LORDS AMENDMENT (Hansard, 29 November 2000)

§ Lord Macdonald of Tradeston

My Lords, I beg to move that the House do not insist on their Amendment No. 27 and do agree with the Commons in their Amendment. No 27C in lieu thereof.

When this Bill was last before this House I gave a full explanation of the Government's reasons for not wishing to agree to Amendments Nos. 27 to 29. I shall not repeat those reasons at length, but perhaps I can give your Lordships a brief reminder.

First, we do not agree that the public-private partnership needs to be deferred until after the next general election. We made our policy clear, before, during and after the previous election campaign. During that campaign the Prime Minister said that we needed public and private sectors in partnership in developing transport infrastructure and the Chancellor indicated that NATS was a candidate for a public-private partnership. Since the election we have consulted on the PPP proposal and listened carefully to the responses. All the issues have been debated at length. We remain convinced that the PPP is the right solution for NATS.

Secondly, delay would be damaging to NATS and its users. There is an urgent need for new investment in NATS, especially to deliver the two centres at Swanwick and Prestwick on time. We also need the injection of new project management skills. We need to separate service provision from regulation. And perhaps most importantly there is an urgent need for certainty for the staff who have lived with uncertainty for so long.

Thirdly, as I explained to your Lordships earlier this week, I do not believe that it is the role of this House to decide the timing of the legislation. This House is a revising Chamber and is very effective in that role. I do not wish to overstate the case on this issue, but I firmly believe that we should concentrate on that role.

Perhaps I can return to the subject of safety which has been raised on many occasions during the debates on this part of the Bill. Of course safety is the first priority and your Lordships will recall the amendments introduced in this House to reaffirm our commitment to safety. I cannot accept that the private sector is unsafe—look at the British airline industry. 1324 The airlines are strongly in favour of the PPP, not just as bidders, but also as users whoever wins the bid. I am certain that they would not support the PPP if they thought that it would be unsafe. In the most recent debates on this Bill Members of both Houses have paid tribute to the safety of air traffic control and said that it need not be threatened by a PPP.

I was pleased to hear two noble Baronesses on the Benches opposite declare on Monday night that they saw the merit in what we propose. The noble Baroness, Lady Hogg, spoke of the involvement of private enterprise in state activities. That is exactly what we are proposing—the involvement of private enterprise. We are not proposing a once-for-all sale. We do not want a continuation of total state ownership. We want private involvement through the PPP.

But we recognise that there is a message underlying Amendments Nos. 27 to 29. We have listened to that message. We have listened throughout the passage of the Bill to what has been said in both Houses. We have held to the PPP policy because we believe it to be the right solution for NATS. But we have amended the detail in response to concerns. Most recently we have made changes to address concerns about safety and about the pensions of NATS' employees. Elsewhere in the Bill we have addressed concessionary fares for disabled people; lane rental for street works; the impounding of illegal lorries. Throughout the passage of the Bill the Government have listened to views, have met concerns, and have accepted changes proposed by all sides of both Houses.

The amendments agreed in another place are further evidence of our willingness to listen. These amendments are an expression of good intent. We want to make it clear that if the Bill passes this week we shall not enter precipitately in to the PPP. These amendments are an undertaking that we shall take time to conduct the process properly. We shall work on the detail and make sure that we get it right. In short, we shall ensure that all concerned fully understand the proposals and that action is being taken to deal with real concerns expressed.

I can assure noble Lords that this will be a carefully considered process, as, of course, we always intended that it would be. These amendments are our promise to this House. I believe that it is right to proceed with care. I firmly believe that this House should accept the Commons amendment.

Moved, That the House do not insist on their Amendment No. 27 and do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 27C in lieu thereof.—(Lord Macdonald of Tradeston.)