Speeches by Aquarone.

“I suppose whether it is a railway network or a hotel, there is clearly sense in having a separation aspirationally between stuff that is maintenance and stuff that is big projects. What I am interested in knowing is this. There are three subsets: there are big projects; there is stuff that we are not allowed to do to m…”

“On those efficiencies, does that mean you are face to face with them and crunching down on price, or is it that you are hoping that they can spread their interest across a longer and more certain period and drive costs down? Where are the efficiencies coming from within the operating model of the supply chain?”

“Thanks for the various elucidating comments about the characteristics or features of the investment pipeline that we have been talking about—the timescales and what is in and out of scope at what stage. I want to come back to something you said, Noel, about the rolling stock question and track and train at GBR level. S…”

“Elaine, you spoke about the role of private finance in rolling stock. It has been a bit of a delicious lightning rod for private investment. Does anyone have specific thoughts about where private finance could add value, particularly to enhancements, for instance? Is there a greater role for it or a different role for …”

“Not quite belt and road, but clearly a role.”

“Before I ask my main question, I would like to get some clarification. You said that renewals are a big part of the control period process. There is maintenance, operations and various other things. Electrification is a little bit of that. When you go into the control period process as a whole, are you wrapping up all …”

“Okay, so it is only a part of the works that are going on in the railways.”

“I am sure we will delve more into what happens within it in the course of the morning. When it comes to the pipeline and one of the bigger themes of this inquiry, which is industry readiness and the view that industry has of what is coming down the tracks—an inadvertent pun—can you tell us a bit about how you liaise wi…”

“Is there anything else that could give the supply chain greater comfort or certainty?”

“My new clause 7 would ensure that, alongside the creation of a digital verification framework, there would be a right to use non-digital ID. Digital exclusion is a major challenge for many communities around the country, including in North Norfolk. Part of the answer is to improve digital education and bring those numb…”

“As a one-time producer of a British-made film, I am proud that North Norfolk has been the backdrop for many great films, including “Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa”. It is no wonder that President Trump would want to dissuade such a film from coming to America, as Steve Coogan himself has said that “the only person on Earth…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Butler. I refer Members to my entry in the register of interests as a serving Norfolk county councillor. Across all the areas that the DSG exists to support, Norfolk is struggling. Early years settings in North Norfolk are under mounting pressures from the national ins…”

“So you are satisfied with the current enforcement of poor reinstatement. You think that that is good for now.”

“It is resource. That is what they have told us. They tell us that they can wait a long time for companies to repair the defects themselves. When they end up in a situation where the utility company is not repairing the defect, they just do not have the resource to go in, do it, and reclaim the cost. That is a whole oth…”

“Yes, absolutely, and most people would accept that the inherent conflict there is satisfied by the sustenance of disruption in the interests of connectivity, but not poor quality of work. We are clearly talking about a broad spectrum of operators here. What I am particularly interested in is the regulatory floor that i…”

“It strikes me that telecoms operators in particular are not waiting for two years to see what the impact of legislation and regulation is on their business model. They are making quite assertive commercial decisions. Far be it from me to cynically suggest that any of them are gaming the system commercially in order to …”

“You have delicately summed up the issue about local authorities’ definition of communication, which ought to be about whether the message is being received, not whether it has been sent. On the point about relationships between utilities companies and local authorities, I would just ask you for some comment on this sli…”

“Thank you for clarifying.”

“The one thing that seems very ingenious about the new regime is that it inspects higher-performing operators less frequently. If you get it right, you are going to get lower fees in that regard.”

“Can I just come in very briefly on that? Just to be clear, though, we are talking about the costs if things do not go the way that they should. In an ideal world, there would be no cost to pass on to the consumer, because the threat of the cost in a competitive market would mean that they did get it right first time. L…”