Speeches by Mayer.

“Ben, is there any indication that fares will become more affordable for passengers because of any provision in the Bill?”

“Shall I ask about clause 18(4), Chair?”

“This question may be a bit more technical. We have just been talking about clause 18, which says that all these duties are subject to maintaining sufficient network capacity, as laid out in clause 63. Are you concerned about that at all, or do you think it is self-evident that there has to be sufficient capacity?”

“The passenger watchdog will have the power to set standards on behalf of passengers. How do you envisage those powers will be used? What are your parameters going to be when you set those standards? What will you have regard to? As well as exactly how the passenger feels, are you going to think about the value for mone…”

“Would you like a target for passenger growth, like Ben would?”

“Looking at the Bill, a section of it includes the general duties that apply to GBR, Ministers and the ORR—all of them. That is clause 18 of the Bill. Is that clause sufficiently targeted to compel GBR to act in the interests of passengers?”

“What data is it that you are after?”

“We have mainly been talking about individual passengers. One thing that concerns me, particularly in the early days, is the standardisation as all the different train operating companies and everything else is brought together. I imagine that even after we have GBR, there will be some forms of regionalisation within it…”

“Surely this might be a two-way street. What data would you be willing to share back again?”

“But is it? It is my understanding that the different train operators at the moment provide slightly different data. Maybe John could answer that.”

“The Government has acknowledged the need to ensure that GBR is not treated favourably over any other retailer. Are there sufficient measures to ensure that independent retailers have got access to the same data and systems that GBR’s retail arm will have? Could you explain what data it is in particular that you feel yo…”

“This summer, when I was travelling by train to a bus conference, I managed to lose my bag. I did what everyone in that circumstance would do and panicked slightly, because my purse and my keys were in it, along with my House of Commons pass. I thought, “Who on earth do I contact?”, because I was not entirely sure where…”

“I am struck by what my hon. Friend has just said. About eight years ago, during Trump’s first term, I was in the United States with a group of Latvian MEPs. I remember being almost bemused by how often the Latvians wanted to turn whatever discussion we were having to defence. To some extent, it was kind of annoying me …”

“South Side Studios is a fantastic temporary custodian of the old Wilko shop on Leighton Buzzard high street. It has put on some brilliant events, such as salsa, more dancing, painting and Lego workshops—who does not like Lego? While it has had fantastic success in persuading commercial businesses to embrace meanwhile u…”

“Indeed. It is so important to make sure that we have things that link us, and I think Universal will make a real difference on that. I very much urge the Minister to make sure that Paddington Bear is a key feature—what an ambassador for our region that would be! The forest is also fantastic news for us; I finish by urg…”

“I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridge (Daniel Zeichner) on securing this important debate about a place where innovation really happens, but which is also a great place to live. The whole idea of the Oxford-Cambridge growth corridor is fantastic, but the name is absolutely terrible: politicians love th…”

“Advent is approaching. Do you have an Advent calendar, Mr Speaker? If so, is it a traditional one or a chocolate one, or maybe even one filled with wine? If it is filled with wine, the little pouches in it are probably made using technology based in Leighton Buzzard. Those pouches are 125 ml in capacity; because they a…”

“Alongside its shared general duties, the Office of Road and Rail also has specific duties on safety and promoting competition. Those duties already exist in statute—I think you were just saying that they were a bit dated—so what does the Bill do to modify them?”

“The general duties that apply to GBR are the same as those that apply to Ministers and the ORR. If the duties apply to all, are they not going to be so vague as to be rendered meaningless?”

“You seem to be referring to GBR as one great big cohesive body, but presumably it will have a regional structure of some description, because all big organisations do. Do you see your role as enforcing standardisation to make GBR into a cohesive whole?”