delighted to see the Chair of the European Scrutiny Committee in his place this afternoon I was very clear on Second Reading that there were concerns over what this legislation meant—whether it was burdensome and whether there were costs to the taxpayer. I use Third Reading to emphasise again that there are no burdens of administration or extra costs to the taxpayer. The Bill covers two clauses, one of which relates to the tripartite social summit, the other to the participation as an observer of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in the work of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. They are two very straightforward clauses in a very straightforward Bill. On that basis, I commend the Bill to the House.