Speeches by Greenwood.

“I don’t think that is correct.”

“Loveday can speak to this. It is not that people are not applying for the jobs. People are applying for them. There is quite a high drop-out rate between someone coming for interview and starting the training process and actually becoming a driving examiner. A question for me is whether we are getting the right people.…”

“Not without increasing the pay of other people on the equivalent grade.”

“It feels very strange.”

“Lilian Greenwood, Minister for the future of roads.”

“Thank you, Chair, and Committee members. I am pleased that the Committee is doing this work. It is really helpful. Waiting times for car practical driving tests are far too long. I spend a lot of time replying to letters from Members of Parliament on behalf of their constituents, and they are right to be raising it. Th…”

“First of all, on behalf of our Department and the DVSA, yes, I am really sorry that learner drivers are facing that problem. It is not a situation that anyone would want to encounter. As we heard in the earlier session, this is something that is really important to people. For many people it can be the thing that allow…”

“Is there something more you want to add, Loveday, in terms of our advice to learner drivers?”

“The regions are split by four zones. Zone A is Scotland and north-east England, and the average waiting time is 17.1 weeks before you get to 10% of available slots. In Zone B, which is Wales and north-west England, it is 16.8. In Zone C, which is midlands and south-west England, it is 21.4. In Zone D, London and south-…”

“Emma, you are probably best placed to talk about that because it pre-dates me being in post.”

“It is clear to me that industrial relations have not always been where I would want them to be as a Minister responsible for holding DVSA to account. I want us to be able to recruit and retain driving examiners. They are the people who provide the tests. I really appreciate the hard work that they do, and we want them …”

“From my perspective, no one should be subject to abuse and assault at work, and we absolutely have to take action to address that. It was an interesting suggestion in the first session that potentially you could reduce it by not giving people their result at the end of their test verbally but by emailing them afterward…”

“One of the big changes is recruiting more driving examiners and absolutely ramping that up. There is always going to be an attrition rate in any role. You recruit people and some people leave. We need to make sure that the numbers that we are recruiting are significantly higher so that we see a net increase in the numb…”

“I thank the hon. Member for that clarification. However, he will appreciate that £600 million —even with a significant private sector contribution —is not an insignificant amount. I understand that delivering the scheme would require funding from central Government—I guess that is the purpose of his debate—but he will …”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this afternoon, Sir Mark. I congratulate the hon. Member for Witney (Charlie Maynard) on securing this debate on railway connectivity between Witney, Carterton, Eynsham and Oxford. It is clear that he has been a passionate advocate for restoring the rail link, and I tha…”

“This Government are empowering every community to take back control of their local bus services. Legislation on bus franchising requires local authorities to consider small and medium-sized enterprises as part of the franchising process. We are working with those interested in pursuing franchising to develop different …”

“My hon. Friend is a great champion for businesses in her constituency. We recognise the important role that smaller local bus operators can provide in delivering high-quality bus services; they know their customers and their communities. In addition to the requirement to consider SMEs as part of the franchising process…”

“It is incredibly important that decisions about local services are taken by those who are operating them. That is why not only have we provided substantial levels of funding—£1 billion announced in the Budget and the allocations set out on Monday—but we are providing local transport authorities with the powers they nee…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right to speak up for his constituents in Worcestershire, and about the difference that will be made by the funding that this Government are providing. It will ensure that his constituents have the connections that were cut off for too long under the previous Government.”

“Fourteen years of decline in local bus services under the previous Administration has hit communities across the country hard, especially in rural areas. This Government know that buses are a lifeline, and through our upcoming buses Bill, we will give all local leaders the powers that they need to design networks that …”