Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lincoln Jopp and Simon Lightwood

Thursday 26th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Simon Lightwood]

It is not acceptable for this Reform-led council to refuse to provide basic information to my hon. Friend’s constituents. As I mentioned earlier, 25% of Reform-led councils have been rated red—the lowest rating. It will not surprise my hon. Friend to hear that Labour councils have come out on top. I hope that her constituents will keep that in mind when they go to the polling stations in a couple of weeks.

[Lincoln Jopp (Spelthorne) (Con)]

The scourge of potholes is pretty universal, but will the Minister join me in encouraging all my Spelthorne residents who have a complaint about a pothole to report it via the Surrey county council website? Reporting potholes is the only way to get them sorted.

[Simon Lightwood]

I absolutely agree that constituents should report potholes to their local authority. The good news is that by the end of this Parliament we will have almost doubled the amount of funding to allow those councils to get on top of this pothole plague.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lincoln Jopp and Simon Lightwood

Thursday 26th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Simon Lightwood]

I am aware that another two of those trains are now in operation. The new managing director is aware that this is a challenge and we are already beginning to see progress.

[Lincoln Jopp (Spelthorne) (Con)]

11. What steps she is taking to reduce the backlog for driving tests.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lincoln Jopp and Simon Lightwood

Thursday 15th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Simon Lightwood]

Chiltern Railways faces challenges with ageing trains and is engaged in commercial negotiations to replace its oldest Mark 3 carriages. The Department is collaborating with Chiltern to ensure that the procurement delivers long-term passenger benefits. Separately, the Chiltern Class 168 fleet is undergoing significant refurbishment, including to its interiors, and improvements to reliability.

[Lincoln Jopp (Spelthorne) (Con)]

The 7.58 am train from Sunbury to Shepperton is used by a lot of schoolchildren in my constituency to get to school, but it was cancelled for four days during a recent six-day period, which meant that children were late for school. That appears on their attendance register, which follows them throughout life. The Secretary of State will own South Western Railway by the end of the month. Will she commit to improving the reliability and punctuality of that section of the line?