(3 days, 4 hours ago)
Commons ChamberOrder. I remind the Minister and all colleagues that they should not say “you” and “your”. They must speak through the Chair. I was not responsible for the question.
I spent an hour with one of my constituents, James, last week, who was shot in the face in the Falklands war, and I have met him many times to work on these issues in recent months. I welcome Jack Ford, who is in the Gallery, and I give my fullest, strongest backing to what the Minister has said today.
I want to raise two things. First, how are discussions with our allies in the Latin American region—Uruguay and Chile in particular—going, and will the Minister ensure that they are a focus of the talks she is having? Secondly, I want to say this as gently as possible, but we must find a way to assert our sovereignty against what are often spurious claims against us in international courts that basically allow our foes to challenge sovereignty. We have seen it recently, and we are seeing it again now.
(7 years, 10 months ago)
Commons ChamberAbsolutely. The Bus Services Act 2017 introduced a number of new tools to help local authorities to improve local bus services, including through partnership working and franchising. Stoke-on-Trent City Council has not yet engaged with my Department about using the new powers available, but we are working together to develop its proposals for the transforming cities fund. I was delighted that the council successfully applied for a share of the £1.7 billion fund.
Crime is soaring on the railways. It is up a fifth in the past year, and that is fuelled by a spike in sexual offences, which are up 16%, and violent crimes, which are up 26%. The highest increases are in areas where trains operate without guards—just one symptom of our broken franchise model. The guards in the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers are striking for passenger safety on Northern rail. Why will Ministers not follow the evidence and end the expansion of driver-only operation?
(8 years, 5 months ago)
Commons ChamberI am a bit confused as to where the hon. Gentleman read that, because we have not refused any authorities. We are trying to help local authorities to manage their bus services and work with bus operators to deliver the best service that they think is needed at local level. The decision is best made locally. On top of that, we have spent £250 million to support bus services in England via the bus service operators grant, and £40 million of that goes towards supporting concessionary travel at a local level.