Speeches by Greenwood.

“We want it to be easy and safe.”

“There are some really big issues around it. There are issues around the siting of EV charge points full stop because anything that adds to what is on the pavement can, as we know, make it more difficult for disabled people to get out. There are issues around the accessibility of public charge points. There is a standar…”

“Yes, especially if there is less incentive to build a long-term relationship between the highways authority’s street works team and the utility companies they are dealing with. If I think about what has been described, you can imagine that happening once, but you would hope that was not going to happen repeatedly. You …”

“There have not traditionally been escalating fines, but we could consider that for offences or repeat offenders. As I say, the focus is on incentivising and improving behaviour, but, absolutely, if that is what we need in order to focus minds, that is something that we would be willing to look at.”

“There has been an increase in the number of immediate urgent repairs. Inevitably, one can understand this suggestion that there is abuse of the system, but we have not been able to verify whether there is abuse. When the DfT has spoken to companies, they are not admitting that there is a tendency to do that.”

“I am delighted to recognise that fantastic work. Giving children the opportunity to walk, wheel or cycle to school is fundamental to their development and, as many people have said, builds good habits from an early age. When a quarter of children leaving primary school are overweight and 40% of primary school children …”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this afternoon, Mrs Hobhouse. I congratulate the hon. Member for Didcot and Wantage (Olly Glover) on securing this debate and on his compelling arguments for more active travel and for improving road safety. We heard from 23 hon. Members—probably more, if we include the…”

“My hon. Friend highlights the fantastic work that many local authorities are doing, and I welcome the evidence that she shared. Since Active Travel England was created, we have seen a fivefold improvement in schemes meeting minimum quality standards, ensuring that what is being built is of a higher quality, enhancing s…”

“I will not, because I am very conscious of the time. If we want to encourage modal shift and improve health through transport, we absolutely must improve safety on the roads. People will only change their travel behaviour if they feel that it is safe for them and their families. As has been mentioned repeatedly, too ma…”

“My hon. Friend makes an important point, and people can see for themselves which party is on the side of motorists and road users. We have provided an extra £500 million in the current financial year, on top of the previous Government’s funding baseline and the Network North money for 2024-25. It is a huge increase. Fo…”

“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. As the Secretary of State said earlier, this Government inherited crumbling roads with local highway authorities struggling to stay on top of an ever-increasing backlog of maintenance. Of course, there are many reasons for that, including the weather and the increasing volume and weight…”

“This Government believe in devolution. It is for local councils, elected by local people, to decide their own priorities. I know we have spent a lot of time talking about potholes this evening, and despite all the attention they get and the headlines they generate, potholes are only a small part of what local highway a…”

“It is clear that local roads maintenance is an issue that affects every one of us, and that our constituents care about deeply. I am grateful to all hon. Members who have spoken up on behalf of their constituents. I assure them that the Government get it and are determined to do something about it. There were too many …”

“Not right now, as the hon. Gentleman has already had an opportunity to speak on this issue.”

“The right hon. Member is absolutely right to raise concerns that although charge point availability is increasing rapidly, there are regional disparities and differences between urban and rural areas. The local EV infrastructure fund is designed purposely to tackle some of that regional disparity. As I say, charge poin…”

“I was pleased to find myself in Norfolk announcing huge amounts of investment in the region’s roads. There are a large number of schemes awaiting the outcome of the spending review, but I would be happy to write to the hon. Gentleman about the specific scheme that he raises.”

“I am afraid that the hon. Gentleman’s local council has suffered the same fate as councils across the country as a result of the under-investment in local roads maintenance under the previous Government, but they will now have benefited from their share of our £500 million uplift for the year ahead, and they are absolu…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise concerns. Obviously, enforcement of the rules on using cycles and e-cycles is a matter for the police, but I would be very happy to meet her to discuss the issue.”

“As a departmental team, we have regular meetings with our colleagues across the devolved Governments, including on issues of how to extend EV charging, and I would be very happy to pick that up with the hon. Gentleman further.”

“I know that the global challenges facing the automotive industry have been significant over the past couple of months. During the ZEV mandate consultation, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I met 95% of the vehicle manufacturers. We are currently considering carefully the representations that they and oth…”