Speeches by Turner.

“Thank you very much. I entirely take the point about mixed-use areas of the network. When I think about the west midlands, I do not think anyone would ever want to take on the local management of parts of the west coast main line, for example. In the past, under the old section 20 agreements, great things were accompli…”

“Merry Christmas to you, Mr Speaker, and all the staff of the House. There is no such thing as cruelty-free fur, as the last Labour Government recognised when they banned the fur farming industry in the UK. That case has been made powerfully by my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West and Islwyn (Ruth Jones) and organ…”

“Do you wish to come in, Mr Reeve?”

“Merry Christmas to you, Mr Twigg, and all the House staff. I thank my hon. Friend for securing this debate on a topic that is close to my heart, and close to the hearts of many of my constituents. My union, the GMB, has done a lot of work on this issue through the “Thinking Differently at Work” campaign. Does my hon. F…”

“Has any work been done to quantify the value-for-money benefits, or potential benefits?”

“Do you anticipate revisiting the alliance agreement that was struck last year between ScotRail and Network Rail now that you know what is in the Bill?”

“Of course, Network Rail owns the infrastructure. In my area, I have seen good collaboration, but the interests of different parties might not always point in the same direction. Do you see tensions between local aspirations and Network Rail’s operation of the infrastructure at the moment, and do you think there are les…”

“One problem experienced by neurodivergent workers is that, when reasonable adjustments are put in place, the manager changes and they have to start again. The TUC did some very good work on a reasonable adjustments passport, as did the civil service unions. I encourage all colleagues to look at that work to see if it c…”

“What about post the Bill?”

“I am interested that you both used the word “culture”. We heard from our previous witness, Mr McDonald, that you cannot codify collaboration. In respect of culture, and hopefully moving from a long period where the central Department—in addition to Network Rail— has set service specification often at a very micro level…”

“Has any work been done to quantify the value-for-money benefits, or potential benefits?”

“Good morning. There is already experience in Scotland of integration between track and train. We don’t know, but I imagine and hope, given that Alex Hynes is part of the GBR transition team, that some of those lessons will be learned by the Department for Transport here. From your experience of that integration and the…”

“Funding streams for passenger services and for infrastructure in Scotland are expected to remain separate. Do you think there may be a tension there? Will that impose a limitation on the extent to which track and train can be integrated?”

“Do you anticipate revisiting the alliance agreement that was struck last year between ScotRail and Network Rail now that you know what is in the Bill?”

“Good morning. There is already experience in Scotland of integration between track and train. We don’t know, but I imagine and hope, given that Alex Hynes is part of the GBR transition team, that some of those lessons will be learned by the Department for Transport here. From your experience of that integration and the…”

“Follow up in writing—that’s absolutely fine.”

“Just to be really clear, in respect of anything that might be beyond the Bill, such as guidance or plans for how this will operate in practice, have you heard from the DFT at this point as to whether they see a role for local transport authorities within that ORR and central Department process?”

“Mr Drury-Rose, as you touched on, the West Midlands already has a collaboration agreement with central Government. As we go into the transition period, I am interested in the amendment that you referred to. What is changing in the collaboration agreement, and what lessons can usefully be applied from the West Midlands …”

“Mr Ross, I am curious about how the concessionary model will interact with GBR. There was a time in the 1990s when it looked like British Rail might have survived, but in a form where it bid alongside private operators for franchises. On the future of the Merseyrail concession, the next time it comes to market, do you …”

“Yes, and we will come on to the formal powers and duties in the Bill, inasmuch as they relate to combined authorities and transport authorities, but are you confident that the positive benefits of that partnership approach in the West Midlands will be preserved as we go through this transitionary period in which public…”