Speeches by Aquarone.

“The Government are due soon—I am sure you are eagerly awaiting it—to publish their integrated national transport strategy. Could you each give a personal wish list of one or maybe two things that you hope to see in it to improve how spatial and transport planning interact?”

“Are there any other comments on measurement?”

“In my constituency there is a mother whose daughter lives with a disability and is reliant on a particular type of prescription food that has to be kept at ambient temperature. If the temperature of their house drops, the food perishes, and she cannot eat. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is not just the concern facin…”

“This inquiry has certainly covered that aspect of the problem as we see it. If the mechanisms do not necessarily deliver the answers at the moment, do the inputs and outputs get captured? Are the costs and benefits of schemes adequately captured within the current framework, at the very least?”

“At some level, that would have to track individual user behaviour to make those statistics meaningful, would it not? You are going to be double-counting or missing things out.”

“Do we have the right criteria for local authorities to measure whether things they do and developments they play a part in actually improve integrated transport?”

“We may still need to start our journeys in a private car, at least in some contexts. Lucy, do you have a view on this?”

“As a serving county councillor, I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Corpusty primary school is a valued small rural school in my constituency threatened with closure at the end of this academic year. It has educated generations of children in North Norfolk, and is a vital asset …”

“8. What steps she is taking to ensure greater financial transparency in the British overseas territories.”

“Perhaps I can help with that assessment. Transparency International uncovered at least 160 cases since 2022 of luxury yachts being transferred into or out of Russia that were registered to companies in British overseas territories. While the brave Ukrainians are defending their country from a brutal invasion, Putin’s c…”

“One of the key services that the Post Office supports in North Norfolk is our bank hubs. These are crucial to our market towns, which have lost high-street banks, and to those living in nearby villages. However, I am frustrated about the number of banks that fail to provide crucial services in these hubs. I note the Mi…”

“We assume that greater passenger usage is the egg. Is the chicken infrastructure or improved timetabling—or both? Is there a mummy and a daddy chicken?”

“You referred to a stick in the ground—lucky them if they have a stick in the ground for their bus stop. What you are saying is that you need the infrastructure as timetabling is not enough on its own. But surely, if you have infrastructure that either consolidates or grows passenger footfall at a particular pick-up poi…”

“Being cynical, it is problematic, isn’t it, when a local council decides to call something a transport hub but all it is really is a bus shelter in the middle of a car park? Going back to what you were saying about the infrastructure implications of having shared cycle and scooter facilities, do you think buses had tha…”

“You made an interesting point. It is not just the car. Even in Google Maps or Citymapper, or others that might be available, it is two buttons, isn’t it? You are either an eco-warrior or a petrol head. Walking, cycling and public transport integrations only happen at the exclusion of considering the car. That is a fund…”

“As with plastics, cars are quite useful, so banning them seems like a fairly extreme approach. I am glad we have been talking about the role of the private car, because it is essential in rural areas; we are never going to get a bus to every corner of every village at a frequency that is going to work for people. We ha…”

“Can I gently challenge you on the remit point? Surely there is a technology opportunity for your members in putting live real-time information in car dashboard displays that shows the departure point and time of the nearest public transport, for instance, just to pick a random idea out of thin air. Is there not an oppo…”

“I am talking about public data that is currently available. I do not think any suppliers into car manufacturing systems are using bus or train data, for example, to inform car drivers with real-time information that could link into their journey.”

“I shall speak briefly, first, to signify that the Liberal Democrats support the instrument. Secondly, I note that the increase widens the availability of funding options for Cromer lighthouse in my constituency, which has been keeping seafarers off the North Norfolk coast safe for nearly 200 years. Although it is no lo…”

“On a point of order, Sir Desmond. I want to draw Members’ attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as a serving county councillor.”