Speeches by Aquarone.

“Perhaps I can help with that assessment. Transparency International uncovered at least 160 cases since 2022 of luxury yachts being transferred into or out of Russia that were registered to companies in British overseas territories. While the brave Ukrainians are defending their country from a brutal invasion, Putin’s c…”

“8. What steps she is taking to ensure greater financial transparency in the British overseas territories.”

“One of the key services that the Post Office supports in North Norfolk is our bank hubs. These are crucial to our market towns, which have lost high-street banks, and to those living in nearby villages. However, I am frustrated about the number of banks that fail to provide crucial services in these hubs. I note the Mi…”

“You referred to a stick in the ground—lucky them if they have a stick in the ground for their bus stop. What you are saying is that you need the infrastructure as timetabling is not enough on its own. But surely, if you have infrastructure that either consolidates or grows passenger footfall at a particular pick-up poi…”

“We assume that greater passenger usage is the egg. Is the chicken infrastructure or improved timetabling—or both? Is there a mummy and a daddy chicken?”

“As with plastics, cars are quite useful, so banning them seems like a fairly extreme approach. I am glad we have been talking about the role of the private car, because it is essential in rural areas; we are never going to get a bus to every corner of every village at a frequency that is going to work for people. We ha…”

“You made an interesting point. It is not just the car. Even in Google Maps or Citymapper, or others that might be available, it is two buttons, isn’t it? You are either an eco-warrior or a petrol head. Walking, cycling and public transport integrations only happen at the exclusion of considering the car. That is a fund…”

“I am talking about public data that is currently available. I do not think any suppliers into car manufacturing systems are using bus or train data, for example, to inform car drivers with real-time information that could link into their journey.”

“Being cynical, it is problematic, isn’t it, when a local council decides to call something a transport hub but all it is really is a bus shelter in the middle of a car park? Going back to what you were saying about the infrastructure implications of having shared cycle and scooter facilities, do you think buses had tha…”

“Can I gently challenge you on the remit point? Surely there is a technology opportunity for your members in putting live real-time information in car dashboard displays that shows the departure point and time of the nearest public transport, for instance, just to pick a random idea out of thin air. Is there not an oppo…”

“On a point of order, Sir Desmond. I want to draw Members’ attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as a serving county councillor.”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship again, Sir Desmond. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Harpenden and Berkhamsted (Victoria Collins) on securing such an important debate; she has made a number of salient points that I wholeheartedly agree with, in particular about the impact of losing local voic…”

“I shall speak briefly, first, to signify that the Liberal Democrats support the instrument. Secondly, I note that the increase widens the availability of funding options for Cromer lighthouse in my constituency, which has been keeping seafarers off the North Norfolk coast safe for nearly 200 years. Although it is no lo…”

“Before I delve into the issues facing policing in Norfolk, I have to discuss some of the simply incredible ways that funding allocations are decided in the police grant report that we are debating. This is just another example of government functioning in a way that is rapidly becoming unfit for purpose and not changin…”

“Those facts are irrefutable. I will come on to some of the points that the hon. Member makes about the challenges of policing an area like North Norfolk, due to the unique characteristics of our shared county. We are lucky to have a lower than average rate of crime, but that does not mean that we should have our provis…”

“I need to set the scene here. I recently got a bus. I went to my nearest official bus stop, which is unmarked, unpaved and at the side of a road that, luckily, has just been reduced to 30 miles per hour. If I were a regular user of that bus, I would probably pick up and get involved in some sort of consultation but, as…”

“We have some great examples of that in my rural community; they take three or four years to permeate. The only way people find out eventually is that they learn it actually works, but it is not thanks to any integration measure. Damien, anything to add to that?”

“Do we need to look at all transport from a completely different side of the picture? We inherently seem to start with modes, and at the end of it, most of the activity and investment is within Departments, teams and modes. Do we not need to start the whole thing by looking at it from the perspective of people and place…”

“One step is making sure someone has the job of being able to see the whole thing and influence the picture.”

“If you put rail to one side to build a hub with parking, particularly in a rural area, it is relatively cheap. No one ever does it, yet it would serve far more people than a bus shelter, because people could travel from other places to the hub in order to plug into the bus network. Is there a missing object here in pla…”