Speeches by Lightwood.

“My hon. Friend is a fierce advocate for good public transport in his constituency and I absolutely agree with the sentiment of what he said.”

“Unfortunately, up to 30% of drivers who take the D1 test fail. When we are considering changes, it is important that safety is at the forefront of our thinking.”

“It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Dr Murrison. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Leigh and Atherton (Jo Platt) on raising the important topic of connectivity in the north-west—an area that was a cradle to so many transport innovations and is home to beautiful countryside and some of our greatest citi…”

“I will not give way, because I have a lot of points to make, but I am happy to have a conversation with Members afterwards. In the Greater Manchester area, about 50% of stations already have step-free access, approximately double the national average. We remain committed to improving the accessibility of the railways a…”

“I will not give way. We acknowledge that rates of step-free access remain low across Great Britain, which is why the Access for All programme is working to address that. In the Greater Manchester area—”

“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow East (John Grady) for bringing this short but crucial Bill before the House. I commend him for delivering such a brilliant and informative speech and for managing to cling on for as long as he did; some would call him the “Rocket Man” of Parliament. I thank all other Member…”

“This Government are determined to put passengers at the very heart of our railway, so I am sure that every effort will be made to ensure that that is indeed the case. As well as delivering a modern, welcoming experience for customers, the station will set the standard for future buildings, being the first of the new an…”

“I congratulate the right hon. Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois) on securing this debate and providing the opportunity to discuss the rebuilding of Wickford station. I also thank all hon. and right hon. Members for their contributions today. I recognise the right hon. Member’s concern and frustration at the…”

“My hon. Friend makes an important point. We must ensure that passengers are at the core of what we deliver, but the knock-on effect on businesses is also important. GBR will also focus on freight: how do we get some of the cargo transported by our roads on to our trains? My hon. Friend the Member for Hitchin (Alistair …”

“We are rewiring Britain’s railways to end decades of poor service, waste and timetable chaos. A unified, simplified railway will put passengers first, raise living standards and boost growth, as part of our plan for change. We will hear more about that when the railways Bill comes before Parliament. Disruption due to t…”

“It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Sir Christopher. I congratulate the hon. Member for Mid Bedfordshire (Blake Stephenson) on securing the debate and providing this opportunity to discuss the performance of Thameslink services, and I thank the hon. Members who interjected to make points, which I will try to addr…”

“Ministers and officials are in regular contact with Northern Rail. We recognise that its performance is totally unacceptable, and with the challenges that Northern Rail faces, it will take time to become a stable and reliable service. I would be absolutely delighted to work with my hon. Friend.”

“The accessibility of all modes of transport is extremely important to this Government. I would be delighted to meet my hon. Friend to discuss this matter further.”

“I agree that investment in our transport infrastructure across the country is essential to our growth mission. I am aware of the investment zone bid involving Glasgow airport, and the aviation Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East (Mike Kane), would be delighted to visit in the near future.”

“I will certainly meet the hon. Gentleman to discuss this matter.”

“As I have said before, growth is the priority mission of this Government, and we are committed to empowering local leaders. A regional transport strategy, and a strategic investment plan for the south-west, has been developed by the sub-national transport body Peninsula Transport.”

“The Government already invest £700 million in the national concessionary travel scheme in order to fund those bus passes, and at the last Budget we announced over £1 billion of funding to support buses. We changed the formula for BSIP—bus service improvement plans—away from the competitive “Hunger Games” style contests…”

“The hon. Member will be pleased to know that the bus services Bill includes the socially necessary local services measure. Under the new measure, local transport authorities operating under an enhanced partnership will need to identify local services which they consider socially necessary and put in place requirements …”

“The Government are determined to empower local leaders to make decisions about their local bus services. They can choose from a variety of options in that toolkit, including franchising, which is now open to all local transport authorities. We are lifting the ban on municipal bus companies and improving enhanced partne…”

“My hon. Friend is my constituency neighbour and I understand the challenges her constituents face. We know that local bus services are not currently delivering for people around the country. We are committed to changing that, and our bus services Bill will give local leaders the tools they need to deliver reliable bus …”