Lord Berkeleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Macdonald of Tradeston on 10th April (WA174–176), whether the British Government representatives at the recent Transport Council in Luxembourg, particularly Keith Hill, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, discussed with his French colleague:
(a) how and when French railways will implement measures to meet the requirements of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 Regulations extending the civil penalties to rail freight and any effect that lack of such measures is having on this traffic; and
(b) the continuing strikes on French railways and their effect on international freight traffic. [HL1817]
§ The Minister of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Lord Macdonald of Tradeston)These issues were not discussed in the margins of the recent Transport Council. We are, however, in close touch with the French authorities about the development of measures to prevent clandestine entry to the United Kingdom, by all modes of transport, including rail, at both the political and operational level.
We are also in regular touch with freight operators over the implications for their international services of attempts at clandestine immigration and of transport disruptions in continental Europe.