Speeches by Greenwood.

“My hon. Friend has very effectively put the views of his constituents on the record. Finally, I hope my hon. Friend the Member for Dartford is reassured that my Department fully appreciates the importance of the proposal to his constituency and that it is being thoroughly considered. I thank him for securing an opportu…”

“Thank you, Mr Efford. It is always a pleasure to see you in the chair. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Dartford (Jim Dickson) on securing this debate on an issue which I am well aware is of great importance and interest to him and his constituents. It is great to see quite a number of those constituents he…”

“It is important that the views of my hon. Friend’s constituents are considered alongside those of all people in any decision about a scheme of this sort.”

“I will, very briefly.”

“I certainly agree that we have to get this right, and that is the purpose of the process, which I know is a frustratingly long one.”

“It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship again, Mr Efford, and so soon as well. I am delighted to respond to this important debate. My hon. Friend the Member for Tamworth (Sarah Edwards) recently passed her first anniversary in this House, and she is proving a great champion for the people of Tamworth. I…”

“I thank the shadow Minister—the hon. Member for Mid Buckinghamshire—and the hon. Member for West Dorset for their thoughtful contributions, and I welcome the shadow Minister’s support for the regulations. As I set out in my opening comments, the Department conducted a review that ended in 2022; there is no question tha…”

“I am afraid not. I am very short of time. Decisions on development consent orders are made as quickly as possible, including ahead of any statutory deadline when appropriate. I recognise the points that my hon. Friend the Member for Dartford has made regarding congestion at Dartford and the very significant impacts on …”

“My point was to set out the context within which I will comment on some of the specifics that the right hon. Lady asks about. Looking across the Department at the commitments the previous Government made on roads and rail, there were undoubtedly over-commitments. Promises were given that could not be fulfilled. That is…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. I congratulate the right hon. Member for Witham (Priti Patel) on securing today’s debate on funding for Essex Highways; I thank her for the many points she made and questions she asked. I am not sure that I will be able to answer them all to her satisfaction…”

“No debate would be complete without an intervention from the hon. Member. I have not yet had the opportunity to meet his colleague to discuss this issue, but I would be very willing to do so. That reminds me that I wanted to respond to the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Reading Central. The DVSA is aware t…”

“I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Bracknell (Peter Swallow) on securing this debate and setting out so clearly the challenges his constituents face; I also thank all hon. Members who have contributed on behalf of learners and driving instructors in their constituencies. We heard compelling contributions from…”

“I appreciate how important it is to improve rail infrastructure in the midlands. The next major decision on the first phase will be to consider the release of delivery funding in around four years’ time, but in the meantime we are expecting a business case for the subsequent phases of the programme to inform next steps…”

“I do hope that the right hon. Member will not put himself in such danger. We are working with industry to address timetabling, financial, operational and infrastructure issues that need to be resolved before a service between Cleethorpes and London via Market Rasen could be introduced, once the east coast main line tim…”

“Both the Secretary of State and I have visited Kent a number of times in recent weeks and months. We meet regularly with our colleagues in the Home Office, the Cabinet Office and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to discuss the impacts of the new EU entry/exit system, and we will intensify those discussi…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for raising the important issue of accessibility. We are carefully considering the best approach to the Access for All programme. I am afraid that we are not yet able to comment on next steps regarding projects at specific stations; however, ensuring that the rail network is accessible to absolut…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for raising that vital question. Every death on our roads is a tragedy. We expect drivers to observe the speed limit, and, of course, enforcement is a matter for the police. Last week, I met Richard Parker, the Mayor of the west midlands, to discuss our shared determination to improve road safety…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for her question and completely understand the concerns that she raises about congestion in the area. The outlined business case submitted by KenEx, to which she refers, was unfortunately unable to progress further after its submission in 2022, as it lacked critical detail. Should alternatives be…”

“There have already been improvements in performance and a reduction in cancellations on the railway. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is working extremely hard to hold operators to account and to ensure that all our constituents enjoy a quality service from the railway. It is essential that we put passengers…”

“I commend my hon. Friend’s support for this scheme, and for being such a champion of the railways and her constituents. I assure her that delivering greener transport is one of the Secretary of State’s priorities for our Department. The extension of the electrification from Wigston to Nottingham, and to Sheffield via D…”