Speeches by Aquarone.

“To pick up on the point you made earlier in response to a question from my colleague, you cited the benefit of bringing track and train together. Despite its being a slightly amusing metaphor, I do understand that that is the driving benefit of a lot of GBR’s case, but you also mentioned owning some track at the moment…”

“But that business unit would not help to join up the west coast, for instance. That would have to be done subject to the same kind of provisions that any essentially non-devolved regional rail service would try to lobby for or make the business case for.”

“No, the west coast of Wales.”

“There might be some lessons to be learnt, though. You have clearly done those improvements off your own balance sheet. Are there any lessons to be learnt about electrification, for example, that could be applied elsewhere? Because it does not matter whether it is going to an end stop or per kilometre cost. It is presum…”

“In what ways, in particular, might it improve things?”

“Very interesting.”

“This is not taking us further down the devolution pathway, but will the Bill enable a better railway for passengers in Wales?”

“T9. Whatever changes the Secretary of State is seeking to make to juries, they will make not one bit of difference in my constituency if people cannot get the legal advice they need. Can he assure me that the recent funding announcement will be targeted at legal aid deserts such as North Norfolk? At the third time of a…”

“I congratulate the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Andrew Lewin) on securing this debate. I am pleased to wind up for the Liberal Democrats. In place of my hon. Friend the Member for Frome and East Somerset (Anna Sabine), I am acting as our 12th man on this occasion. I am pleased to be the opener for the Front-Bench s…”

“Ben, where should the details sit and who should be writing them down?”

“On that detail, there is all of the nice aspirational policy—and let us not forget that good, accessible policy benefits everyone, both indirectly and directly—but then there is the practical reality: “Can I get from here to there if I’m wheeling?” At the moment, the detail around that is often in accessible travel pol…”

“But the Secretary of State does not want to write an enforcement notice about a broken lift. Do we not need some way of getting this stuff routinely prioritised by network managers?”

“I respectfully disagree. With the parking enforcement officers in my constituency who issue fines and penalties for drivers—which is very much at the lower end of the spectrum—there seems to be no real conflict with the judicial system or anybody else in the middle. Do we not need some form of practical system that can…”

“Could I gently suggest that it might be more equivalent to the enforcement powers that civil officers have? For instance, traffic enforcement officers have a notice that requires something to be done, or a penalty to be paid. That is quite different from the judgment made at the end of an investigation. Is there not a …”

“But that does not say, “Do this or else”, does it? It does not say, “You must do this now or there will be immediate consequences.””

“Transport for All has suggested that the passenger watchdog itself should have powers to issue enforcement notices when there is a breach of an accessibility provision. What do you think the pros and cons of that would be?”

“On the same topic, the way this Budget was handled has undermined public confidence in North Norfolk in many ways, few more so than the fact it produced radio silence on our long-pledged dental school at the University of East Anglia. Does the Minister agree that if the Treasury had spent a little less time on its fisc…”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“It sounds like we need some station managers and a good complaints process. Emma, would you agree with that?”

“Schools are not only at the heart of village communities but make living in rural villages in North Norfolk viable for young families. Without village schools, working-age parents simply cannot live in these areas and will leave for towns and cities, but the current funding formula does not recognise the importance of …”