Speeches by Aquarone.

“Forgive me for sounding reductive, but transport is about getting people from where they are to where they want to be. If you assume that to be a given, then integrated transport networks are just the ways they can use different types of transport to achieve the same ends. We are going to touch on various barriers, I a…”

“You have to have the stuff, you have to have the information, you have to have the know-how and the understanding. Does anyone want to build on that, violently disagree or elaborate?”

“I have carefully read the Opposition motion on this hugely important issue, and I am rather concerned that transport is not mentioned once. Transport is a massive barrier to employment and training for young people in North Norfolk, but the Conservatives do not seem to realise that it is an issue. Does my hon. Friend a…”

“That is a great analogy. Damien, any thoughts from you?”

“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…”

“As I said, I remain steadfast in the view that failing Conservative administrations have been propped up by the Government and allowed to do this across the country. It is simply not right—they should be facing the voters in their areas and held accountable for their years of failure. Although referendums are one of th…”

“Oh—I haven’t.”

“I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as a Norfolk county councillor. I congratulate the hon. Member for Mid Leicestershire (Mr Bedford) on securing the debate. Might I say how welcome it is that, unlike the Norfolk Conservatives, he is a Conservative who thinks that local governme…”

“Not only do I cynically agree with my hon. Friend, but I think that is precisely why it is so important to have local elections, because of not just the time that will have elapsed but the very important the decisions that authorities will make as part of the local government reorganisation that, as she pointed out, ha…”

“Just briefly, to bring that back to my earlier question about a national licensing standard, if enforcement is done locally, it therefore is down to the driver to enter into other jurisdictions or other areas of enforcement but also incumbent on them to know the rules. We have data technology and geofencing, which allo…”

“Some problems that we have heard from local areas are really down to quite local specific circumstances. It is quite useful to be able to call on a larger region of private hire vehicles if there is a big event, for instance, but then again, swarming and clustering around opportunity hotspots is probably what has led t…”

“Many of these things we have just been discussing are tools that are used to ensure the safeguarding of passengers. The NR3S is another such tool, and quite a few people have written to and spoken to us about the fact that they think access to that should be opened to operators. Does the Department agree?”

“Is that in theory, in principle, and therefore only in exceptional circumstances, or is there a role for automation in all this, regardless of who is in charge of licensing and enforcement?”

“No, that is fine. Let us imagine that the local job is more about enforcement and less about licensing. The enforcement authority could then potentially say, “Right, we’re actually going to put a red zone around this area here,” which means no private hire vehicles are allowed there without a pre-booked job at all. You…”

“Just very briefly, before we move away from who licenses, and I am sure colleagues will perhaps have even more pertinent questions about who actually enforces, has the Department looked at the possibility of going a step further and exploring a simple national licensing system?”

“Indeed, yes.”

“In that case, of course. I realise that, yes.”

“Thank you. Sorry for the long-winded question.”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Newbury (Mr Dillon) on securing this debate and his long-running championship of the issue. He is a true champion of rider safety; the riding community could hope for no better advocate in this place. Our transition to…”

“I am appalled by the actions of the murderous Iranian regime, but I am deeply concerned that the financial secrecy of our overseas territories is enabling sanctions dodging. Will the Foreign Secretary assure me that she is doing everything she can to secure greater transparency in the overseas territories, uphold effec…”