Conference Adjournment

Jack Lopresti Excerpts

Tuesday 19th September 2023 Commons Chamber

[Jack Lopresti (Filton and Bradley Stoke) (Con)]

I will raise three matters in my brief remarks this afternoon: public transport, specifically in relation to schools; antisocial behaviour; and the rebuilding of Ukraine post-victory.

In order to ensure that pupils and students do well in school, clearly and obviously we must first ensure that they can get to school safely and on time. I have been contacted over the summer by many concerned parents about some local bus services being cut, which makes it difficult to get their children to school on time or, in some cases, at all. The West of England Combined Authority has received £105 million for a bus service improvement plan, but it has decided that the 459 and the 460 bus service will be served by the same vehicle. That leads to some children who attend Winterbourne Academy in particular arriving either absurdly early or very late. While some services have been cut back, other crucial bus services have been axed entirely, such as the 458 from Fishponds via Downend and the 936 from Patchway, Bradley Stoke and Little Stoke.

My constituents and I would like to know where the £105 million to enable bus services to improve has gone. Unfortunately, while essential bus services for children were being cut, the vanity scheme of the West of England mayor was being rolled out: the birthday bus pass scheme, which provides taxpayer-subsidised bus travel for passengers travelling throughout the month of their birthday. It is clear to me that the Mayor of the West of England and South Gloucestershire Council are not sufficiently prioritising supporting children’s bus services. I implore the West of England Mayor to stop wasting taxpayers’ money and to answer my call to work with South Gloucestershire Council to deliver enough transport provision so that our children can get to school and back. The bus services that take our children to school are an important factor in reinforcing the fabric of our community, reducing pollution and reducing commuting traffic, in addition to maintaining parents’ peace of mind. I have been working closely with my excellent colleague Councillor Liz Brennan on this issue and look forward to meeting the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for North West Durham (Mr Holden), to discuss local bus provision.

In recent months we have seen an increase in antisocial behaviour in Patchway and Stoke Gifford in my constituency. We have seen the vandalising of children’s playgrounds and the reckless driving of cars and e-scooters, which has led to several accidents—some of them were serious—not to mention the burning down of a playground in Stoke Gifford park by arsonists. What is more, locals in Patchway have fallen victim to being terrorised by thugs in balaclavas, smashing car windows and causing great distress to residents. I have met the police and crime commissioner, Mark Shelford, to discuss the rise in antisocial behaviour and what Avon and Somerset police will do about it. In addition, my colleague Councillor Gupta has raised the issue locally. I echo his concerns to the Government. While some may choose to dismiss that as low-level crime, it must be dealt with swiftly and robustly so as not to create the space or environment in which the same criminals could commit even worse offences.

I recently went on my third visit to Ukraine so far this year. I attended the Yalta European Strategy conference, at which we discussed the power of Ukraine’s ideals, how helping Ukraine in its hour of need is best for global economic and political stability and security, and how we may bring this illegal and terrible war to an end. Crucially, I would like to offer the House some ideas and solutions on how Ukraine may rebuild after Russian forces are expelled from Ukrainian sovereign territory.

The New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy has proposed a system of multilateral asset transfer as a way of providing reparations to Ukraine and international partners who have helped in the struggle. That would involve the United Kingdom and our allies identifying and transferring all Russian state assets within our jurisdictions to a central bank account, or to be held in trust. With Russian assets securely held in trust, allocation procedures would be introduced in line with transparent multilateral agreements. Another useful proposal is for a tax incentive for companies investing in the UK and Ukraine, meaning that more jobs and investment would come to the UK. That would help with some degree of infrastructure rebuilding in Ukraine. Some of that could well be funded by the private sector. A third proposal is for Ukraine to receive some funding from the overseas development budgets of allied nations.

We must endeavour to build powerful bilateral relations between our two countries, including our institutions of trade and cultural exchange, defence manufacturing and logistics firms, and the industry of other sectors. A strong bilateral relationship based on defence, security and trade with a long-term vision can help to keep Ukraine safe, sovereign and secure.