"I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Tamworth (Sarah Edwards) on securing a debate on this important subject. I pay tribute to her campaigning. I know that she has shown real determination in working with her constituents, education unions and others on this issue throughout her time in the …..." Lilian Greenwood - View Speech
"I have to say, the shadow Minister has some brass neck in criticising our Government on this issue. The National Audit Office, in its December report into driving test waiting times, was very clear:
“DFT had limited involvement in helping DVSA tackle driving test waiting times up to mid-2024. Prior …..." Lilian Greenwood - View Speech
"My hon. Friend is absolutely right to advocate on behalf of her constituents living in South Yorkshire. It is almost as if the Conservatives have forgotten that they oversaw 300 million miles of bus route cuts. I am sure that the Minister with responsibility for buses, my hon. Friend the …..." Lilian Greenwood - View Speech
"I thank the hon. Lady for her thoughtful question. As I have already acknowledged, under the previous Government, millions of bus miles were lost, particularly in rural areas. However, the Bus Services Act puts power back with local leaders, and enables franchising and enhanced partnerships of municipal operators to improve …..." Lilian Greenwood - View Speech
"I thank my hon. Friend for his important question. There is no doubt that we need to ensure that transport systems work better together. I am sure he will be very interested in our forthcoming integrated national transport strategy, and he does not have too long to wait...." Lilian Greenwood - View Speech
"I do not know the detail of the position in the hon. Member’s constituency, but I will ensure that the Minister responsible for bus services writes to him in relation to that issue...." Lilian Greenwood - View Speech
"This Government are working hard where the previous Government failed. We are working closely with the DVSA to ensure that it is able to provide the tests that are needed. Things are starting to turn around—we had record numbers of tests in December —but I acknowledge that there is much …..." Lilian Greenwood - View Speech
"My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise this issue. We are working closely with local authorities interested in franchising to identify models that work and to offer them tailored support. We are funding bus franchising pilots that will test the viability of up to five different models and investigate …..." Lilian Greenwood - View Speech
"Yes—my hon. Friend is absolutely right. We are giving local authorities the powers and funding, and we expect local authorities to use them...." Lilian Greenwood - View Speech