Speeches by Lightwood.

“I would agree in terms of the parallel. Most people would admit that having one train operating company rather than 17, and having the ability for more areas to franchise, makes integration a much easier prospect.”

“I accept what they are saying there, but every single area comes with different challenges—different social, economic and geographical challenges and different services that they have inherited. Therefore, they come at this in a slightly different way, at different speeds. That is why we try to measure that success thr…”

“Traditionally, we have planned and delivered transport in silos. That means that journeys are often a lot more complicated than they really need to be for people. Better Connected is all about bringing the system together so that it works as one, with central Government, our local authorities and transport operators al…”

“That will be a commercial decision for First Bus about whether to invest in those services. The option remains for local leaders to consider whether they want to pursue franchising and take greater control over that issue. They could also lift the ban on establishing new municipal bus companies. There are options there…”

“This is a framework—it is a framework to build on—and we will continue engaging across the sector to learn the lessons and make sure that we are achieving it; if we are not, we will change tack. We will use the metrics to learn and develop. But it has only just been published, so we need some time for it to settle in—”

“It is important to say that since publishing the strategy we have continued to engage; it was not a publish and leave. There are 40 clear, concrete deliverables in there. Then there are the local outcome frameworks, which will outline how that is being delivered in the local area.”

“Good morning. My name is Simon Lightwood. I am the Minister for Roads and Buses.”

“It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms McVey. I congratulate the hon. Member for West Dorset (Edward Morello) on securing this important debate. He has been a committed champion of bus services and transport needs in his constituency, and I thank him for the constructive tone with which he has approached t…”

“Sitting suspended.”

“”

“Yes, of course. We are all in a common endeavour there.”

“In terms of data, we are looking at more and more open data and pulling it together in a cohesive hub. You will see already that we have worked in partnership with Google, so that you can see the real-time location of 80% of the buses outside London. That gives real confidence across the network for people to be able t…”

“There is some transformative change set out in our vision and principles, and this will really provide those long-term benefits for people. We have those 40 key policy commitments that I touched on, and they will deliver really tangible benefits across the country. One of the areas where people will see a real differen…”

“The strategy gives us a clear vision for a more integrated transport system that puts people first. It is a common framework, if you like. We are embedding those principles across the transport network and, as I said, giving local leaders the powers, the funding and the tools they need in order to deliver for their loc…”

“It is important to say that if we are not seeing the progress we want to see when we are doing these updates, it gives us an opportunity to look at what other things we can do or to change tack in order to achieve outcomes. We have to learn as we go, obviously.”

“It is really important that this document, “Better Connected”, is not just a statement of ambition. I obviously want to make sure that it is measurable and that we can be held to account on it. That is why we have set really clear outcomes across the eight priority areas we have touched on, to help us track whether tra…”

“I would anticipate that the vast majority of those 40 commitments will happen within this Parliament, and we will commit to continuing to keep you updated on that. I am sure we can give you periodic updates, as well as an update near the end. I would really expect to be able to demonstrate against most of the headline …”

“Yes, it has to be.”

“Well, I hope so. As I said, we have continued to engage with organisations since its publication. What we do not want to do is to constantly republish a long-term strategy. Having some stability is really important, as is having those measurables in there to demonstrate we are making progress. The response across the t…”

“Ultimately, as the system currently stands, they are private companies and can choose to take part or not. Because of the Bus Services Act, local areas have the power to decide to bring in franchising if they want to take greater control, or further improvements in terms of enhanced partnerships and local authority-ope…”