§ Lord Boyd-Carpenter asked Her Majesty's Government:
§ Whether, in the exercise of their responsibility for the safety of the travelling public, they will issue a direction to London Regional Transport that on all occasions when a responsible person is not in charge of an Underground station which is open to the travelling public, the ticket-operated machinery at the entrances and exits be left in the open position.
§ Viscount DavidsonMy Lords, London Regional Transport has a statutory obligation to operate its services with due regard to safety of operation. I understand that it is already its practice to ensure that automatic ticket gates are left in the open position if no member of staff is available to supervise them.
§ Lord Boyd-CarpenterMy Lords, while I thank my noble friend for that reply is he, and are the Government, satisfied that LRT is in a position to enforce the admirable intention which he attributed to it? In particular, is he aware that some of us can give specific examples, in my own case of 1.20 p.m. on 18th December at Westminster Underground station when there was no member of staff either in sight or within call?
§ Viscount DavidsonMy Lords, of course I am very concerned to learn of my noble friend's experience. I shall certainly bring it to the attention of the chairman of LRT. I can tell my noble friend that the station supervisor is required to record in the station logbook the staff on duty and the condition of the station. It is a serious disciplinary matter for a member of staff to be absent from his or her place of duty.
§ Lord Carmichael of KelvingroveMy Lords, is the Minister aware that there is still great uneasiness about the system? As the noble Lord, Lord Boyd-Carpenter, has said there have been occasions when there have been difficulties. I witnessed one myself in which a child's pushchair was jammed in one of the two outlets at a Tube station. At the other outlet there was a queue of impatient people. There was no member of staff in sight. There was no panic on that occasion but there could easily have been panic. Is the Minister aware that this is a matter about which the public feel uneasy and to which LRT should pay particular attention?
§ Viscount DavidsonYes, my Lords. I understand the noble Lord's concern. I agree that there was considerable public reservation about inconvenience and safety during the progressive installation of the gates in early 1989. However, I believe that the system has settled down as people have become used to it. Complaints have virtually ceased. The reliability of gates is good and LUL is developing ways of making them even easier to use. Fifteen million separate gate operations were recorded within one week last July.
§ Lord MolloyMy Lords, does not the noble Viscount agree that when there is a probability that a particular station will be without staff, St. James's ought to be contacted?
§ Viscount DavidsonMy Lords, if there are no staff the station is closed.