Speeches by Aquarone.

“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…”

“Those facts are irrefutable. I will come on to some of the points that the hon. Member makes about the challenges of policing an area like North Norfolk, due to the unique characteristics of our shared county. We are lucky to have a lower than average rate of crime, but that does not mean that we should have our provis…”

“Before I delve into the issues facing policing in Norfolk, I have to discuss some of the simply incredible ways that funding allocations are decided in the police grant report that we are debating. This is just another example of government functioning in a way that is rapidly becoming unfit for purpose and not changin…”

“Do we need to look at all transport from a completely different side of the picture? We inherently seem to start with modes, and at the end of it, most of the activity and investment is within Departments, teams and modes. Do we not need to start the whole thing by looking at it from the perspective of people and place…”

“That is a great analogy. Damien, any thoughts from you?”

“I have carefully read the Opposition motion on this hugely important issue, and I am rather concerned that transport is not mentioned once. Transport is a massive barrier to employment and training for young people in North Norfolk, but the Conservatives do not seem to realise that it is an issue. Does my hon. Friend a…”

“If you put rail to one side to build a hub with parking, particularly in a rural area, it is relatively cheap. No one ever does it, yet it would serve far more people than a bus shelter, because people could travel from other places to the hub in order to plug into the bus network. Is there a missing object here in pla…”

“You have to have the stuff, you have to have the information, you have to have the know-how and the understanding. Does anyone want to build on that, violently disagree or elaborate?”

“One step is making sure someone has the job of being able to see the whole thing and influence the picture.”

“Forgive me for sounding reductive, but transport is about getting people from where they are to where they want to be. If you assume that to be a given, then integrated transport networks are just the ways they can use different types of transport to achieve the same ends. We are going to touch on various barriers, I a…”

“I need to set the scene here. I recently got a bus. I went to my nearest official bus stop, which is unmarked, unpaved and at the side of a road that, luckily, has just been reduced to 30 miles per hour. If I were a regular user of that bus, I would probably pick up and get involved in some sort of consultation but, as…”

“Very briefly, train stations are expensive, but bus hubs with some parking are comparatively cheap. Do we need a special new provision in land use and planning to be able to put more than just a bus stop into new developments? I say that openly without trying to stare anyone down in particular.”

“We have some great examples of that in my rural community; they take three or four years to permeate. The only way people find out eventually is that they learn it actually works, but it is not thanks to any integration measure. Damien, anything to add to that?”

“I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as a Norfolk county councillor. I congratulate the hon. Member for Mid Leicestershire (Mr Bedford) on securing the debate. Might I say how welcome it is that, unlike the Norfolk Conservatives, he is a Conservative who thinks that local governme…”

“As I said, I remain steadfast in the view that failing Conservative administrations have been propped up by the Government and allowed to do this across the country. It is simply not right—they should be facing the voters in their areas and held accountable for their years of failure. Although referendums are one of th…”

“Not only do I cynically agree with my hon. Friend, but I think that is precisely why it is so important to have local elections, because of not just the time that will have elapsed but the very important the decisions that authorities will make as part of the local government reorganisation that, as she pointed out, ha…”

“Oh—I haven’t.”

“No, that is fine. Let us imagine that the local job is more about enforcement and less about licensing. The enforcement authority could then potentially say, “Right, we’re actually going to put a red zone around this area here,” which means no private hire vehicles are allowed there without a pre-booked job at all. You…”

“Indeed, yes.”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Newbury (Mr Dillon) on securing this debate and his long-running championship of the issue. He is a true champion of rider safety; the riding community could hope for no better advocate in this place. Our transition to…”