Speeches by Turner.

“Is it not also the case that kids from working-class backgrounds were increasingly shut out of traditional apprenticeship routes under the previous Government because of the artificial entrance requirements, which employers said were blocking them from hiring the best? Employers said that those requirements should be s…”

“If I have understood correctly, are you saying that if minimum standards were in place, it would actually help with some planning issues and refusals?”

“In respect of those seven recommendations, are there particular recommendations that you have seen particularly strong or weak progress on?”

“Long-term observers of the industry might feel a certain sense of déjà vu because the predecessor Transport Committee published a report in 2022 that covered much of the ground we have been talking about today. One recommendation of that report was that the Government should set out a statutory code of conduct containi…”

“Just before we move on to the next question, the National Highways’ work to prevent suicide and reduce the number of suicides among all drivers has relevance here. If any witnesses wanted to submit evidence in writing about the National Highways’ role in reducing suicide rates, it would be interesting for the Committee…”

“As a former researcher, I feel obliged to place an enthusiastic defence of a good body of surveys on record. On that point, I have a question directed to Alex. In June 2025, Transport Focus convened a roundtable of attendees across the sector to focus on this issue and an action plan was published in November of that y…”

“One issue that has been raised through constituency casework is roadworks, limiting access to dedicated facilities and then blocking lay-by access. When that happens over multiple locations, I have had constituents who are drivers and they have said it has had a severe impact on their welfare. It is an issue we have lo…”

“It is clear that the NHS barcode prioritisation system broke down, but the problem is not limited to NHS letters. I want to highlight the Government’s Tell Us Once service following a bereavement. Many hon. Members will know the urgency and distressing nature of that correspondence, so will the Minister—who has been ex…”

“I have one follow-up on something you said about surveillance. It certainly accords with my experience as a union officer that invasive and at times unscientific monitoring was a real problem in the sector. To your knowledge, are any operators collecting information data through surveillance during rest periods? Would …”

“Mr Robertson, just before we move on, do the surveys and other evidence that exist allow us to rank driver facilities relative to other factors to a satisfactory degree?”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West and Islwyn (Ruth Jones) for securing this debate and for all her work to bring her private Member’s Bill to the House. It stands in the tradition of the private Member’s Bill of my right hon. Friend the Member…”

“Thank you for calling me to speak, Sir Alec. I am grateful to everyone who made the petition and the debate possible. In the short time available, the best service I can provide is to represent just some of the 181 Northfield constituents who signed the petition, in their own words. My constituent Charlotte said: “As a…”

“I draw the House’s attention to my vice-chairship of the all-party parliamentary group for archives and history. I strongly welcome the statement that my right hon. Friend has just made to the House. For more than 100 years, the Official History Programme provided valuable insight on matters such as war, peace and soci…”

“1. If he will commission new works under the Official History Programme.”

“I have one final question. How engaged is the DFT in these questions? Presumably the Department is fighting across Whitehall and the regulators for EVs to have their fair share of new connections. Is that the case?”

“The point has already been made in the panel that, at the moment, the Department publishes data on public charging points. In respect of private charging points, is there additional information that you feel the Department could or should be drawing on? If the answer is no, I would be interested in your thoughts on how…”

“Just thinking about geographic dispersion and the regionality point we have talked about before, which are the areas of the country where you are seeing those restraints most clearly?”

“Does anyone else want to come in?”

“Reading between the lines, are you saying that if that approval process does not happen in the way that the network operators are applying for, there could be a significant constraint in the future?”

“Looking to the future, over the next 10 years, let us say, do you see grid constraints becoming a more serious problem for the EV roll-out?”