Speeches by Aquarone.

“The sudden completion of the SFI scheme will be a worry for many farmers and local people. I am also very concerned by reports that the NFU was given only 30 minutes’ notice on such a huge change. To give my local farmers the confidence that they need, can the Minister assure them that DEFRA will learn lessons from the…”

“It might be beyond even Deloitte to suggest that they might be commissioned to build a word processing software tool for a fee. I will leave that bit there. Thank you for that. Coming back to the question of funding, could a structured fare solution help to deliver more long-term financial sustainability for the sector…”

“You mentioned earlier the potential for some of the clarification of the lack of reference to CT in the bus Bill coming forward in the statutory guidance. That sounds like an important point for this Committee to consider as we continue to scrutinise the bus Bill, quite separately from this. I have two more supplementa…”

“That is interesting. That is quite specific to software and immensely frustrating for a number of different reasons. Can we step back again to the wider picture of local authority funding and sustainability for community transport?”

“Building on that, more broadly in the context of local government financial pressures, is that impacting on community transport? Is it sustainable in the current way things are happening? Should central Government play a greater role?”

“When you balance the number of bits of software, presumably there is no data standard for journey booking in the way that there is, for example, for rail ticketing, but there presumably is not a BSI standard for all the data that goes into a transport booking.”

“Some of the best accessibility assistive technology is inherently digital because it gives people every single option they might need to go through, check and double-check all the different permutations. That is very interesting. I do not want to take us off course, but I am interested in whether Max has anything to ad…”

“That potentially helps the cost issue, but what Caroline is saying is that the outfit itself does not have the bandwidth, if it is an organisation running a £25,000 turnover, to think about what sort of coffee they are buying, let alone whether they are buying and implementing new tech. Has that extended down directly …”

“Across all of them?”

“James, do you meet buyer resistance in this regard? You would not insist on selling a whole separate scheme to every single minibus operator, would you?”

“I nearly fell off my chair at the usage stats on mobile applications. Just before I ask this potentially divisive question, I am not trying to kick the panel into confrontation deliberately. I spend a lot of my time arguing for the need for digital inclusion. I represent the oldest constituency in the country. I would …”

“Yes, but if you were going to make it more flexible, if you were going to rewrite the legislation, make it simpler and easier for operators to work within.”

“Going back to the limitations or otherwise of the legislation, for private hire it is really simple. It is zoned by district. The authority that gives you the badge is where you can collect from. If you were to think about the full scope of the possibility for DRT, which dimension would be the most sensible to make the…”

“Does that extend to the opportunity of dropping people off at bus stops, if you are actually putting passengers on a commercial service?”

“MaaS?”

“That is just among community transport operators, of course. It is not looking at all the other non-private transport options.”

“Before we come on to that, can I come back to something you said, Caroline? I am interested in everyone else’s view on this too. I am Steff Aquarone, MP for North Norfolk. Caroline, you said you need all these different options. You cannot have a system without different choices, which I totally accept. But doesn’t the…”

“I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.”

“I beg to move amendment 21, in clause 117, page 149, line 11, at end insert— “(5A) In Schedule 13, paragraph 1(1), at end insert— ‘(j) advise the Government on measures relating to data ownership, and individuals’ rights and freedoms, in the delivery of its Data Vision and Strategy.’” This amendment amends the function…”

“I rise to speak to amendment 53. I thank the Minister for his comments, and it is a pleasure to serve under your chairship again, Mr Turner. I support the words of my hon. Friend the Member for Harpenden and Berkhamsted. I am concerned not by the unchecked power of the Secretary of State under this regulation—we of cou…”