Speeches by Kohler.

“I do agree. It is also about funding, which we must explore; but, yes, my party believes in localism—bringing things down to the local level is crucial. It needs to be stated from the off that the Bill does not go far enough. It falls short of delivering the comprehensive, transformative change that our bus network des…”

“I am happy to join my hon. Friend in congratulating the community on its success, and I agree that we need funding for these critical services. The placing of socially necessary services on a statutory footing is a beneficial change to the enhanced partnership model, as it ensures that local authorities assess the impa…”

“I do agree. We must do all we can to reduce bureaucracy. The Bill goes some way towards that, but it needs to do more. The Bill as it stands provides nothing specific for rural areas—no dedicated rural funding stream and no obligation to maintain coverage. It is clear that if we are to be ambitious and achieve the econ…”

“I agree. We must not focus only on passenger numbers. It is also about connectivity, and about making sure that rural areas thrive.”

“I will simply say that I agree with my hon. Friend. Hon. Members have spoken about rural areas suffering. From 2015 to 2023, Shropshire lost 63% of its bus miles, the largest decline in any part of England. No doubt that was one reason among many that Shropshire voters decided that they had had enough of the Conservati…”

“Notwithstanding the predictable nonsense from the shadow Leader of the Opposition, the right hon. Member for Newark (Robert Jenrick), it is critical that we focus on the needs of the victim. I welcome the Lord Chancellor making that point in her statement, but we need more than fine words. Can she please commit to givi…”

“Following the fire at North Hyde substation that closed Heathrow a few weeks ago, various lines on the London Underground were brought to a standstill by another power outage this week. It is clear that we need to do more to improve the resilience of our transport energy infrastructure, so will the Secretary of State c…”

“I thank the Minister for her answers and for all she did on this issue in her previous role as Chair of the Transport Committee. Regulations prohibiting pavement parking already exist in London, but that alone will not solve the problem. At All Saints’ primary school in south Wimbledon, for example, pavement parking is…”

“Empty hotels are a profit to you in the same way. It is accepted by you all that you get more cash out of the hotels than from dispersal accommodation, is it not?”

“You are still being paid for those hotels.”

“You were not envisaging it, but you have been amply compensated for it because it has increased your profits.”

“You are getting a full amount for the hotels no matter how many people are in them, because the hotels are done on the basis of how much they can accommodate. You are doing far better out of that deal than losing out of it, because you are putting them into dispersal accommodation because you have to otherwise you will…”

“Can I refer participants to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests? As the Committee are already aware, one of my donors, Safwan Adam, has a commercial interest in the Stay Belvedere Hotels, which has been a subcontractor to Clearsprings and is likely to be referred to in today’s proceedings. Can I pu…”

“That is a different question; that is not the question I asked.”

“Are these short-term or long-term contracts?”

“Even if they are empty.”

“How long do you have these contracts with the hotels? How long have you contracted with the Home Office to supply the hotels?”

“Talk me through why you say you are incentivised to get people into dispersal accommodation. What does Graham King think about the idea that you want to get everybody into dispersal accommodation when your profits are coming—not your percentage but your cash—from the contingency hotels?”

“Thank you for coming. In addition to funding from Government sources, what other additional funding possibilities exist and how are they going?”

“What length is that? Three years?”