(2 weeks ago)
Commons ChamberI welcome the Secretary of State to her place and I look forward to working with her.
The original vision for HS2 was to link London with the midlands and the north, and to address the growing capacity challenge on the west coast main line with a whole new rail line. The last Government panicked and mothballed much of the project because of cost overruns on phase 1, thus incurring yet further costs. I welcome the Secretary of State’s commitment to get a grip on the phase 1 cost overruns, but do the Government plan to deliver a rail solution linking phase 1, north of Birmingham, to the rest of the country, thus delivering the Government’s vision to drive growth for the whole country?
(2 months, 2 weeks ago)
Commons ChamberUrgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
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Last month, 18 flights between Belfast City and Heathrow were cancelled, and I can only imagine how difficult that must be for Members from Northern Ireland and their constituents. The previous Transport Committee, in its aviation reform inquiry, recommended that the Government revise the public service obligation routes and the subsidies to improve domestic air connectivity. Does the Minister agree that that is important to connecting Northern Ireland with the rest of the UK, and will he bring forward work on that?
(3 months, 1 week ago)
Commons ChamberThe Government’s bus reforms are welcome, but rural areas such as Cornwall have perhaps the poorest bus services in England, as well as less well developed partnerships than, say, urban Greater Manchester. What plans do the Government have to ensure that rural areas in England can benefit from better bus services, as cities certainly will following the Government’s reforms?