Oral Answers to Questions
Josh Babarinde Excerpts(1 week, 6 days ago)
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Heidi Alexander
I totally agree with my hon. Friend. We need to get the basics right as a country, and fixing our roads is the first step to getting our economy firing on all cylinders. We did see a decade of decline and under-investment under the previous Conservative Government. The additional £500 million that we have allocated, if it were all used to fill potholes, would fill another 7 million potholes every year, smashing our manifesto commitment to provide funding for an extra 1 million.
Josh Babarinde (Eastbourne) (LD)
Whether on Silverdale Road, Rodmill Drive, Quebec Close or Ceylon Place, potholes litter our roads in Eastbourne after years of neglect by the Conservative county council. Indeed, the Mirzas at my local garage have replaced my tyre a number of times, and I thank them for it. We also have a ridiculous situation where potholes right next to each other are not sorted out at the same time. Will the Secretary of State urge East Sussex county council to stop that wasteful practice and ensure that Eastbourne benefits from its fair share of the nearly £300 million granted to the south-east to tackle potholes?
Heidi Alexander
I have been clear that local transport authorities should use the money in a way that provides excellent value for money for the taxpayer, and the situation that the hon. Member described does concern me. We have waited a long time for this level of investment to come forward, and I am keen to see local authorities such as his cracking on with the job and making sure that motorists—all road users, for that matter—have safe, smooth roads that they can travel on.
Oral Answers to Questions
Josh Babarinde Excerpts(2 months ago)
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Louise Haigh
I am sure that the Minister with responsibility for roads, my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham South (Lilian Greenwood), would be very happy to meet the hon. Gentleman and my hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn).
Josh Babarinde (Eastbourne) (LD)
The safety and condition of our roads are hugely dependent on those who drive on them, but too many vehicles illegally use our roads without tax, without registering their details with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, and without their MOT. I thank Jamie from Seven Sisters garage for sorting my MOT out last week. Will the Secretary of State meet industry experts, such as Eastbourne’s very own Alan Wood of the National Persistent Evader Database, to discuss their solutions to tackling this problem, and making our roads safer?
Louise Haigh
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that important point. I have met the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency to talk about its important enforcement work in this area. Measures of that kind will absolutely be considered in the development of our road safety strategy, and we will work closely with stakeholders, exactly as the Minister with responsibility for roads mentioned.
Bus Funding
Josh Babarinde Excerpts(2 months ago)
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Louise Haigh
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for standing up, for Portsmouth and its people, as she always does. Today’s funding settlement will be ringfenced towards buses to ensure that Portsmouth gets both the level of funding it needs and, crucially, the flexibility and control to deliver it where it is needed most. Portsmouth will be able to avail itself of the powers we will announce in the coming weeks to take back control of its bus services and to deliver routes, services and fare levels that are right for the people of Portsmouth.
Josh Babarinde (Eastbourne) (LD)
A few hours ago, I marched with Eastbourne residents such as Jodie Atherton, and Eastbourne businesses such as DB Domestics and the Rosy Lee café in Seaside, against Conservative-run East Sussex county council’s car-crash bus service improvement plan, after the council failed to adequately consult residents or properly model the impact of the plan. Will the Secretary of State review East Sussex county council’s catalogue of failure in this area, and will she introduce safeguards to ensure that community voices are at the heart of any bus service improvement plan that the money she has announced today will fund in my patch of Eastbourne?
Louise Haigh
The hon. Gentleman raises some important points. It is right that local people have the mechanisms and ability to hold their local authorities to account. One such mechanism that we will introduce through the better buses Bill is a local network safeguard, which will ensure that the voices of communities and constituents are at the heart of any changes to local bus networks.
Oral Answers to Questions
Josh Babarinde Excerpts(3 months, 1 week ago)
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Josh Babarinde (Eastbourne) (LD)
My constituent Alex suffered a life-changing cycling accident at the hands of an untraced driver, and is now battling with the Motor Insurers’ Bureau to get the compensation he deserves. The bureau’s delays in providing compensation are intolerable, and are undermining his confidence to cycle again. Will the Secretary of State or the Minister meet me to discuss Alex’s case, and how the bureau can be reformed to restore cyclists’ confidence in the system?
Simon Lightwood
I would be delighted to arrange that meeting.