Speeches by Alexander.

“I was pleased to meet my hon. Friend in the summer to discuss this issue, and she is right to say that the previous Government cancelled plans to upgrade the Brighton main line. I can assure her that my officials are in regular discussion with Network Rail on opportunities to improve services and ease congestion in the…”

“I understand the frustration of the travelling public. We experienced a particularly dry summer this year and Network Rail had made preparations to deal with that, but I recognise that “dry soil” is as frustrating as “leaves on the line”. I will certainly look into the specific scheme that the hon. Gentleman suggests a…”

“My hon. Friend is a great champion of the communities he represents, and I can assure him that the Government are investing in Wales’s future to drive economic growth. We continue to work with the Welsh Government, through the Wales Rail Board, to ensure that the benefit of our £445 million investment in rail, announce…”

“The scale and significance of the proposed Universal Studios development in Bedfordshire is huge, and its success will undoubtedly be dependent on modern, sustainable transport options. We are committed to working very closely with Universal and the relevant local authorities as the development progresses to ensure tha…”

“I assure my hon. Friend that we are committed to driving economic growth in all areas, not only the large city regions. York and North Yorkshire combined authority will receive £94 million in local transport grant capital funding over the next four years, allowing local leaders to support schemes, including public tran…”

“I have a meeting soon to discuss the matter with my hon. Friend’s constituency neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Penistone and Stocksbridge (Dr Tidball). I would be happy for him to join that meeting.”

“My hon. Friend will know that ferry services run on a private sector basis to meet local demand, and funding for local ferry services is a matter for local partners, including Thurrock council and Kent county council. However, my officials are working with them to ensure that the public transport opportunities that the…”

“We have made some progress on the proposed eastern leg of HS2, which had been due to run up to Sheffield, but the previous Government cancelled it. During the summer, I made announcements about sites on that part of the line. I am aware that there are further issues in the Birmingham area, and with the section between …”

“We have frozen fuel duty—that is what we have done. We have also invested £1.5 billion this year to fix potholes—a record amount of money—which will fix the equivalent of 7 million extra potholes. I also say gently to the right hon. Gentleman that I am a very proud representative of my home town in Swindon. Searching a…”

“I understand everyone’s frustrations with the tube strikes; I use public transport in London every week, and I know that when the tube is down, not only are there queues for buses, but there is gridlock on our roads. It is right that the Mayor of London has called for the RMT to get back around the table with TfL. That…”

“I understand the point that the hon. Lady is making. If I may, I will write to her with details about that junction on the A483.”

“I was very pleased that the Chancellor announced in the spending review that we would move ahead with the M54-M6 link road. As the then Roads Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham South (Lilian Greenwood), has said, that was a “no-brainer”. I would be very happy to ask my officials to meet the right hon. G…”

“I would be very happy to have those discussions across Government. I believe the local authority met recently to consider whether it could provide any support to fill the funding gap and, potentially, secure developer contributions towards that scheme.”

“We are still funding drainage works and survey work on the Dawlish line. Four phases of work have already been completed. The cliffs are much more resilient than they were a number of years ago, when we experienced catastrophic failure. We have paused funding, but we will continue to keep under review the information t…”

“I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time. This Government believe that reliable, affordable and accessible transport is not simply a luxury to be enjoyed by some, but that it should be everyone’s right to access essential services, travel to work or school, fulfil aspirations and expand horizons. Today w…”

“If I may, I will write to the hon. Gentleman with the details he requests.”

“I would be delighted to visit the constituency of my hon. Friend, who is a great champion for Redditch. I know what a transformative project the midlands rail hub could be for his constituents by improving capacity into Moor Street station in Birmingham. I look forward to discussing it more when I visit.”

“The hon. Gentleman makes a compelling case. As I said, we prioritised the schemes that we have announced today on the basis of the ones that will deliver the greatest improvement to passengers most quickly. I know that there will be other schemes worthy of investment, but that is why we have not announced the particula…”

“If my hon. Friend writes to me with further details of the access issues at the rear of York station, I will be happy to speak to the Rail Minister and relevant organisations to see whether there are improvements that we can make. I appreciate that we need accessible stations if everyone is to benefit.”

“We will publish an integrated national transport strategy later this year to address precisely the sort of issues that the hon. Member raises about the criticality of bus links to stations in the absence of a new station. My predecessor and the Chancellor took the decision to cancel the restoring your railway programme…”