Speeches by Turner.

“Okay. If this Committee was to examine one example in more detail, would you recommend the German approach?”

“I have a question for Christoph. Do other nations that you operate in produce an overall report or register of the status of their rolling stock assets? Do such documents help potential investors to enter that particular market?”

“Thank you.”

“Changing topic a little, the UK’s rolling stock procurement system may be unusual compared with some of the other countries in which you operate. We are shifting towards a model which may look more similar to most European countries with one dominant public sector operator and customer. It is quite an open question, bu…”

“I am sorry to interrupt. Would you mind putting a rough figure on how long it takes to get someone to that point?”

“I have a final question on skills. Starting perhaps with Sambit—colleagues might want to come in on this issue as well—when you are taking on a starter, typically how long does it take to train them up to the level required, and what are the associated costs for your businesses if you do have to let people go because o…”

“You have spoken about existing constraints already. We all remember acutely the job losses in Derby a little over a decade ago. At what point would you face a similar point of crisis if new orders do not start to come in?”

“I remember a civil servant once referring to the UK as “Treasure Island” because of the proliferation of individual procurement requirements rather than having standardisation. As a final follow-up from me, you said that the UK perhaps has been paying over the odds because of that degree of individual requirements. Cou…”

“I was delighted to hear the official commitment today to backing the midlands rail hub. I thank the Chancellor and the Transport Secretary for listening to the, at times, persistent representations in support of this essential project. We inherited a set of engineering plans with no money behind them. Now there is a ch…”

“We have heard arguments today, as we did in Committee, that this measured Bill is some mysterious route back into the EU. Does the Minister agree that, far from discovering a Trojan horse, the Opposition are trying to flog a dead one and that their arguments have been made up on the hoof?”

“Transport in the midlands has been historically underfunded, and today’s announcement is a welcome turn of the tide. Many Birmingham City fans in my constituency will also strongly welcome the metro extension, and this feels like a good opportunity to congratulate the Blues on their record-setting, promotion-winning se…”

“I will not; I am sorry. I do not wish to deny another Member time to speak. A few days ago, under the version of the nBus scheme agreed by the previous Conservative mayor, Andy Street, operators exercised their legal right to hike seasonal fares, which they did by 8.6%. Low-paid bus commuters deserve better, and that i…”

“It is highly unusual for major legislation on buses to be introduced so early in the life of a Government; in fact, I think it may be unprecedented. Buses are by far the most used means of public transport, but they have traditionally received less political attention than other modes, and Ministers deserve great credi…”

“Thank you, Mr Speaker. There has clearly been some learning loss among the Conservatives, because they were late in submitting evidence for seven years in a row, causing chaos in schools’ budgets; they announced the outcome of the School Teachers Review Body process through written statements to this House; and, shamef…”

“Does my hon. Friend accept that there may be a weakness in new schedule 1, in as far as it protects a person from actions taken by their employer? For example, it would not necessarily protect an agency worker who is contracted to perform a service, but the original medical body decides not to re-engage that person’s s…”

“In Birmingham, people are fed up, as they are in other parts of the country, of potholes and drains that go uncleared, after years of underfunding and short-term budgets, but unlike in other parts of the country, those services are provided under a historical private finance initiative contract. Will the Minister updat…”

“11. What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the condition of local roads.”

“In separate cases, two families in my constituency lost loved ones when they were murdered by offenders who were out on remand but should never have been. Will the Minister meet me and, if they wish, both families, so that they can have some assurance that lessons have been learned from these cases, and so that other f…”

“In that kind of scenario, the current law potentially can be worked around. An authority can acquire, say, a failed private operator for a nominal price, and that would not be barred by the existing legislation. There is obviously a symbolic change with the new legislation, but it sounds like the main benefit of the le…”

“I have another question, on licences, and I draw attention here to donations that my constituency party has had from the GMB trade union, because in some areas it represents bus drivers. We have been told in evidence that there are significant issues with driver recruitment across the community transport sector. What s…”