Speeches by Lightwood.

“This is a framework—it is a framework to build on—and we will continue engaging across the sector to learn the lessons and make sure that we are achieving it; if we are not, we will change tack. We will use the metrics to learn and develop. But it has only just been published, so we need some time for it to settle in—”

“Yes, I agree.”

“If they fail to do that, there is democratic accountability and they can be voted out, frankly.”

“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…”

“You are tempting me to relay exactly what is in the charter. We are still working on it, so I do not want to jump ahead there. However, in terms of places such as the railways under Great British Railways, National Highways and so on, there is not really going to be a choice about whether they are signed up or not. The…”

“Well, every area is different—”

“Yes, it has to be.”

“I would anticipate that the vast majority of those 40 commitments will happen within this Parliament, and we will commit to continuing to keep you updated on that. I am sure we can give you periodic updates, as well as an update near the end. I would really expect to be able to demonstrate against most of the headline …”

“It is around people coming together, isn’t it? It is about having those discussions, and looking at a cohesive, integrated network within localities. It is not easy. There is ripple effect. If you hold that bus back, are you preventing those people from getting to the hospital or to their job on time? There are impacts…”

“You need to be able to manage the data, which is really complex. AI is a critical tool to be able to look at the art of the possible. What happens if you hold the bus? What is the ripple effect of that decision?”

“I will take that away and consider it. Fundamentally, this is about partnership. As we said, it is one of the three Ps. It is that partnership between Government and local authorities—”

“That rural demonstrators is really valid.”

“It is really important that this document, “Better Connected”, is not just a statement of ambition. I obviously want to make sure that it is measurable and that we can be held to account on it. That is why we have set really clear outcomes across the eight priority areas we have touched on, to help us track whether tra…”

“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…”

“It is important to say that if we are not seeing the progress we want to see when we are doing these updates, it gives us an opportunity to look at what other things we can do or to change tack in order to achieve outcomes. We have to learn as we go, obviously.”

“I cannot comment on the details, but it is important to say—the Chair touched on this earlier—that there is a real expectation that National Highways and GBR will work with local and regional authorities, and indeed—”

“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.”

“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 …”

“There are options there in terms of future funding. We can look at that. Crucially, how can we support them in achieving that? I would rather support than penalise.”

“The timescales will be different in different places. Setting out an arbitrary national target would not necessarily be the most sensible way of approaching this if we are being realistic about delivering change that people can see and feel in their communities.”