Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Heidi Alexander and Melanie Onn

Thursday 29th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Heidi Alexander]

The fact that Great Western Railways will come into public ownership on 13 December presents an opportunity. The hon. Gentleman talks about the importance of wi-fi; I hope to have more to say on that in the months ahead, because I know how important good connectivity is for people who use our railways.

[Melanie Onn (Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes) (Lab)]

T10. The extension of the fuel duty cut to July 2027 will be welcomed by my Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes constituents, many of whom rely on their cars for work purposes. What more are the Government doing to help reduce the cost of motoring for those who use their vehicles for work purposes?

[Heidi Alexander]

My hon. Friend is completely right to raise the subject of the pressures that motorists and businesses face. In addition to the extension of the temporary 5p cut to fuel duty, we are also maintaining the road tax holiday for heavy goods vehicles until summer next year. We are making public charging cheaper for those who have already made the switch to an electric vehicle, but do not have a driveway to charge at home, and we continue to offer money off the purchase price of more than 60 models of electric car.

Road Maintenance

Debate between Heidi Alexander and Melanie Onn

Monday 7th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Heidi Alexander]

My hon. Friend describes a win-win situation.

[Melanie Onn (Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes) (Lab)]

At my constituency surgery on Friday, my constituent Helen came to see me because she has had a terrible fall on a badly maintained pavement, and she has really been struggling to find out who is responsible for maintaining the pavement. Does anything in the funding brought forward by this Government enable quick and easy repairs to pavements, so that people like Helen do not have terrible accidents?

[Heidi Alexander]

Local authorities are free to use the money as they see fit, as long as they are using it in a way that represents value for money for the taxpayer. The money can be used for work on roads, pavements or structures. On the issue of responsibility raised by my hon. Friend’s constituent, that will be for the local highways authority.