Speeches by Mayer.

“There is no mention of DRT, and very little mention of community transport, in the Government’s buses Bill. What do you think the Government’s view is of the role of these types of services?”

“I promised that we would go back to VAT, so this is a special one for Max. How do the current VAT rules impact the viability of DRT services?”

“Looking at funding, we have had mention before of BSIP and BSOG. Thinking about funding that was basically created with the thought of fixed routes with normal timetabled bus services but which have also been used for DRT, how effective have those funding streams been in supporting the growth of DRT?”

“Throughout this we have been talking about DRT. It sounds expensive. You have 95% of councils saying that DRT schemes are operating at a loss. Is that because of the way we are using DRT, or is it inherently expensive? A lot of this conversation has been about people who have, or would use, concessionary bus passes. We…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for giving way on that point about councils. In my area, Central Bedfordshire Council has just decided to remove all of its safer neighbourhood officers. The chief constable has said that there will be increased risks to the public because of that. These are uniformed people who go around our str…”

“We are all aware of instances where the same stretch of road or pavement seems to be dug up repeatedly by different companies over a short period of time. Why does that happen, simply, and how do you think it could be avoided?”

“Carrying on with the theme of buses, I have another question for Keith, please. You have obviously spoken about this already to some extent. Could you give us a bit more of a flavour of how much bus services are impacted by poorly planned or managed street works?”

“There was one other piece of evidence, where we were told that one of the issues was that different utility companies had different forms of insurance and that was a barrier to collaboration. Is that something you have come across in your experience?”

“It was not really to comment on that precise one. Generally, why are there not sometimes opportunities for collaboration? What are the barriers to that?”

“I have an example from my own constituency. A road called Bedford Road appears to be repeatedly dug up. One of the reasons I am constantly given is that it is because of the new-build estates in the vicinity. In fact, there are four different housing developments going on at the moment. I am interested to know if you t…”

“You have all talked about the co-ordinating role of local authorities. Do you think that local authorities have enough powers to manage the effect of street works?”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Tipton and Wednesbury (Antonia Bance) on securing this very popular debate. For far too long, off-road bikes have been driven in an antisocial and dangerous manner. These vehicles tear through parks, speed along…”

“The nation’s favourite way to save is through premium bonds. Does the Minister think that they are good for the country and a valuable way of encouraging saving? For everyone who has them, they are quite exciting every month.”

“1. What steps she plans to take to encourage saving.”

“Turning to the issue of growth, something this Government are particularly interested in, do you think that there is a link between poor bus connectivity and broader economic challenges such as low productivity or growth? To flip it on its head, is there a link between good bus connectivity and higher levels of growth?”

“The Government’s new buses Bill says that it aims to “empower local authorities to improve their bus services”. Can you explain what you think empowerment should look like, and how local authorities can be best supported to do that?”

“I somehow doubt it is in a bank vault—Rachel Reeves would have found it. Andrew, you were talking about the potential for franchising using the example of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. When you read the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough business case, actually the overall level of subsidy remains identical throughout …”

“This question is to anybody. Are there any aspects over which you think central Government should retain control?”

“I understand what you are saying about people being there and that long-term funding helps with that. The other point is about what skills those officers have, because we are moving increasingly to a new world, aren’t we? Officers traditionally provided sticking-plaster solutions to services that didn’t work, and never…”

“How effective do you think the Government’s recent £1 billion funding allocation for bus services will be in improving services across more rural and suburban areas? To bring this in at the same time, a lot of you have spoken about long-term funding settlements. What period do you think long term is and what times…”