Rail Ticket Offices

Debate between Huw Merriman and Kevin Brennan

Thursday 6th July 2023 Commons Chamber

[Huw Merriman]

Yes; the way in which the ticketing and settlement agreement process works means that anyone can access it online, but they can also write. Details will be available at stations, and indeed online, explaining how people can write through to make their points about their stations.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for meeting me and for doing so in a constructive manner whereby he was able to give me examples of his concerns, including tickets not being available within 15 minutes of travel. I have taken that point away because it forms part of the catalogue of changes that I want to see—the remaining 1% of tickets that cannot be purchased for that reason should be reduced towards 0%. I invite all right hon. and hon. Members who can give other examples to get in contact with me as well, because I will take those problems away and look at getting them fixed.

[Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)]

The hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) was right: sometimes it is just too complicated to purchase a ticket without using a ticket office. I recently had that experience, and buying my ticket from the ticket office was £50 cheaper than if I had purchased it from the machine. I am afraid that the Beatles analogy he started is right: he’s got a ticket to ride, and he don’t care.

[Huw Merriman]

I was not even aware that I had started a Beatles analogy. Actually, this is more important than joking about music; this is about reassuring passengers that we can deliver a better experience but also an experience that they are very familiar with, in terms of the other transactions they make across the retail space. More and more people are doing that online, and they start doing it online by being taught how to do it. The idea is that ticketing staff who are currently behind glass, not seeing those passengers, will help to deliver that and ensure that those passengers have a better experience and do not need to queue up next time, because they can do it in a seamless manner. Where that operation does not exist because of the machine, we are looking to upgrade. I will take any examples he has, to ensure that passengers get the best price but can do it online or via a machine.

Services for People with Autism

Debate between Huw Merriman and Kevin Brennan

Thursday 21st March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Huw Merriman]

I certainly do. The challenge is to ensure that care plans are flexible enough to be built on, while also including an element of prescription so that there is a proper guide. What must not happen is plans being effectively reneged on when care and support are still needed. The hon. Gentleman made his point very forcefully. He also said that I was doing a good job reading the speech; I will carry on doing my best.

I was talking about the impact on services, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Chesham and Amersham puts it,

“from education to adult support, from diagnosis to employment, transition to transport. We know the many ways that an autistic person may turn to the state—and to us—for support, and how vital it is to make sure it is there to meet their needs.

The last national strategy ‘Think Autism’ in 2014 included wide-ranging actions. This was underpinned with revised statutory guidance, setting out clear duties on councils and the NHS to deliver on these actions—but we know that many local areas are not meeting all of their obligations. There are also questions about whether the Act goes far enough. As we reach the 10th anniversary of the Act, now is an appropriate time to ask these questions.

The All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism, which I am proud to chair, is spending this year doing just that. We are holding an inquiry into what has worked, what happens now and, most importantly, what needs to change. We are looking very broadly, to reflect the needs of autistic people,”

including in health and mental health; children, education and transition; employment; access to justice; adult support; and public understanding.

[Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)]

I welcome the APPG’s inquiry, and, in particular, the fact that it will look into the way in which adults with autism interact with the criminal justice system. I think that is an area in which the work of the Act could be extended. I pay tribute to the families who set up an organisation called Autism Injustice, and recommend its website, autisminjustice.org, to other Members and to people watching our debate who are interested in that interaction between autism and the criminal justice system.

[Huw Merriman]

The hon. Gentleman has referred to adults, but I remember going on a trip with the APPG to a young offenders institution that had tried to establish a wing that was autistic-friendly, and hoped to roll it out across the estate. He is right: a big cohort of the prison population are on the spectrum, and face particular challenges that need to be looked at.