Speeches by Alexander.

“Part of the interim settlement of £4.8 billion that we gave to National Highways this year is set aside to be focused on further investments to improve safety. We have been clear with National Highways that it must deliver a series of safety improvements. It has set that out in its safety action plan for 2025‑26. Wheth…”

“I would have some sympathy for that. When I was deputy mayor of London for transport I published London’s first vision zero strategy. Part of that was focused on a safe systems approach where we looked at not only how to drive safer behaviours among all different types of road users but how to design and deliver safer …”

“Yes, we are looking at that.”

“We are not currently considering a graduated driving licence that would restrict new drivers from driving with additional passengers in the car, but, more broadly, your question about things like night driving, rural collisions and the experience of rural driving is part of the work under way at the moment to consider …”

“A lot of work is happening at the moment. We have published the maritime decarbonisation strategy, and we have introduced the Seafarers Wages Act and those improvements are coming through, as well as the Employment Rights Bill about the experience of people working at sea. We think those are the right actions to be tak…”

“I am very aware of the issue as well. One of the newly elected MPs, Richard Quigley, has raised it with me on a number of occasions. I have already met him. The maritime Minister, Mike Kane, is hosting a roundtable this week to discuss this very issue with the various ferry operators and local elected representatives. …”

“DESNZ announced last week the queue for grid capacity and the ability to unlock some priority projects and remove dormant projects in that queue. I am hopeful that that will have an impact on grid connections to ports. I need to check whether it was an issue on the agenda for the meeting this week. I will come back to …”

“I hope that trains turn up on time and that the experience of people stood on a platform waiting for a train that never arrives will be a thing of the past. I hope that buses in our local communities will be enjoying a renaissance and that we are able to run bus services that are suitable for the diversity of different…”

“Officials in my Department are looking at this issue very closely. I would be interested in learning more from the hon. Member about the visit she made to the business in her constituency.”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered road maintenance. For too long, Britain has been plagued by potholes. Too many people in too many parts of the country have had their everyday journeys turned into frustrating obstacle courses by our pockmarked roads. It is worse than that, however, because cratered roads c…”

“It is right that we retain the threat of fines, but I gently point out to the right hon. Gentleman that we do not believe that any manufacturers will have to pay fines in the first year of the operation of the ZEV mandate. The trading window for credits is yet to close—it will close later this year—but our initial anal…”

“I congratulate my hon. Friend on fulfilling his promise to his constituent. We are working closely with local authorities through the local electric vehicle infrastructure—LEVI—scheme to roll out charging infrastructure, and we have issued the guidance that I mentioned earlier to local authorities on improving cross-pa…”

“The automotive transformation fund that I mentioned earlier is a sizeable investment that the Government committed to at the last Budget. I look forward to hearing my hon. Friend’s ideas about how it might best be utilised.”

“I am aware that the right hon. Gentleman met with my hon. Friend, the Minister for Future of Roads, and I understand that as a follow-up to that meeting, National Highways is looking into the very issue that he describes.”

“We have a £2 billion automotive transformation fund, and we are investing hundreds of millions of pounds in other forms of support. I work closely with the Welsh Government on these issues. We will leave no stone unturned in our attempts to protect the car manufacturing industry and preserve high-skilled jobs in commun…”

“My hon. Friend is entirely right. We are backing British business and supporting our domestic car manufacturing industry. I am pleased to hear that the companies based in his constituency will be welcoming the announcement.”

“We regularly talk to manufacturers and other organisations that are interested in the move to connected and autonomous vehicles, and we are open to exploring how that might work in the UK. We need to do it in a safe way, but I am interested in how we might expedite trials in the UK. That is a subject that we are workin…”

“We increased the installation of EV charging infrastructure in rural areas by 45% in the last year. I hope that my hon. Friend and his constituents will start to see the fruits of that soon.”

“I assure the hon. Lady that an analysis of environmental impacts has been done, and that relates to both carbon emissions and air pollution.”

“The hon. Gentleman raises a fair point about the availability of charge point infrastructure in all places in the UK. It is a matter I look forward to discussing with my counterparts in Northern Ireland when I next have the opportunity to meet them.”