Speeches by Aquarone.

“I appreciate, Christoph, you are looking at this more from a risk perspective than an asset ownership perspective. Do you have any other comments on that?”

“There is actual market incentive to be there. That is interesting.”

“Thanks. German trains used all to look kind of the same, and so did French trains. Britain’s railway system is famously so complicated and varied that it becomes a destination in its own right. Is there a benefit, aside from the passenger benefit, to greater standardisation, simplification and unification of train desi…”

“What do you believe is the Government’s current position on producing this forecast?”

“Okay. Just briefly before we go on, Malcolm, you mentioned in your written evidence the possibility of a national passenger rail fleet forecast, I believe.”

“Concerning new statistics show that delays in cancer treatment in North Norfolk are greater than the national average. Much of this relates to the struggles we face specifically as an older rural constituency. I was elected on a promise to get our NHS back and fighting fit after the criminal damage inflicted on it by t…”

“I am happy to speak today in support of amendment 151, which was tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton and Wellington (Gideon Amos). Our planning system needs reform, but the approach the Government are taking in the Bill is sadly all wrong and desperately needs to be amended. Amendment 151 would compel the S…”

“My hon. Friend is making an excellent case. In North Norfolk, people want house building that genuinely meets local need and helps address the housing crisis, which is affecting everyone in my constituency. On affordability, does he agree that we need to empower local authorities to define what “affordable” means in th…”

“Parishioners in the Matlaske benefice have raised over £3,000 to support the people of Gaza. They were visited last year by a priest from Bethlehem, who shared how this conflict is impacting people there. They hope for the return of the hostages, and for peace for the Palestinian people. I will not ask the Minister to …”

“Thank you for calling me to speak, Ms Jardine. I congratulate the hon. Member for Isle of Wight East (Joe Robertson) on securing this debate. A young lady called Imogen wrote to me recently to tell me about her concerns over swimming safety. She notes that Norfolk has many beautiful rivers, but she worries about people…”

“Farmers in North Norfolk are facing a litany of struggles. They feel let down by the previous Government for selling them down the river with dodgy trade deals and years of cuts to the farming budget. They feel let down by the current Government’s continued pursuit of the damaging family farm tax. Farmers’ major strugg…”

“I certainly agree. Much as I will slag off Norfolk county council at times, at least it has someone driving a bus, in contrast to her council. The problem is how the issue is being treated by those in power. It is not the fault of bus operators; I have been grateful for the time and engagement that they have provided m…”

“The hon. Gentleman has helped me make progress because the issue is all about attitude and mindset. In Norfolk, a former leader even eagerly told the council that Norfolk is a car county. If only the council had realised earlier that its pipe dream of a quarter of a billion pound link road through a site of special sci…”

“I draw Members’ attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I have campaigned politically in North Norfolk for nearly a decade; all the while, people have been sharing with me their frustrations with our local public transport network. Since the age of 11, I have been watching different opera…”

“I am grateful to the hon. Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn) for securing this debate—the application for which I was pleased to support. I would like to tell the House about Philip, who wrote to me, in his own words, in “desperation”. He is a proud armed forces veteran and was recovering from a rec…”

“The connectivity challenge is a huge issue in rural areas, especially for businesses. I recently visited a local tourism business in Bacton that relies on multiple copper landlines—a very vulnerable set-up, given the upcoming switch-off of the public switched telephone network. That business has had outages and enginee…”

“May I ask whether Stephen has any comments?”

“There are improvements, but it is not going to take cars off drives in rural areas.”

“Given what we have heard so far about the role of Government policy, and the autonomy and ambition that you are seeking to pass on to LTAs and local leadership, I am interested in the bit that is in the middle, which is the Department itself. What sort of role, Stephen, do you see the Department’s team that you look af…”

“Thank you.”