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1,335 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDBus Services (No. 2) Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)I beg to move amendment 51, in clause 22, page 16, line 31, at end insert— “(4A) In relation to the award of a local service contract by one or more franchising authorities…01 Jul 2025HANSARDBus Services (No. 2) Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)Committee members will be pleased to hear that I will whip through the clauses quite quickly. Clause 15 amends the Transport Act 2000 to widen the measures that can be taken by a…01 Jul 2025HANSARDBus Services (No. 2) Bill [ Lords ] (Fifth sitting)I am grateful for that intervention; I stand corrected, as I was talking about clause 27. I do not know where clause 23 came from—my subconscious. Subsection (2) clarifies that…01 Jul 2025HANSARDBus Services (No. 2) Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)We have struggled with some clauses in the Bill, but clause 24 is perhaps the most opaque of all the clauses we have been asked to consider. It takes quite a while to go through…01 Jul 2025HANSARDBus Services (No. 2) Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)I asked the Minister a couple of specific questions about debt management, so I would be grateful if he would answer them before moving on. He will, of course, remember that I…01 Jul 2025HANSARDBus Services (No. 2) Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)I will speak to amendment 51 in my name and set it in the context of clause 22. Subsection (1) repeals section 22 of the Bus Services Act 2017, which stated that the relevant…01 Jul 2025HANSARDBus Services (No. 2) Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)The Minister was looking at his officials. I do not want to put him on the spot—obviously, I do, but not really—if this is a question to which he does not immediately know the…01 Jul 2025HANSARDDraft Contracts for Difference (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 3) Regulations 2025Not for 20 years—not yet.30 Jun 2025HANSARDDraft Contracts for Difference (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 3) Regulations 2025The Minister says that making the transition by 2030 will be the best way to stabilise and reduce prices, but even if we go full steam ahead with SMRs, or large nuclear…30 Jun 2025HANSARDBus Services (No. 2) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)I fear that the hon. Member and I may agree more than he perhaps thinks. As I said, I accept that rural routes are unlikely to be profitable, but that does not mean they should…26 Jun 2025HANSARDBus Services (No. 2) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)The risk of the franchising model, as we are already seeing in Greater Manchester, is that the size of the contract determines the amount of profit. Although the profit percentage…26 Jun 2025HANSARDBus Services (No. 2) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)I am grateful for that thoughtful intervention. In principle, the answer is yes, which is why we legislated in 2017 to allow that in principle and why we supported Greater…26 Jun 2025HANSARDBus Services (No. 2) Bill [ Lords ] (Third sitting)That was absolutely not clear from the drafting, and I do not feel able to support such opaque drafting. It would not be right to slip in five words and change the whole meaning…26 Jun 2025HANSARDBus Services (No. 2) Bill [ Lords ] (Third sitting)No, I am pleased to say that I am not, Sir Desmond. Clause 14(6) makes specific reference to this. It was a requirement that was inserted into the Bill by the other place. I will…26 Jun 2025HANSARDBus Services (No. 2) Bill [ Lords ] (Third sitting)Clause 13 amends the Public Service Obligations in Transport Regulations 2023 to allow franchising authorities to make a direct award for the first local service contract under a…26 Jun 2025HANSARDBus Services (No. 2) Bill [ Lords ] (Third sitting)The Liberal Democrats’ amendment 54 would place a duty on local transport authorities to identify and then satisfy the need for all—and I stress “all”—socially necessary services,…26 Jun 2025HANSARDBus Services (No. 2) Bill [ Lords ] (Third sitting)Thank you for that indication, Sir Desmond, but exactly the same arguments that apply to the providers of bus services for a fee also apply to taxis. You can insert the word “bus”…26 Jun 2025HANSARDBus Services (No. 2) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)The hon. Lady is bending over backwards to think of hypothetical instances in which it is possible that something like that could exist. The fact remains that we must ask—this…26 Jun 2025HANSARDBus Services (No. 2) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)My hon. Friend is right. In broad terms, the Bill facilitates additional opportunities for local transport authorities, which is a good thing. As I have said, allowing franchising…26 Jun 2025HANSARDBus Services (No. 2) Bill [ Lords ] (Third sitting)Clause 12 amends the Transport Act 2000 to set out the new process for varying a franchise scheme. In particular, subsection (2)(b) removes the minimum notice period of six months…26 Jun 2025