WELCOME TO MY WEBSITE!

I set up this personal website over six years ago to present a simple account of what I do. Parliamentary Questions and Debates catalogues my work in the House of Lords. Elsewhere you can read about my other interests and various issues which concern me.

    Richard Faulkner / House of Lords / London SW1A 0PW

QUEEN'S SPEECH - DEBATE - 3RD DAY

13 May 2013: Lord Faulkner of Worcester: My Lords, in my speech this afternoon I intend to concentrate on transport, with particular reference to the gracious Speech's very welcome confirmation that the Government are proceeding with a paving Bill to allow work to proceed on plans for the construction of High Speed 2. I wish them well with that and with the hybrid Bill, which I hope may pass before the end of this Parliament.
I should remind the House of my relevant interests. I serve as an unpaid member of First Great Western's stakeholder advisory board. I am president of the Cotswold Line Promotion Group and the Heritage Railway Association. I am also the co-author of a recently published book called Holding The Line: How Britain's Railways Were Saved, which contains a political and social history of the railways, particularly since the publication of the Beeching report 50 years ago.
Perhaps I may start by picking up a theme that runs through that book. It is sometimes hard to recall how massive the turnaround in the public's attitude to rail travel and the fortunes of the industry has been. In the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, the railways appeared to be in terminal decline. The process of retrenchment and cost-cutting, which had started at the time of Beeching, appeared remorseless and inexorable. Numerous plans were hatched to reduce the size of the network further by line closures, cuts in services and fare increases.
read more ....

TOURISM: QUESTION FOR SHORT DEBATE

24 April 2013
Lord Lee of Trafford asked Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to maximise tourism potential in the United Kingdom.

Lord Faulkner of Worcester: My Lords, I join others in congratulating the noble Lord, Lord Lee of Trafford, on initiating this debate, and I remind the Committee of my unpaid interests as president of the Heritage Railway Association and as a trustee of the Science Museum Group. Britain's tourist potential depends on many factors, but principally on attractive destinations, such as those in the south-west that we have just heard about, enjoyable experiences in terms of where to stay and what to do, and ease of access. With more time, I would describe the huge contribution that our museums-the five museums in the Science Museum Group now attract 5 million visitors a year-make to tourism, but I shall concentrate on the part that Britain's heritage railways play in attracting visitors to Britain.
read more ......

GROWTH & INFRASTRUCTURE BILL - REPORT 2ND DAY CONTD.

12 March 2013: Clause 22

Lord Faulkner of Worcester speaking to amendment 47

Lord Faulkner of Worcester speaking to amendment 48ZA and later

RAILWAYS: REOPENINGS

11 March 2013: Lord Faulkner of Worcester asked Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for future railway reopenings.
Lord Faulkner of Worcester: I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper and remind the House of my railway interests declared in the register.
Lord Popat: My Lords, the Government recently announced a £20 million new stations fund to support the development of new stations promoted by third parties in England and Wales. The Government have also allocated funding for the reopening of a key part of the strategic east-west rail route in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. We believe that local authorities are best placed to consider whether a rail reopening is the best way to meet local transport needs.
Lord Faulkner of Worcester: My Lords, I welcome the Minister to the Dispatch Box for his first transport Question. He has given the House a positive Answer, which I hope indicates that the pro-rail consensus in this House is in good order. The Beeching report was published 50 years ago this month. Its implementation cut off a third of the network and deprived many parts of the country of access to the railway. Does the Minister agree that one of the most shocking parts of the Beeching legacy was the indecent haste with which so many closed lines were sold off and the land built over, which made their restoration expensive and often impossible? While the Minister's support for reopenings is good news, will he take a particular look at schemes which run across local authority boundaries and which would bring major benefits, such as the Lewes to Uckfield route and the suburban lines around Bristol?
read more......

TRANSPORT: HS2

26 February 2013 - Lord Faulkner of Worcester: My Lords, this is a very high-speed debate and I am pleased to have the opportunity to repeat my wholehearted support for High Speed 2.

We tend not to be very good at assessing the benefits of new rail schemes. A cost-benefit approach has been adopted to satisfy the requirement for analysis where public policy or public money is involved. However, cost-benefit appraisals for rail schemes have consistently underestimated the benefits that they bring. The growth in passenger numbers is often achieved much earlier than forecast. Total passenger numbers in 2012 were higher than at any time in our country since 1922, and parts of the railway are already full.

Read the findings of the Commons Select Committee on the completion and sale of High Speed 1

BOOK REVIEW IN THE HOUSE MAGAZINE

Lord Fowler, transport secretary from 1979 - 1981 reviews Holding the Line - how Britain's railways were saved by co-authors Richard Faulkner and Chris Austin.

The book follows the process of railway closure which peaked in the years following the Beeching report of 1963.

Original research by the authors reveals plans to reduce the size of the railway network further and an assumption, in the early 1990s, that market forces would shrink the network where Government policies had failed. Had these been implemented, only a handful of lines would have remained with the network destroyed forever.

read the review here

GROWTH & INFRASTRUCTURE BILL - COMMITTEE (4TH DAY)

4 February 2013

Clause 22: Special parliamentary procedure in cases under the Planning Act 2008
Amendment 75A (Clause 22, page 22, line 39, leave out "Sections 128 and 129" and insert "In section 128") moved by Lord Greenway.
Speaking to this amendment - Lord Faulkner of Worcester: My Lords, I start by thanking the Ministers-the noble Baroness, Lady Hanham, and the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon-for taking the time to see me with their officials last Thursday to talk about the amendments I have tabled to Clause 23 in the next group and also about my objections to the inclusion of Clause 22 in the Bill.
read more.....

Clause 23: Modifications of special parliamentary procedure in certain cases
Amendment 77ZD (Clause 23, page 25, leave out lines 8 to 26) moved by Lord Faulkner of Worcester:
My Lords, I shall speak also to Amendments 77ZE and 77ZF. I have also given notice that I wish to oppose the Question that Clause 23 should stand part of the Bill. This is, in a sense, a continuation of our previous debate on Clause 22. Perhaps I may first respond to the Minister's generous offer to convene a meeting with the Canal & River Trust. I am delighted to accept, as, I am sure, the trust will be; I look forward to the meeting.
read more ......

ALDERNEY GAMBLING CONTROL COMMISSION

31 January 2013: Lord Faulkner of Worcester has been appointed as a member of the Alderney Gambling Control Commission by the States of Alderney.
See press release

RAILWAYS: HIGH SPEED RAIL

28 January 2013: Earl Attlee repeated a Statement made by the Secretary of State for Transport.
during the debate....
Lord Faulkner of Worcester: My Lords, I offer my wholehearted support for the Statement and the Government's strategy on High Speed 2.
..... With reference to what the Minister said about high-speed trains running north on conventional railways, particularly on the west coast main line, can he give an assurance that signalling and other infrastructure on the west coast main line will be sufficiently upgraded to allow these trains to run - obviously not at 300 kilometres an hour but certainly closer to a line speed of perhaps 140 or 150 miles an hour?
read more....

HELICOPTER FLIGHTS: CENTRAL LONDON

22 January 2013: Lord Faulkner of Worcester asked Her Majesty's Government whether they will review the extent of helicopter flights over central London.
Earl Attlee: My Lords, helicopter operations in central London are strictly controlled, and last week's accident was the first fatal helicopter accident in London since civil aviation records began in 1976. We are waiting for the Air Accidents Investigation Branch to complete its investigation to ensure that the reasons for the accident are understood before we consider whether any further measures are necessary. There is no reason to believe that helicopter operations over London are unsafe.
Lord Faulkner of Worcester: My Lords, the safety record of helicopter flying in London has indeed been very good, as the Minister said, but does he not agree that the number of new high-rise buildings around Vauxhall Cross has made the approach to Battersea heliport increasingly hazardous? Can he give an assurance that the inquiry into last week's accident, which could have been so much worse, will include consideration of whether that heliport should continue to operate?
read more.....

SCRAP METAL DEALERS BILL - COMMITTEE

18 January 2013: Earl Atlee moved amendment 1 to Clause 18 : Review of Act
during the debate:
Lord Faulkner of Worcester: My Lords, I hold the noble Earl in the highest regard, so I know he will not take personally the criticism that I going to direct at the amendment which he has moved this morning. In my time here, I can recall a number of occasions when attempts have been made in this House to add a sunset clause to a Bill that has come to us from another place. In every case, these clauses had been felt necessary in order to improve an otherwise unsatisfactory Bill-often to insert a safeguard into a measure that was controversial or threatened civil liberties and human rights. That is not what we have in front of us this morning. This amendment will not improve the Bill; indeed, it will damage it in two material respects.
read more.....
See also contribution and comment on LordsoftheBlog

GROWTH & INFRASTRUCTURE BILL - SECOND READING

8 January 2013: Lord Faulkner of Worcester: My Lords, I am pleased to follow the noble Lord, Lord Burnett, on one particular theme: the question of democratic accountability and the role of Parliament. I will speak briefly about Clauses 22 and 23, which deal with special parliamentary procedure.
read more....

PUBLIC BODIES (ABOLITION OF THE RAILWAY HERITAGE COMMITTEE)
ORDER 2013

18 December 2012: As an amendment to the Motion to approve the abolition of the Railway Heritage Committee moved by Earl Atlee, Lord Faulkner of Worcester inserted, "but that this House, whilst welcoming the Government's acceptance that the heritage of Britain's railways is sufficiently special to justify the continuation of the Railway Heritage Committee's powers of designation and their transfer to the Trustees of the Science Museum Group, regrets that the opportunity was not taken to bring within scope those railway organisations wishing to be covered by the new designation arrangements".
Read contribution in full......

£15,000 GRANT TO WORCESTER CITY YOUTH

15 December 2012: WCFC has received a £15,000 grant from the Football Conference Trust to further develop the City youth structure within the community. The St George’s Lane club, runs teams from under 12s to under 16s, along with an under 18s and elite development squad. It will be used to train coaches and develop partnerships with schools, colleges and the University of Worcester.
Read article in full

BRITISH TRANSPORT POLICE

3 December 2012:   Lord Faulkner of Worcester asked Her Majesty's Government whether they will recognise the British Transport Police for the purposes of the Firearms Act 1968. read more ....

SCRAP METAL DEALERS BILL - 2ND READING

30 November 2012: Baroness Browning moved that the Bill be read a second time.
during the course of the debate:
Lord Faulkner of Worcester: My Lords, I offer my congratulations and thanks to the noble Baroness, Lady Browning. I congratulate her on introducing the Bill with such skill, and I thank her for the very kind things she said about my contribution to this issue over the past year and a half or so. I am delighted that she has taken on the responsibility of piloting the Bill through your Lordships’ House. There is no better champion for it. In the regrettably all-too-short time that she was a Minister in the Home Office, she demonstrated commitment and sureness of touch on this issue. I have seen some of the letters that she wrote in support of measures that are not very different from those that are contained in the Bill before she left office in September 2011. I also congratulate the honourable Member Richard Ottaway for his patience and skill in getting the Bill through the other place. There was a very trying final day when it looked as though some of his honourable friends might have sought to talk the Bill out. Happily, that did not happen, and the Bill is in front of us today in a form that I hope the whole House will be able to support. As the noble Baroness said, the Bill is supported by all responsible members of the scrap metal and recycling industry, by numerous trade bodies, the Local Government Association, the British Transport Police and the civilian police. read more....

HMS "VICTORY"

during this Question for Short Debate tabled by Lord Renfrew of Kaimsthorn -
28 November 2012: Lord Faulkner of Worcester......
I speak as chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on War Heritage.
I will refer to an issue that was brought to my attention earlier this year: the looting of three Royal Navy cruisers that were sunk in the North Sea off the coast of the Netherlands in September 1914. HMS "Hogue", HMS "Cressy" and HMS "Aboukir" were torpedoed by the Imperial German submarine "U-9" while on active service and lie at a depth of 33 metres. The majority of the crew of the three ships, around 1,500 naval personnel, lost their lives in the action; therefore, the wrecks are their war graves.

Read more....

THE "COUPON" ELECTION OF 1918

8 November issue of "The House" magazine where I investigate the "Coupon" Election of 1918, the last time a Coalition Government has faced the voters as a single entity Read article here

SMOKING AT THE WHEEL

2 November 2012: Together with two of my fellow peers, I co-signed a letter to the Daily Telegraph highlighting the dangers of smoking in a vehicle which is carrying a child.