Speeches by Mayer.

“You were talking about focus groups and about how you are the media for your organisation. I was wondering about the name of the organisation, Active Travel England. Do you get the impression that people out there have the faintest idea what active travel is? What do you do to try to explain what it is? Would it be bet…”

“Sticking with the devolution theme, generically, we would all be interested in what impact you think the additional devolution is going to have potentially on cycling and walking. You alluded to the fact that highways and local transport powers are split when there is an MCA at the moment, with them residing still in l…”

“With this changed landscape, presumably you are working through how you as an organisation are going to have to work differently. Have you thought about whether you might need any additional resources and powers? Maybe you need fewer; I don’t know. What is your thinking on that at the moment?”

“South Side Studios in Leighton Buzzard repurposes vacant spaces on the high street, which brings people to the high street. We also have the Peppercorn team, who want a cultural and heritage centre, which would bring people into the town centre. Does my hon. Friend agree that cultural industries can bring growth to not…”

“Unsurprisingly, we have been talking about railways and a lot of railway stakeholders. What stakeholders from other forms of transport are you engaging with at the moment, particularly buses? Rail replacement services, one day, will be a big issue; and ticketing is an issue of real concern to passengers who want to go …”

“Laura, do you have a role in the development of the Department’s wider rail strategy?”

“Following on from that, in terms of the structure of GBR, are you suggesting, therefore, that it would be structured around MCAs that exist at the moment and further bits of devolution? At the moment, if you look at a Network Rail region, it is very different. There are triangles that go into London, whereas Mayors hav…”

“In light of this Government’s key interest in regional devolution, are there plans to regionalise the structure of GBR. If so, how will that work?”

“You spoke before, and in your report, about CRSTS money that has gone to MCAs. You have also been talking a lot today about the need for clear leadership, proper delegation, accountability and perhaps removing things from everyday politics. Do you see any contradiction? Obviously, a pot of money like CRSTS is going to …”

“Sir John, you have spoken quite a bit about the opportunities with devolving more budgets and powers to regional and local authorities when it comes to transport infrastructure. I wonder if you might expand on some of the opportunities, but also perhaps highlight some of the risks of taking that approach. Sir John Armi…”

“One effect of creating more strategic authorities appears to be the splitting of transport and highways powers in more areas. Will the Minister provide assurances that this will not slow down the delivery of capital projects that are necessary to achieve economic growth?”

“To what extent is it your assessment that for a lot of these projects the budget is set incorrectly at the outset, and they cost what they were going to cost? To what extent is money being wasted on projects because of poor management or changing your mind midway through?”

“It has, yes, but we will go on to that anyway. What is the National Infrastructure Commission assessment of the DFT’s ability to control costs on big infrastructure projects? Sir John Armitt: You come back to the point that Julia was just making at the end. The most important person in any project is the client. It is …”

“My area has excellent regional news coverage, including BBC Three Counties Radio and “Look East”. However, back in 2022, a decision was taken that has meant that my regional politics programme is now recorded more than 100 miles away from my constituency. Given that all news is local, would my hon. Friend care to comme…”

“Finally on East West Rail, is the East West Rail economic growth board still a thing?”

“Sticking with East West Rail, stage 1 is starting very soon—Oxford to Bletchley and Milton Keynes. Passengers are keen to know what the trains will look like. Will they be branded as East West Rail, or are they going to look like they belong to various train operating companies, when we have chosen them? Is that a mini…”

“Euston station, Minister, is still a bit of a mess. What is your latest assessment of the situation there?”

“East West Rail recently set out a preference for discontinuous electrification. What do you think of discontinuous electrification as opposed to full electrification? Do you see that as an interim or a long-term solution?”

“You don’t think that it might be a missed opportunity, because if we don’t brand them slightly differently it will feel rather like the current trains that are there at the moment, as opposed to the ambition to get them to Bedford and on to Cambridge.”

“I want to draw attention to another petition handed into Downing Street recently, which had 1.1 million signatures. Does my hon. Friend agree that it would be helpful to encourage manufacturers to design and produce quieter fireworks?”