HL Deb 29 January 1992 vol 534 cc1306-8

2.45 p.m.

Lord Holme of Cheltenham

asked Her Majesty's Government:

In view of the high costs of parking at Heathrow airport, what obligation is there on the British Airports Authority and the parking contractors to provide security for vehicles parked.

Lord Brabazon of Tara

My Lords, as with public car parks generally, this is a commercial matter of the contract between the operator and the user of the car park and not something in which the Government have a locus.

Lord Holme of Cheltenham

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that Answer. Perhaps I should, at the outset, declare not so much a personal interest but more a personal loss in that I had my car broken into in the short-term car park at London Airport. Unhappily, that is not an unfamiliar event these days. However, certain facts came to my notice during the course of that incident. For example, is the Minister aware, first that the cost of parking for the ordinary traveller in the short-term car park is £3 an hour; secondly, that in the fine print of the contract the contractors disclaim all responsibility; and, thirdly, that there is no regular security control carried out in the airport?

Bearing in mind the Citizen's Charter, does the Minister agree that the latter represents rather poor service and value for money on the part of the British Airports Authority and its contractors? Perhaps the authority should forfeit its charter marks. Alternatively, should it perhaps receive a charter stripe?

Lord Brabazon of Tara

My Lords, I can tell the noble Lord that I understand that BAA has recently made considerable improvements to the parking arrangements at Heathrow Airport. For example, the price of parking is not as high as the noble Lord quoted; indeed, BAA recently introduced a new short-stay parking price in the central car parks which amounts to 75 pence per half-hour. The authority has also introduced new business parking arrangements which are slightly cheaper. Moreover, the authority has framed the new contracts with its agents in such a way as to give them an incentive to minimise the occurrence of crime. All those improvements have recently taken place.

Lord Carmichael of Kelvingrove

My Lords, I understand from the British Airports Authority that it insists that the car-parking agents take steps to ensure safety and that there are patrols of the car parks. Perhaps the Minister could comment on that aspect? I am informed that the actual number of thefts which occur, compared to those which take place in the streets, is very low. Moreover, I also understand that the Air Transport Users Committee is quite happy with the new reduced cost. Can the Minister say whether the compensation scheme which operates for drivers leaving their cars in the car park compares reasonably well with the arrangements which apply to local authority car parks that are operated by agents?

Lord Brabazon of Tara

My Lords, I certainly agree with the first part of the noble Lord's remarks. I understand that BAA has recently taken steps to improve the arrangements, including, for example, the introduction of closed-circuit television. The figures as regards crime in Heathrow Airport's car parks are not at all bad in comparison with the figures for elsewhere in the country. However, it is not really a question for me; it is a question for BAA.

Lord Stoddart of Swindon

My Lords, I am sorry to bother the Minister, but did I hear him aright? Did he say that the charge for the short-term car park was 75 pence per half hour? Is my arithmetic correct when I deduce that to be £36 a day? Is that not an inordinate and expensive charge?

Lord Brabazon of Tara

My Lords, it is not for me to say what is an expensive or an inordinate charge. All I would say is that there has been a reduction in the cost of the short-term car park for short-term parking. If the noble Lord wishes to park his car for longer, I suggest that he parks it at one of the other car parks which are more suited for longer-term parking, and cheaper as a result.

Lord Marsh

My Lords, will the Minister answer my question, although it may be a matter for the Leader of the House? It arises out of interest and bewilderment. If the Minister is not responsible for the Question, how does it manage to appear on the Order Paper?

Lord Brabazon of Tara

My Lords, I cannot answer that question. I too was surprised. I raised the issue and was told that it was in order.

Lord Harmar-Nicholls

My Lords, it is not my noble friend's fault, but to say something costs 75 pence a half hour is the same as saying that an article costs 19s 11¾d. By the time one has got out of one's car and walked to the end of the car park the half an hour has gone; so one is committed to something infinitely more than the minimum even before one starts.

Lord Brabazon of Tara

My Lords, again, it is not a question for me. The minimum charge used to be £2.10 for rather longer than half an hour. There are many people who would just like to meet someone at the airport and would use only the half hour. For those people the short-term car park is useful.

Lord Molloy

My Lords, does the Minister agree that we put down Questions in the House not merely for ourselves but sometimes in the interests of the entire country? In this instance, the Question is in the interests of the thousands of motorists who use that car park.

Lord Brabazon of Tara

My Lords, I am pleased to know that the entire country is hanging on the words that I am uttering from this Dispatch Box today.

Lord Holme of Cheltenham

My Lords, perhaps I may briefly assist the Minister and the noble Lord, Lord Stoddart: the price goes up after the first hour or so to £3 an hour; so it is even more expensive than the noble Lord, Lord Stoddart, thought. Travellers experience difficulties in meeting the shortest period. If the Minister believes that the matter is not one for government but is one for private industry, and is not within the Government's remit, could not the Government do more to inspire competition in parking at London Airport so that there is a choice of locations, prices and levels of service for the traveller?

Lord Brabazon of Tara

My Lords, that is exactly what BAA has done. In the medium-term, not the short-term, car parks it has introduced competition between at least two operators, and the prices there are more competitive than have so far been quoted this afternoon. The Government have a role in so far as the MMC investigated the car parking charges at Heathrow during the quinquennial review of BAA's prices at Heathrow. The MMC found those prices to be reasonable.