Speeches by Turner.

“Thank you, Chair. I want to ask about funding, and bus fares specifically. Secretary of State, some welcome new funding has been announced for bus services—I think about £1.1 billion in total—but there was a significant increase in the bus fare cap. Why was the figure set at £3, specifically? Why wasn’t it set at £2.20…”

“You said earlier that you wanted to base your reforms on evidence. Has the Department undertaken an assessment of the value for money and effectiveness of the cap policy and, if so, is it going to be published?”

“It was in relation to the question Olly asked about fuel duty and the relative cost of public and private transport. We had a discussion about this year’s decisions, but the long-term trend has been for that relative gap to widen as a result of central Government decisions. With reference to the objectives of achieving…”

“I want to talk about motorways as well. As you know, drivers’ journey times are going up, and something went very badly wrong with the smart motorways programme. Our predecessor Committee said that National Highways had over-promised and under-delivered in the last road investment strategy. The regulator has just found…”

“Would you say that that ambition is shared across Government in other Departments that may take an interest, including the Treasury?”

“The Labour party’s “Getting Britain Moving” document published in April said that Great British Railways would operate “without the micromanagement of the current system or of British Rail”, but there is a long history of central Departments interfering, late scope changes and annualised budget setting. How will you ac…”

“Thank you. I look forward to seeing a Dijon level of public transport in Birmingham.”

“I was going to ask about RIS3 but it has been answered, so thank you very much indeed.”

“The shadow Secretary of State said that we should pay attention to performance statistics. The figures that I have obtained from the Department show that over the past seven years, there was a 35% increase in temporary and emergency speed restrictions on the network. The Secretary of State has a difficult inheritance, …”

“Given that only 3% of people who arrived by small boats between 2018 and June 2024 have been returned, a period of reflection from the Conservative party on this issue would be welcome. Does the Minister agree that a Government who have dispensed with gimmicks and who focus on the day job are delivering that progress o…”

“Will the hon. Lady give way?”

“I draw the House’s attentions to my declarations in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. As we approach Remembrance weekend, I would like to draw attention in this health debate to the excellent work that the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine does in Birmingham. In July, the people of Birmingham Northfield vot…”

“24. What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the system for supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities.”

“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for securing this debate. With her permission, I would also like to commemorate for the record the events in Birmingham in 1839, when reaction and the gathering radicalism that first found expression in the Birmingham Political Union—which did so much to shape the “People’s Charter”—comb…”

“At the recent SEND surgery that I organised with SEND Socials Birmingham, one message came through time and again: different public bodies are not working together as the Children and Families Act 2014 intended, and this is contributing to long delays and distress. Will the Minister agree to receive representations fro…”

“I am sure the whole House will welcome the constructive response from the Minister today. Will he confirm that the former Conservative Treasury Front-Bench team had to have paragraph 9.1 of the ministerial code drawn to their attention twice this year—in both April and May? It is do as they say, not do as they did.”

“I am glad to draw the House’s attention to my declaration in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests and to my membership of the GMB and Unite trade unions. The Bill is at the start of its parliamentary stages, but today is also the culmination of years of hard work and consultation. It is important to recognise t…”

“I completely agree with my hon. Friend, who makes his case well. This is not about saying that there can never be telegraph poles, as there are some areas where they are clearly the right solution. However, there must be a proper process, and companies cannot be left to mark their own homework. He highlights well the i…”

“I know that my hon. Friend has been doing extensive work on this issue. There are similar problems in my Birmingham Northfield constituency, and I would be sympathetic to having different approaches in rural, semi-rural and built-up urban areas, precisely because of the issues she raises.”

“I will give way first to my near neighbour.”