Speeches by Haigh.

“First and foremost, all decisions on taxation are obviously a matter for the Treasury. As I said earlier, given the current cost of living pressures, I think it was the right one. The vast majority of buses obviously rely on diesel at the moment, so it would have been a significant pressure on our bus services as well.…”

“Absolutely, Dijon-style transport.”

“I am pleased today to announce that the Office of Rail and Road is going to be conducting a review into that. There were more stories over the weekend, and I think there are more in the press this morning, about people who have made genuine mistakes with their tickets. Frankly, the fares and ticketing system is so gros…”

“For me, it is the planning process and some of the bureaucracy that we have to go through around consents. We are looking at that through the English devolution Bill, where I can give up some of my operational meddling over requests from local authorities to make things much more streamlined. As I have said previously,…”

“There are a number of opportunities to explore land value capture, both across Cabinet and at a local level. Our mayoral colleagues are really keen on exploring opportunities for it. We have been in discussions with Greater Manchester and Liverpool about opportunities there. There are future large-scale station infrast…”

“I want to see more people on the bus; railways running on time; 5 million potholes filled in; and everyone with the ability to create Dijon-style transport networks.”

“Either the Rail Minister or I will of course seek to meet representatives of West Midlands Trains to address its performance.”

“The day when everyone is praising me to the heavens on HS2 is one I look forward to. As my hon. Friend knows, brand-new Elizabeth line trains are on order; the Mayor of London was awarded a £485 million capital settlement in the Budget partly for those trains, which are being produced at Alstom in Derby. That will sign…”

“To confirm, we are working with the trade unions at the moment on productivity improvements. We are clear that some of the practices in place on the railways are not acceptable or fit for modern and efficient railways. In the pay deal, there was a side letter and agreement to work through training improvements, and we …”

“I am grateful that my hon. Friend is concerned about my work-life balance—so am I. We are staffing up the operator of last resort, as it is currently known—we will shortly change its name, as it will no longer be the operator of last resort—and the Department has significantly increased its capability. Under the previo…”

“The truth is that the previous Government deliberately provoked and prolonged that strike, the longest in the history of our railways. They budgeted for a pay settlement not far off where we landed, and that pay settlement has already paid for itself through increased revenue and improved services for passengers.”

“I absolutely agree. For too long, passengers have not been able to rely on the railways, and it has driven people off them. We see in the latest Transport Focus data that people are gradually starting to feel more confident in using the railways, but we have a long way to go to turn the tide on the last 14 years of fai…”

“I am grateful to the shadow Secretary of State for acknowledging that we provided the statement in advance, and I suggest that next time he reads it before he responds. He will have heard me say that public ownership is not a silver bullet, hence why we are setting out a substantial package of reforms. As I also mentio…”

“I completely empathise, and agree that the situation in Oxford is not good enough. The hon. Lady’s characterisation of Network Rail is partly why it is being abolished as we establish Great British Railways. I will of course meet her to discuss how we can improve the situation.”

“We will be setting out a long-term infrastructure strategy in spring next year, working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and colleagues across Government to ensure that we are unlocking the transport infrastructure that will be of benefit and allow us to meet our housing targets but also i…”

“With permission, Mr Speaker, I shall make a statement about rail performance. I welcome the shadow Secretary of State for Transport, the hon. Member for Orpington (Gareth Bacon), to his place. I am sure the Opposition will be interested in what we have to update the House about this afternoon. After 14 years of neglect…”

“The purpose of displaying performance data at stations is to give passengers certainty and transparency about the state of the railways, but Great British Railways will also be far more accountable than under the current system. At the moment, to hold the railways to account, there is a complicated mix of responsibilit…”

“I am grateful to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for allowing my hon. Friend to ask a question. I thought he would mention the ferries as well—he also texts me often about the ferries. I am grateful for his point. The new model will deliver not only better services for passengers but a far better settlement for taxpayers, w…”

“I am conscious of the disruption that will be experienced by passengers coming from the south-west. We are putting in place plans so that trains can come into Euston rather than Paddington, but it is undeniable that there will be substantial disruption during the Old Oak Common works. I or the Rail Minister will be hap…”

“Again, the current fragmentation of the network means that we have dozens of different types of rolling stock across the network, all procured by different operators at different times, which are not interoperable between operators and cannot be moved around the network precisely when there are issues such as those tha…”