Speeches by Fortune.

“An increasing amount of Transport for London’s funding comes from punitive taxes on motorists, including those in my constituency of Bromley and Biggin Hill. There are reports that the Mayor of London was actively planning to charge drivers up to 60p a mile to drive. Will the Secretary of State take the opportunity to …”

“That is going to hit my local authority by probably about half a million quid, I would have thought, in terms of what it can do.”

“How imminent, would you say?”

“Is the thinking currently that, were it to continue, it would still go directly to the local authorities, which is where I think it is better used, rather than going to TfL?”

“Previously, what was happening with that allocation in London—I am a London MP—is that 95% to 96% of that money was going directly to local authorities as opposed to TfL.”

“Did you say that we are going to get a decision soon on whether that cancelled HS2 money is going to continue to be used and allocated to local authorities?”

“When we look at the figure, there is a 50% increase. That is not including the Network North money that has gone in.”

“I am sorry if you touched on this earlier, but the figures that were talked about in the paper—£1.1 billion to £1.6 billion—did not include the money that had come from the cancelled HS2 funds, did they?”

“I have to admit that that £8.3 billion allocation surprised me a little bit. For my clarity, £150 million was issued in 2023-24, and £150 million in 2024-25. Local authorities were expecting that to continue.”

“It is a huge figure. When I am driving outside of my local authority, which has, of course, perfectly smooth and wonderful roads, and I hit a pothole, I always say to myself—and my kids take the mick out of me for it—“What am I paying my flipping road tax for?” I went away to think about that when I saw the Asphalt Ind…”

“That is what I thought. What do I pay my road tax for?”

“It is a combination of understanding the causes but also ensuring there is value for money at the point of delivery.”

“I was looking at the school census data from 2024, specific to my borough, and this is one of those things that can be a real shock to the financial system. We have somewhere in the region of 1,200 young people in Bromley independent schools who are having some sort of SEN provision, but of those three-quarters do not …”

“That is the point I am thinking of.”

“This builds on what Jonathan was talking about there because, throughout this session, we have seen that the real challenge, especially to local authorities, is that pressure and that increasing demand. In terms of the forward planning and the cost, what are you doing to make a plan to deal with this, while having an e…”

“Then it comes back to the 98%.”

“A low percentage are expected to apply for an EHCP.”

“Yes.”

“I pay tribute to those who have made their maiden speeches today. I think we all felt the passion and emotion in the beautiful speech by the hon. Member for Congleton (Mrs Russell). She has given me an idea: when I am out in Keston this weekend, I might recommend to the residents that we get ourselves a village bear—al…”

“Yes, the Government—I have picked up that habit from my hon. Friend and I do apologise. I am impressed by what has been achieved at the international investment summit. Within weeks of allegedly receiving the worst economic inheritance of any incoming Government since the second world war, Labour has supposedly secured…”