Speeches by Lightwood.

“The ability to be more integrated is important, and using things such as AI is also important. You are looking at a big national network and then local bus services. It is really complex to try and—”

“Obviously, in the interim, there are things such as the bus service improvement plans and local transport plans. There is very much guidance there. You should be looking at cross-border issues and encouraging people to collaborate.”

“I cannot comment on the response from the Secretary of State, but I hear what you are saying. That would relate to the DCO at the time.”

“Our job is to set a clear direction and make sure that those local leaders we talked about have the powers, funding and tools they need to deliver. Local authorities told us clearly that they want that clear national vision to guide that delivery. That is what Better Connected gives them. That is why our new transport …”

“We have the absolute expectation that agencies and all the other companies at the Department absolutely will be engaging as part of that.”

“Again, we said we would constantly look at whether we are achieving the metrics we set out. If we do not, we can look at other ways. If we need to do more stick, if you like, then we can look at that.”

“That rural demonstrators is really valid.”

“Obviously, we want to make shared mobility, such as car sharing, a bigger part of our transport network—I know you challenged on that before—and to give people more opportunity to use that affordable way of travel. Obviously, that helps reduce congestion as well and has the added benefit of cutting emissions. Later thi…”

“The framework brings together all the right people. We are maximising the opportunity for that to happen through bus franchising and the work on rail reform. Obviously, we have things such as the Bus Centre of Excellence, so we can learn from each other as well. We have backed that up with multi-year funding: £3 billio…”

“Traditionally, we have planned and delivered transport in silos. That means that journeys are often a lot more complicated than they really need to be for people. Better Connected is all about bringing the system together so that it works as one, with central Government, our local authorities and transport operators al…”

“I accept what they are saying there, but every single area comes with different challenges—different social, economic and geographical challenges and different services that they have inherited. Therefore, they come at this in a slightly different way, at different speeds. That is why we try to measure that success thr…”

“No. You have the outcomes framework as well in order to hold them to account, to make sure they are delivering what they said they were going to deliver, based on the conversations and insight they have given us to set those parameters.”

“Well, every area is different—”

“There had been an awful lot of engagement, though, throughout mayoral authorities. As I said, there were 6,000 pieces of input from the public, extensive levels of roadshows and so on. It was really important that we got in front of people to understand the real-life challenges that they face across the transport syste…”

“Good morning. My name is Simon Lightwood. I am the Minister for Roads and Buses.”

“Sitting suspended.”

“”

“That will be a commercial decision for First Bus about whether to invest in those services. The option remains for local leaders to consider whether they want to pursue franchising and take greater control over that issue. They could also lift the ban on establishing new municipal bus companies. There are options there…”

“It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms McVey. I congratulate the hon. Member for West Dorset (Edward Morello) on securing this important debate. He has been a committed champion of bus services and transport needs in his constituency, and I thank him for the constructive tone with which he has approached t…”

“I would agree in terms of the parallel. Most people would admit that having one train operating company rather than 17, and having the ability for more areas to franchise, makes integration a much easier prospect.”