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Tag: Speeches

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2020 Speech on the Reading Terrorist Attack

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2020 Speech on the Reading Terrorist Attack

    Below is the text of the speech made by Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Labour MP for Torfaen, in the House of Commons on 22 June 2020.

    I thank the Home Secretary for advance sight of her statement and for her briefing call over the weekend.

    Like the whole House, I was shocked and appalled by the scenes we saw in Reading on Saturday evening. While doing no more than visiting a beautiful park, three innocent people were stabbed to death and another three were seriously injured. Today we remember those who have died, and our thoughts and condolences are with their families and friends at this moment of terrible loss. We send best wishes to those who were injured and wish them a swift recovery, and thank our magnificent NHS staff for the care that they are providing.

    The incident was one of senseless violence, and, as always, we are indebted to our outstanding police officers and other emergency services personnel for their swift response and work at the scene, helping others by putting themselves in danger. They represent the very best of us. We thank them and the public at the scene who assisted, and recognise their courage and bravery in this most awful of situations.

    We now know that this has been declared a terrorist incident, and I know that the whole House will support the police as they carry out the highly detailed and careful investigation that is necessary with an incident such as this. I hope that the Home Secretary can confirm that all necessary resources will be made available to Thames Valley police and to counter-terrorism policing. I am sure she will also agree that although there are, quite understandably, many questions about this specific case, the best thing to do is to give the police the space they need to conduct the investigation and to establish the facts, not to indulge in unhelpful speculation. I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for Reading East (Matt Rodda) for his calm and measured leadership in such a difficult moment.

    It is heartbreaking that we are having this conversation again so soon after the terrible attack at Fishmongers’ Hall in November, which tragically took the lives of Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones, and the attack in Streatham in February. As you have said, Mr Speaker, this is a live investigation so we have to ensure that there is due process and that the police can do their job, but the country will want answers about these incidents, which have occurred in such quick succession. Although the priority today must be to ensure that there are no further related threats, and that the victims and families are cared for, it is vital that questions are addressed. I hope that the Home Secretary will confirm that she will further update the House on this awful incident and the lessons that need to be learned, but there are some matters that I would like her to deal with today.

    The Home Secretary mentioned the piece of emergency legislation in February, and there is another Bill on counter-terrorism going through the House at present with cross-party co-operation. I hope that any further legislation will also be on a cross-party basis. But does she agree that legislation alone is not enough? We need a comprehensive look at deradicalisation in our prisons, at how people who pose a threat are risk assessed and how different agencies can work together to safeguard against tragedies.

    Community police are the eyes and ears of our society. The intelligence gathering that they do is vital. Can the Home Secretary assure me that the Government will never again cut the numbers of community police and will instead build the capacity that is required for law enforcement? Can she also assure me that the serious violence taskforce, which has not met since 26 June last year, will meet soon and on a regular basis?

    The Home Secretary rightly praised the intelligence and security services, but the Intelligence and Security Committee has not met for over six months. Will she confirm when the Committee will have all its members in place and exactly when it will meet next?

    Finally, I know there will be many issues in the weeks ahead, but let the message go out from this House today that we stand alongside the wider community in Reading at this dark moment and say that those who have lost their lives will never be forgotten.

  • Nicola Sturgeon – 2020 Statement on the Coronavirus

    Nicola Sturgeon – 2020 Statement on the Coronavirus

    Below is the text of the statement made by Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister, on 16 June 2020.

    Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us today.

    I’ll start – as I always do – with an update of some key statistics in relation to COVID-19.

    As at 9 o’clock this morning, there have been 18,045 positive cases confirmed – you will recall that since yesterday, this total now includes data from UK wide testing sites. That is an increase of 15 overall from the figures yesterday.

    A total of 986 patients are in hospital with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. Now, that represents a total increase of 116 from yesterday – but let me stress that includes a reduction of 11 in the number of confirmed cases.

    A total of 19 people last night were in intensive care with either confirmed or suspected COVID-19 and that that is an increase of 1 since yesterday.

    I am also able to confirm today that since the 5 March, a total of 3,929 patients who had tested positive and previously required hospital treatment have now been discharged from hospital

    However, in the last 24 hours, 5 deaths were registered of a patient confirmed through a test as having COVID-19 – the total number of deaths in Scotland, under that measurement, is therefore now 2,453. Tomorrow of course we’ll see the weekly publications from National Records of Scotland which gives us the total number of deaths of those confirmed through a test and of those who are suspected of having had COVID-19.

    Once again I want to send my deepest condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one as a result of this virus and is currently grieving one of the unique human beings who lie behind these statistics.

    Let me always as usual express my thanks to our health and care workers and indeed to all our key workers, for the everything you continue to do in very challenging circumstances.

    As well as the Chief Medical Officer, I am joined today by Fiona Hyslop – the Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Fair Work and Culture – since the main focus for today’s remarks is the economy.

    This morning, the latest labour market statistics for Scotland were published, they covered the period from February to April. April was of course the first full month of lockdown restrictions.

    Today’s figures show that – when compared to the three months from November to January – unemployment in Scotland increased from 97,000 to 127,000. The unemployment rate during this period increased from 3.5% to 4.6%, and the employment rate fell from 74.9% to 74.3%.

    Now I should stress, this is a sample survey. Fraser of Allander Institute reminded us that we have to be cautious about what we conclude from it.

    However, we do know that the protection of the Job Retention scheme will mean that these figures are likely to be an underestimate of the full impact of COVID-19 on business activity.

    And secondly because they cover only until April they don’t give us a fully up to date picture.

    The statistics that were also published this morning on claimant count for May give us a more up to date indication, even though it’s important to stress that they are experimental. They suggest that the claimant count in Scotland in May was 7.8% – which is the same level as the UK as a whole.

    However what all of this data undoubtedly demonstrates is that dealing with the public health crisis of COVID-19, has created an economic crisis that demands our full focus and attention.

    I know increasing economic anxiety will lead some to argue for a quicker than planned exit from lockdown and I absolutely understand that.

    But, difficult though as all of this is, we must guard against a reckless relaxation of lockdown measures. If we ease restrictions too quickly – and allow the virus to run out of control again – that would be economically counterproductive, but it would also cost many more lives.

    Indeed, the progress we have made in suppressing the virus – progress which was evident once again in the figures I reported today – is an essential foundation for the sustainable economic recovery we want to secure.

    And the key point is this – the more we can suppress the virus now, the more normality we can restore as we do re-open the economy and society. And the more able we will be to cope with any resurgence of the virus – either from sporadic outbreaks like the one China is dealing with now, or increased transmission as we face the winter period and the flu season.

    However all of that said, Scotland does like many countries around the world does face the challenge of opening up our economy in a way which is safe and sustainable.

    On Thursday, I will announce the outcome of our review into lockdown restrictions and, I hope and expect, that on Thursday we will be able to confirm a move from Phase 1 to Phase 2 of our plan for reopening the economy and lifting restrictions more generally.

    This does not mean that all major changes will happen overnight.

    But I do hope that in the coming weeks, further important restrictions will be lifted so that workers can return to factories – with strict hygiene and physical distancing measures in place; so that the construction industry will continue its own restart plan; and so that non-essential retail businesses can have a date for safe reopening.

    Now none of this will restore the economy immediately to full health, but it will be a significant, and a sustainable, improvement on our current position and that of course is important.

    That gradual re-emergence from lockdown is crucial. That is how we allow our businesses to get back to operate and make money again. But we know that because the emergence by necessity is gradual, it must also be accompanied by continued support for business as business seeks to recover.

    We have welcomed assistance from the UK Government, such as the Job Retention Scheme, but it is essential that this scheme is extended if proves necessary, which I think it almost certainly does, and we are making this case to the UK government

    In addition, the Scottish Government has provided £2.3 billion of support for business – for example through domestic rates relief – a sum which more than matches the total we received through UK Government consequentials.

    Today I can confirm two additional measures to promote economic recovery in the immediate term.

    Later today Kate Forbes, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, will set out to Parliament details of a further £230 million of support for the economy.

    Among other things, this package will fund maintenance for further and higher education facilities and for roads; it will help public transport to prepare for physical distancing measures; and it will include a further investment in companies of high potential, and in developments such as Ravenscraig, Edinburgh Bioquarter and the Michelin site in Dundee.

    It will support, and is designed to support, projects which can provide an immediate boost to jobs and growth, while also helping to prepare our economy and our public services for the future.

    We are also providing further support today for skills and training.

    During this crisis, the Scottish Government has already invested additional money in services such as Fair Start Scotland – and I have said standing here on previous occasions, Skills Development Scotland has expanded some of its support for people who are looking for training and employment.

    Today we are making individual training accounts available to people who are out of work, or on low incomes.

    Last year, these accounts helped more than 18,000 people to develop new skills and to take up new positions. This year, we are adapting them to respond to emerging labour market challenges.

    From July, they will offer access to online training in areas such as computing and IT, construction, early years provision and care.

    Initially, we expect to release 14,000 accounts –with more becoming available later in the year. Further details of the courses will be available on the “My World of Work” website.

    I know that not everyone who is eligible will be able to take advantage of this. If you have care responsibilities, or have volunteered to help others – time to train and study will be pretty limited.

    But for some people – especially, but not exclusively, people who are currently furloughed on a relatively low income, or have been made unemployed – it does makes sense to develop new skills at this time. The learning accounts will offer a further way of supporting people who want to do that, as we seek to emerge from lockdown.

    The other issue I want to talk about today is free school meals, and emergency food support more generally.

    Free school meals are currently being made available to around 175,000 children across Scotland – either within local authority and early years premises which are still open, or more often through direct cash payments, supermarket vouchers, or the direct supply of food or meals. I can confirm that this provision will be extended throughout the summer holiday period.

    We know families are under considerable financial pressure just now and free school meals are a vital help to many but they are also important to the health and well-being of many children.

    So we will provide £12.6 million in funding for Local Authorities to enable the continuation of free school meals during the period from the end of June to the start of the new term in August. The funding will be allocated in a way that allows councils – as many of them currently do – to co-ordinate school meal provision with wider support they may be making available to families.

    In addition, we are making £15 million available to councils, to maintain some of that wider support – in particular, the support for food which is currently available for people in severe poverty, people who face other barriers to getting food, and people who are being asked to isolate under the new Test and Protect system

    Our support for those who are shielding – which I should say, comes from a different budget – is also of course being maintained.

    At a time when – as the employment figures today show – many families will be finding it harder than normal to make ends meet – I hope that these announcements provide some reassurance, during a extremely difficult time.

    Before I hand over to the Cabinet Secretary, I want to close by emphasising our key public health guidance. Following this guidance now remains crucial to keeping the virus under control, and allowing us to reopen the economy and to emerge from lockdown on a firm and sustainable basis.

    You should still be staying home as much as possible, and still be meeting fewer people than normal.

    Let me remind you, when you do meet people from another household, please stay outdoors, and you must stay 2 metres apart from them.

    Don’t meet with more than one other household at a time, don’t meet more than one a day – and please keep to a maximum of 8 people in a group.

    Please wash your hands often.

    Wear a face covering when you are in shops or on public transport or in any enclosed space where physical distancing is a bit more difficult.

    Avoid touching hard surfaces – and clean any you do touch.

    And remember this will be important for some time to come.

    If you have the symptoms of COVID-19 – a fever; a new cough; or a loss of, or change, in your sense of taste or smell – please book a test immediately, and follow the advice on self-isolation and you can book a test at the NHS inform website.

    By doing the right thing, and by sticking to these rules, we are saving lives. We are suppressing the virus.

    And by continuing to do that, we are giving ourselves a much stronger opportunity to take both further and also firmer steps out of lockdown.

    So my thanks, once again, to all of you for doing all of the right thing.

  • Nicola Sturgeon – 2020 Statement on the Coronavirus

    Nicola Sturgeon – 2020 Statement on the Coronavirus

    Below is the text of the statement made by Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister, on 15 June 2020.

    Good afternoon, and thank you very much for joining us again today.

    I’ll start – as always – with an update on the key statistics in relation to COVID-19.

    29 new positive cases were confirmed in Scotland yesterday. Now I’m going to say more about the total number of positive cases in a moment, because from today we are incorporating new data into that total.

    A total of 870 patients are in hospital with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. That represents a total decrease of 94 from yesterday, but an increase of 3 in the number of confirmed cases in hospital.

    A total of 18 people last night were in intensive care with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. That is also an increase of 3 since yesterday.

    And I can confirm today that since 5 March, a total of 3,909 patients who had tested positive and needed to go to hospital with the virus have been able to leave hospital.

    In the last 24 hours, zero deaths were registered of a patient confirmed through a test as having COVID-19 – so the total number of deaths in Scotland, under that measurement, therefore remains at 2,448.

    I would however stress – as I did last Monday – that although this is clearly hugely welcome and very encouraging, it is nevertheless common for fewer deaths to be reported at weekends and unfortunately I do expect that we will almost certainly report further COVID-19 deaths in the days ahead.

    And as always, I want to emphasis that when we do report these figures, they are not simply statistics – they represent individuals whose loss is a source of grief to many. So once again, I want to send my condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one to this illness.

    I also want to express my thanks – as I always – to our health and care workers, and indeed to all key workers across the country. The Scottish Government and indeed I think people the length and breadth of the country are grateful to you for the work you are doing.

    I’m going to focus on education in my remarks today, but before I do that, I want to highlight some new data which we are publishing for the first time today.

    Up until now, we have only been able to publish testing results that come from NHS Scotland laboratories.

    We have been able to report the total number of tests carried out by facilities run by the UK Government – for example drive-through centres and mobile testing units – but we have not yet been able to publish the breakdown of positive and negative results. Though I should say for the avoidance of doubt, the individuals tested have of course been notified directly of their results.

    Public Health Scotland has been working with the UK Government to rectify this issue, and from today, we are able to provide daily figures for all tests in Scotland. For example, we can see that of those people tested in the 24 hours up to 8 o’clock this morning, 29 positive cases were confirmed. Of those positive cases, 9 were from tests conducted at UK Government facilities, and 20 were from NHS Scotland facilities.

    So In total, there have been 18,030 confirmed positive cases in Scotland since the beginning of this outbreak.

    15,687 of these confirmed cases were tested in NHS Scotland laboratories and a further 2,343 were test through UK facilities.

    Now I know that some people compare each days figures with the previous day’s very carefully. If you have been doing that, you will have expected the NHS lab number I’ve just given to be 88 cases higher than it is.

    The reason it’s not is that where a person has been tested more than once – first at a UK facility and then in an NHS Scotland facility – we have removed them from the NHS figure to avoid double counting of testing.

    It is also important to stress that including this data from UK facilities does not change the total number of lab confirmed COVID-19 deaths that we have been reporting throughout.

    From Thursday onwards, we will be able to provide a more detailed breakdown of test results – by date and by region – on the Scottish Government’s website and I hope that this information will be helpful in giving a full picture of the progress that has been made on testing over the last three months.

    Now as I indicated the main issue I want to talk about today is school education.

    And I want to address parents and young people very directly today.

    I know you are deeply anxious – as I am – about the impact of this crisis on schooling.

    So I want to be very clear today about the some of the principles that we are working on and the Scottish Government’s expectations – and as we look forward to the new school year. I hope to leave you in no doubt about the priority I and the whole government attaches to making sure our young people do not lose out on education or have their life chances damaged as a result of this crisis that we are all living through right now.

    So, firstly, I want to be clear that it is our expectation that, by the time schools return on 11 August – and obviously within necessary safety guidelines – councils will have put in place arrangements that maximise the time that young people spend in a school environment having face to face learning.

    In this immediate period that we are in right now, the Scottish Government will be scrutinising council plans closely – and where we conclude that all possible steps have not been taken to maximise face to face teaching and learning, we will ask councils to reconsider and revise their plans.

    Innovation and creativity will be required here – but let me also be clear that where there are genuine issues of resources, the Scottish Government will work with councils to address those and the quality of your children’s education will be the absolute priority in those discussions.

    And then from the 11 August starting point, our aim will be to return to normal schooling as quickly as we possibly can – recognising that of course that along the way we need to build the confidence of parents, young people and teachers that schools are safe.

    And I want to be particularly clear on this point.

    While we of course have a duty to be open with parents that none of us right now have a crystal ball, and that the path the pandemic will take in the months ahead remains uncertain, it is absolutely not the case that we are ‘planning’ for blended learning, with children learning at home for part of the school week, to last a year – or anything like it.

    On the contrary, we do not want blended learning to last a single moment longer than is absolutely necessary and so we will be working with councils to return schools to normal as quickly as we can.

    We want young people to be back having face to face teaching for 100% of the school week as soon as it is feasible.

    To that end, our regular three-weekly reviews of the Coronavirus regulations will now include specific consideration of the evidence and data relating to transmission of the virus within schools and amongst young people – and where that suggests that safety restrictions can be lifted or eased without putting pupils and teachers at undue risk, we will do so.

    As part of these reviews, we will ask our International Council of Education Advisers to consider experiences in other countries.

    We will also be working with councils to ensure ongoing and enhanced support for any time that young people do spend learning at home.

    And let me be clear it is our firm intention, as things stand right now, that next year’s exam diet will go ahead.

    We will also be considering carefully how we work to address and mitigate and make up over time any impact of this crisis period on young people’s learning.

    Ensuring that our children and young people have the highest quality education – and that life chances are not negatively impacted by what we are all living through right now – is of absolutely critical importance.

    I want to give you my personal assurance that it is central to my and to the whole Government’s thinking as we plan and steer the country through our emergence from lockdown.

    Before I hand over to the Chief Medical Officer, I want to end by emphasising again our key public health guidance because sticking to this guidance right now remains the most important way of enabling us to make further progress out of lockdown – which I very much hope we will do later this week.

    You should still be staying home most of the time, and you should still be meeting fewer people than normal.

    When you do meet people from another household, please stay outdoors, and stay 2 metres apart from them.

    Don’t meet with more than one other household at a time, don’t meet more than one a day – and keep to a maximum of eight people in a group.

    Wash your hands often. Take hand sanitiser with you if you are away from home.

    Wear a face covering when you are in shops or on public transport.

    Avoid touching hard surfaces if you can and clean any that you do touch.

    All of these measure – hand washing, surface cleaning and wearing face coverings – will all help us to reduce the risk as we start to return to more normal life.

    Indeed – if anything – these measures become more important, not less important, as we move through this pandemic.

    I’d ask all of you to bear that in mind.

    And, just as importantly, if you have the symptoms of COVID-19 – a fever; a new cough; or a loss of, or change, in your sense of taste or smell – ask for a test immediately, and please follow the advice on self-isolation.

    You can book a test at nhsinform.scot or by phoning NHS 24 on 0800 028 2816.

    Sticking to these rules- as you can see from the numbers we are reporting each day – has had and is having an impact. By doing the right thing, we are suppressing the virus.

    We are saving lives.

    And we are creating the firm foundations on which we can take further steps out of lockdown.

    So my sincere thanks, to all of you once again, for continuing to abide by these rules and by this guidance.

  • Nicola Sturgeon – 2020 Statement on the Coronavirus

    Nicola Sturgeon – 2020 Statement on the Coronavirus

    Below is the text of the statement made by Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister, on 14 June 2020.

    Good afternoon everyone, thank you for joining us this afternoon

    I’ll start – as always – with an update on some of the key statistics in relation to Covid-19.

    As at 9 o’clock this morning, there have been 15,755 cases confirmed through our NHS laboratories – that’s an increase of 25 from yesterday.

    A total of 964 patients are in hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19. That represents a total reduction of 19 from yesterday, including a reduction of 7 in the number of confirmed cases.

    A total of 15 people last night were in intensive care with either confirmed or suspected Covid 19. That is a decrease of 5 since yesterday.

    I can confirm that since 5 March, a total of 3,904 patients who had tested positive for the virus and required to be in hospital have now been able to leave hospital. I wish all of them well.

    And in the last 24 hours, I can confirm that 1 death has been registered of a patient confirmed through a test as having Covid-19 –which takes the total number of deaths in Scotland, under that measurement, to 2,448.

    I want to stress as I always do that these numbers are not just statistics – they represent people whose loss is being mourned right now. That point is just as important when we are reporting one death, as it is when we report multiple deaths. So – once again – let me send my deepest condolences and my thoughts to everyone who has lost a loved one as a result of this illness.

    Let me also express my thanks – as always – to our health and care workers for the extraordinary work that you continue to do in very testing circumstances. And indeed, let me broaden that today to all of our key workers – health and care, obviously, but our police officers, our prison officers, those who are keeping our energy systems working, keeping food on our tables, everybody who has played a part in ensuring our country has kept operating during this very difficult time.

    I’ll move on to questions fairly soon, but I want this afternoon to give an indication of what you can expect in the week ahead.

    I hope to be able to confirm on Thursday, that people who are shielding will be able to go outdoors for exercise.

    In addition, as you know, we are required by law to review the lockdown restrictions every three weeks. The next review date is Thursday. At that point, I will set out to parliament our assessment of whether the current suppression of the virus allows us to move to phase 2 of our route map.

    As things stand right now, I remain optimistic that, on Thursday, while we might not be able to do absolutely everything we hoped to do in phase 2, we will nevertheless be able to enter that next phase and announce some further important steps on our journey back to normality.

    The reason for my cautious optimism is that since we last announced changes, we have continued to see a downward trend in COVID-19 cases, and also in the weekly number of deaths. In addition, the R number – which as you know is the rate at which the virus reproduces – has fallen slightly, and is now between 0.6 and 0.8, and it’s crucial that it remains under 1.

    So I hope, for example, that as well as allowing a bit more social interaction, from Thursday we will also be able to move forward with the remobilisation of the NHS and also indicate a date from which our retail sector can begin to re-open.

    All of that and any other changes that we’re able to announce on Thursday will be in line with the careful approach that we set out in our route map.

    And that is really important. The evidence suggests that the careful approach we have adopted so far is working.

    The lesson I take from that is that we should stick with that plan – not discard it.

    Because – and this is the much harder bit – while transmission of the virus is much reduced, the virus hasn’t gone away yet.

    We still have a significant number of infected people in Scotland. And we are still seeing new cases each day. The risk remains that, if we move too quickly, and if we start coming into closer contact with too many people, cases of the virus could start to multiply again very quickly and we need to avoid that happening.

    On the other hand, if we hammer down the incidence and prevalence of the virus down to the lowest levels we can, our exit from lockdown may then involve a return to more normality in the medium term than we previously thought possible.

    And that’s of course what we must hope for right across the board – but it will be particularly important as we try over the next few months to restore as much normality as we can to children’s schooling. Which of course is a big priority, not just for the Government and for local authorities, but for parents and young people the length and breadth of the country.

    So while there are no risk free options – and we shouldn’t slow down progress in pursuit of perfect risk free options that don’t exist – equally we must not ease restrictions at a pace that very obviously heightens the risks.

    And we should also realise that the prize for going perhaps a bit more cautiously now, could be a return to greater normality in the medium term.

    We have seen in England and some other countries, that the R number may have increased, particularly in certain regions – and we might see that here too. That’s won’t necessarily be a cause for panic – but it should be a reminder to us to constantly check and assess the impact of our actions.

    All of that means the judgements we make about phase 2 will by necessity be finely balanced.

    Phase 2 contains a number of significant measures – including potential changes to the rules on how we can meet each other, what workplaces can reopen, and which public services can resume.

    We are currently assessing the impact of those different measures. That means considering the particular risks that each element will bring, and thinking also about what mitigating actions might be needed to reduce those risks. And it means – as we have done right throughout this crisis – weighing up both the harms that come from Covid, and also the harms that come from lockdown itself.

    As I said earlier, we might not be able to do absolutely everything – but we want to do as much as possible, and we will do as much as we possibly can.

    It is also likely that not everything that we are able to do in phase 2 will kick in straight away on Friday.

    Regulatory changes will have to be made.

    Our public transport operators will need time to implement their plans to increase capacity safely.

    And workplaces that we hope will be permitted to open, will need to ensure they have the appropriate physical distancing measures in place; that guidance is being followed; and that employees feel confident that they can return to work safely.

    We are producing additional guidance this week – in advance of any possible changes – for Early Learning and Childcare, for the retail sector, and on the use of public spaces.

    Steps such as these are essential, to ensure we continue to suppress the virus as much as possible.

    Once we determine what changes can be made, we will phase them in, in the most constructive way we can. We want people to be confident that they will be safe, as more social and economic activities gradually resume.

    It’s also vital that we all understand the crucial point that I stressed earlier. Just because the number of cases is currently declining, and we are thinking of easing the restrictions – that does not mean the threat of coronavirus has gone. It hasn’t. The progress we have made still remains fragile, and the virus call too easily could run out of control once again.

    There are some worrying signs of that right now in some states in America, for example.

    So we must work hard to get the balance as right as we can. And as we do that, some of the most basic public health advice becomes even more important.

    As we move through the routemap what we are doing, as a society, is relying less on strict lockdown restrictions to suppress the virus – and relying more instead on all of us following the public health guidance, maintaining physical distancing and of course participating in Test and Protect.

    Our ability to move to further phases, and to sustainably re-open our society and economy – so that we do not need to lockdown again in the future – depends on all of us strictly following those principles.

    In the weeks and months ahead – perhaps even more than at the present time – we all have to remember that the decisions we are making as individuals, will affect the health and wellbeing of all of us.

    And so it remains critical that we stick with the current public health guidance. So let me end just by recapping on what that is.

    We should all be staying home most of the time, and seeing fewer people than we normally would. When we do meet people from another household we should stay outdoors. We must stay outdoors and stay 2 metres apart from them. We shouldn’t meet more than one other household at a time, and not more than one a day – and keep to a maximum of 8 people in a group.

    We should all be washing our hands often and thoroughly. If we’re not at home, make sure we have hand sanitiser with us.

    And please wear a face covering if you are in a shop or on public transport, or in any enclosed space where physical distancing is more difficult.

    Avoid touching hard surfaces – and clean any you do touch.

    And if you have the symptoms, get a test immediately and follow advice on self-isolation. You can book a test by going to the NHS Inform website.

    If we all continue to do these things and make sure we don’t ease up on the basic public health guidance then we will continue to see this virus suppressed and we will continue to see easing of lockdown restrictions become much more possible in the future.

    My thanks again to all of you for doing that. I’m going to hand over now to the Chief Nursing Officer and then to our National Clinical Director to say a few words before taking questions.

  • Priti Patel – 2020 Statement on the Reading Terrorist Attack

    Priti Patel – 2020 Statement on the Reading Terrorist Attack

    Below is the text of the statement made by Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, in the House of Commons on 22 June 2020.

    With permission, Mr Speaker, I will make a statement on the senseless terror attack that took place in Reading on Saturday evening. That appalling attack is now subject to an ongoing police investigation, and as such there are limits to what I can say. However, I want to share as much detail as I can with the House this afternoon, on behalf of the police, following my conversations with them over the weekend and my visit to Reading this morning.

    Around 7 pm on Saturday evening, a 25-year-old male entered Forbury Gardens in the centre of Reading, and began to viciously attack several groups of people. The outstanding police officers from Thames Valley police responded with great courage and great speed. The armed suspect was tackled to the ground by an unarmed officer and was immediately arrested at the scene. The suspect remains in custody.

    After initial investigations, Counter Terrorism Policing declared the attack a terrorist incident and is now leading the investigation. The police have confirmed that the threat is contained, but that, sadly, three innocent members of the public were killed, murdered by a sudden and savage knife attacker as they enjoyed a summer evening with friends. Another three victims were injured and received hospital treatment.

    My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of everyone who was hurt or killed as a result of this sickening attack. The victims of terrorism unit at the Home Office and family liaison officers are supporting them, and I know Members from across the House will join me in sending our heartfelt condolences.

    It was truly humbling to visit Thames Valley police this morning. I had the privilege of meeting the officers who first responded to the incident and who were responsible for apprehending the suspect, as well as trying to prevent the loss of further life. Those officers—a few of whom were student officers—ran towards danger to help those in need without a second thought. A young unarmed police officer took down the suspect without hesitation while another performed emergency first aid on those who were injured. These officers are heroes. They showed courage, bravery and selflessness way beyond their years. They are the very best of us. I would also like to pay tribute to the response of every emergency service that attended the scene, as well as members of the public who stepped in to prevent further loss of life.

    The United Kingdom has the best security services and police in the world. Since 2017, they have foiled 25 terrorist plots, including eight driven by right-wing ideologies. They serve the country with professionalism and courage, embodying what the British public rightly expect from those on the frontline of the battle against violent extremists and terrorists.

    The UK’s counter-terrorism strategy remains one of the most comprehensive approaches to countering terrorism in the world, but over recent decades we have all too often seen the results of poisonous extremist ideology. The terrorist threat that we face is complex, diverse and rapidly changing. It is clear that the threat posed by lone actors is growing. These terrorists are united by the same vile hate that rejects the values our country holds dear: decency, tolerance and respect.

    We are united in our mission to tackle terrorism in all its forms. Since day one, the Government have backed our police and security services, who work around the clock to take down terrorists and violent extremists. On any given day, they make a series of calculated judgments and decisions on how best to protect our citizens and country based upon the intelligence that they gather.

    In light of the many complexities across the security, intelligence and policing communities, in January this year I announced increased resources for counter-terrorism policing, resulting in a £90 million increase this year alone. That has taken counter-terrorism policing funding to more than £900 million—the highest ever. That is because we live in a complex world and is against a backdrop of evolving threats and dynamic threats—threats that when they do materialise are worse than shocking when they result, as we have seen again this weekend, in the tragic loss of life.

    Bolstering our security and policing network and frontline capability is part of our ambitious programme to strengthen the joint working between the police and security services to leave terrorists with no place to hide. It is also why we are committed to developing a new “protect duty”, so that businesses and owners of public places must take into account the threat of terrorism. It is also why, following the shocking attacks at Fishmongers’ Hall and in Streatham, we took strong and decisive action. That action included the introduction of the Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) Act 2020, the emergency legislation that retrospectively ended the automatic early release of terrorist offenders serving standard determinate sentences, forcing them to spend a minimum of two thirds of their time behind bars before being considered for release by the Parole Board. Through our Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Bill, which goes into Committee in this House this week, we are introducing much tougher penalties for terrorists to keep the public safe.

    This is the biggest overhaul of terrorist sentencing and monitoring in decades, strengthening every stage of the process, from introducing a 14-year minimum jail term for the most dangerous offenders to stricter monitoring measures. Jonathan Hall QC is also looking at how different agencies—including the police, probation services and security services—investigate, monitor and manage terrorist offenders.

    I totally understand the desire for details and information to enter the public domain, particularly at this time, as people ask what happened and why. However, as you pointed out, Mr Speaker, I would ask everyone, including the media, to be cautious at this stage about reporting on individuals who have not been charged. We must not do anything that could put at risk the victims or their loved ones achieving justice.

    The first duty of any Government is to protect the people they serve, so we continue to pursue every option available to tackle the terrorist threat and take dangerous people off our streets. As the Prime Minister reiterated yesterday, the police and security services will continue in their investigations to better understand the circumstances of this tragic incident, and if further action is needed, we will not hesitate. Our world-class CT police and security services have my unequivocal backing as they hunt down hate-filled terrorists and extremists. My message today is clear, simple and strong: swift justice will be done; victims will be supported; and if further action is needed to stop terrorists in their tracks, this Government will not hesitate to act. I commend this statement to the House.

  • Steve Reed – 2020 Comments on IFS Report on Financial Risk for Councils

    Steve Reed – 2020 Comments on IFS Report on Financial Risk for Councils

    Below is the text of the comments made by Steve Reed, the Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary, on 22 June 2020.

    The funding that councils have received is nowhere near enough to cover the cost of getting communities through this crisis. Now councils face a massive financial black hole that will hit poorer areas hardest.

    By law councils will be forced to make devastating in-year cuts that will see frail older people denied care, libraries and leisure centres shut for good and bins left unemptied.

    The Conservatives have broken their promise to fund councils to do whatever’s necessary. Instead of levelling up they are leaving communities without the funding they need to get through the pandemic at their time of greatest need. They should stand by their promises.

  • Dominic Raab – 2020 Statement on the DFID-FCO Merger

    Dominic Raab – 2020 Statement on the DFID-FCO Merger

    Below is the text of the statement made by Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, in the House of Commons on 18 June 2020.

    I begin by thanking the hon. Lady and welcoming this opportunity to respond to her question on the merger between DFID and the FCO. On Tuesday, the Prime Minister announced that they will merge to become the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. I can tell the House that the process will start immediately and will be completed by September. Alongside this merger, Her Majesty’s trade commissioners will now report formally to the ambassadors and high commissioners in their respective countries. The Prime Minister will set the UK’s overall international strategy, through the National Security Council, and by integrating development policy with our diplomatic network, the UK will be following a similar model to that of some of our closest international partners, such as Australia and Canada.

    This move is about placing our world-class aid programme at the beating heart of our foreign policy decision making. We will integrate the development expertise and know-how that DFID does so well with the diplomatic reach and clout of the Foreign Office, ensuring that our impact abroad is bigger than the sum of its parts. Far from diminishing our ambitions, it will elevate them. As the Prime Minister set out on Tuesday, we retain our commitment to spending 0.7% of our gross national income on development, but through closer integration we will maximise the impact of our aid budget in helping the very poorest in the world, while making sure we get the very best value for taxpayers’ money.

    For too long, we have indulged an artificial line, dividing the goals that our aid budget and foreign policy serve. This coronavirus crisis has confirmed just how artificial that line is. Across Whitehall, I have chaired the international ministerial group, bringing all relevant Departments together to support the most vulnerable countries exposed to covid-19; to energise our pursuit of a vaccine, working with our international partners; to return stranded British citizens from abroad; and to keep vital international supply chains open. In every one of these areas, we have been compelled to align our development, trade, security and wider foreign policy objectives. As in many a crisis, necessity has proven the mother of innovation. For example, at the GAVI vaccine summit, which the Prime Minister recently hosted, we smashed the target for vaccine funding, with $8.8 billion raised. That was a major success, where our development and foreign policy objectives had to be integrated to serve our dual aim of securing a vaccine for the British people, while making it accessible for the most vulnerable people, right across the world. Likewise we are working to bolster the health systems and institutional resilience of the most vulnerable countries, doing so not only out of a sense of moral responsibility, but to safeguard the UK from a potential second wave of the virus. I am afraid those demarcating a boundary between our national interests and our moral responsibilities ​in the world are mistaken. Covid has reinforced just how inextricably interwoven they are, just how much they reinforce each other and why we need to integrate them in our foreign policy decision making. It is to boost our impact and influence in the world, and that is exactly what we are doing.

  • Matt Hancock – 2020 Statement on the Coronavirus

    Matt Hancock – 2020 Statement on the Coronavirus

    Below is the text of the statement made by Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in the House of Commons on 17 June 2020.

    I am grateful for the chance to update the House on the urgent matter of coronavirus.

    Yesterday’s treatment breakthrough shows that British science is among the best in the world. As a nation, we can be incredibly proud of our scientists. The UK is home to the best clinical trials, the most advanced immunology research, and the most promising vaccine development work of any country. We have backed the science from the start, and I am sure the whole House welcomes the life-saving breakthrough that was announced yesterday. Today, I will briefly update the House on all three aspects of that national scientific effort.

    First, on clinical trials, our recovery programme, which looks at the effects of existing treatments in real-world hospital settings, is the largest of its kind. As of yesterday, 11,547 NHS patients had been recruited to the programme, which is operating across 176 sites in all four nations. In Oxford University’s dexamethasone trial, over 2,000 NHS covid patients were given a course of the drug—a commonly used steroid—over 10 days. For patients who were ill enough to require oxygen, the risk of dying fell by a fifth, and for the most seriously ill patients on mechanical ventilators, the risk of dying fell by over a third.

    This is an important moment in the fight against this virus, and the first time that anyone in the world has clinically proven that a drug can improve the survival chances for the most seriously ill coronavirus patients. In February we began the trial, supported by £25 million of Government funding, and in March we began recruiting patients, and started the process of building a stockpile in case the trial was successful. As of today, we have 240,000 doses in stock, and on order. That means that treatment is immediately available, and already in use on the NHS. I am incredibly proud that this discovery has happened right here in Britain, through a collaboration between the Government, the NHS, and some of our top scientists. It is not by any means a cure, but it is the best news we have had.

    Throughout this crisis, our actions have been guided by the science, and that is what good science looks like: randomised control trials; rigorous and painstaking research; moving at pace, yet getting it right. The result is that we now have objective proof—not anecdotes, but proof—that this drug saves lives, and that knowledge will benefit many thousands of people all around the world.

    Seven other drugs are currently being trialled as part of the recovery process, and a further nine drugs are in live clinical trials as part of the ACCORD programme, which is looking at early-stage treatments. We look forward to seeing the results of those trials. I thank everyone involved in that process, and put on the record my thanks to our deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, who led the work in Government, ​as well as to NHS clinicians, the scientific teams, and the participants in the trial who took the drug before they knew that it worked.

    Our immunology research, again, is world leading. Last month I announced a new antibody testing programme to help us understand the immunological response to the disease, and whether someone acquires resistance to coronavirus once they have had it and recovered. I am part of that programme, and as of yesterday, 592,204 people have had an NHS antibody test. The nature of immunity research means that it takes time, and we must wait to see whether someone with antibodies gets reinfected. However, with every test, we improve our picture of where the virus has been, and we grow the evidence to discover whether people who have had the disease and have antibodies are at lower risk of getting or transmitting the virus again.

    Crucially, that work will help to inform how we deploy a vaccine, and it is moving at pace. Earlier this week Imperial College began its first phase of human clinical trials, and 300 participants will receive doses of the vaccine. Should they develop a promising response, Imperial will move to a large phase-3 trial later this year. Yesterday, AstraZeneca signed a deal for the manufacture of the Oxford vaccine, AZD-1222, which is the world’s most advanced vaccine under development. Its progress, while never certain, is promising.

    None of that happened by accident. It happened because the British Government, scientists, and the NHS put in place a large-scale, programmatic, comprehensive, well-funded, systematic, rigorous, science-led system of research and innovation. We have been working on it since the moment we first heard of coronavirus. There is more to do in this national effort, but that is how we will win the battle. We will leave no stone unturned as we search for the tools to hunt down, control, and ultimately defeat this dreadful disease.

    Mr Speaker

    May I just say to the Secretary of State that he has gone way over the allocated time? It would have been easier for him to make a statement rather than having to have an urgent question. In future, perhaps he could come forward with a statement if he needs the extra time, and I will certainly grant that and support him in doing so. Some extra time for Jonathan Ashworth as well, and for Philippa Whitford.

  • Tim Farron – 2020 Speech on Bus Fare Data

    Tim Farron – 2020 Speech on Bus Fare Data

    Below is the text of the speech made by Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, in the House of Commons on 16 June 2020.

    I am very grateful, Madam Deputy Speaker.

    I support the spirit of these regulations. We must have equity of access to public transport across the country, and the collection of data to build an accurate picture of services is an essential part of that. However, I must warn the Minister that she will have a hard task collecting data on bus services in many towns and villages in Cumbria, because on most days there aren’t any, or at least it is so far that it will be a very short job and hardly worth the journey—which, in case I have not already made myself clear, she would not be able to make by bus.

    I acknowledge that the Government have gone some way towards recognising the crisis in bus services, such as by laying these regulations, and indeed earlier this year there was an announcement of additional funding and the unveiling of a national bus strategy, of which I am sure this forms a key part. But the new funding turned out to be peanuts, and while having a strategy is definitely better than not having a strategy, it was still a far cry from the claims of the press release and light years off providing the solutions needed in communities like ours, where we would like these regulations to apply in practice.

    So, to be clear, the whole of Cumbria received a total of £383,887, which, split roughly six ways between six constituencies, means about £65,000 for my constituency. My constituency could contain geographically every single one of the 73 constituencies in Greater London, and London—where these regulations will definitely apply —sees an annual subsidy to its public transport of around £700 million a year. And we must not forget that our £65,000—just less than a thousandth of 1% of the London subsidy—is just a one-off, and a one-off will not do.

    Ministers surely know that research shows that in order for a community to trust a bus service enough to rely on it as part of their regular routines—enough to use it, basically—that service needs to be functioning ​reliably and affordably for two to three years. I am sure that the data collected as a consequence of this regulation will show that and prove it, but we know it already.

    So this short-term puddle of cash does not even wet the feet of the problem. We will find a way of spending it wisely, and we are not ungrateful, but as we dare to hope for a time beyond the covid crisis, people in my communities want to believe that we have not sacrificed so much, endured such hardship and suffered such shattering loss just to go back to how things were beforehand.

    The mission must be to build back better, and that must include a refusal to leave communities behind. Rural, more isolated communities such as ours in Cumbria are at risk. Those communities are also often older, and while the majority of people, even in their 80s and beyond, will make some use of the technology we are talking about here, a higher proportion than in other age groups will not, and they are the people I am most concerned about in terms of the application of these regulations.

    The average age of the population in South Lakeland is 10 years above the national average. It cannot be right that we forget the generation that has borne the brunt of this virus, yet we will do that if we acquiesce over the isolation that so many of them endure. Many I know have found themselves alone and disconnected in their later years, with the loss of bus services leaving them stranded in places that are utterly beautiful but utterly isolated. Many in these towns and villages rely on buses for the basic tasks of daily life—shopping, going to the doctors, making appointments, seeing friends or getting to work. Buses, when they exist, provide those people with the ability to look after themselves, be independent, protect their physical and mental health, and stave off the loneliness that isolation can bring. Technology can help to underpin that, but only if there is a service that it can be underpinned by.

    There is no doubt that more of us have become acquainted with isolation over the last few months, but what is someone who lives in a small village and is unable to drive supposed to do if their one transport link is removed? At the same time, they witness the closure of accessible services as a consequence of the technology that is available in other parts of the economy. With few neighbours and fewer local services, the loss of buses constitutes the loss of connection, which risks leaving many more people even more isolated and vulnerable.

    Building back better must mean that we learn from the improvement in air quality and the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions throughout this time, and public transport is key to preventing a return to pre-covid carbon emissions. Bus services will be central to that, as part of an integrated public transport system. That is why I continue to urge the Minister to double the capacity of the Lakes line by introducing a passing loop, as well as electrifying the line to significantly reduce its carbon footprint.

    Many of us are excited for a time when lockdown has eased and we are able to see friends and family and visit the shops without unnecessary restrictions and caution. But the Government must recognise that the end of the lockdown will not bring that relief to everyone. In fact, for many isolated people in Cumbria, the official lockdown has not looked very different from the growing isolation ​that they have suffered due to a lack of services and transport links. In the 10 years between 2008 and 2018, the north-west lost 888 separate, distinct services, and that does not include the services we have lost in the last couple of years. We have not taken this lying down. We would love those services to be traced by an app and part of a technological solution, but as I say, there is no point having the technological solution if there is no bus service to underpin it.

    It is not only the elderly in our communities who suffer from reduced bus services. Young people’s access to public transport is also under threat. Free school transport is provided for young people up to sixth-form age, but after that, the support is not available. It makes no sense for the Government to demand that young people carry on in education until 18 and then deny them the ability to afford to do so—a generation that clearly is technologically competent and able to make use of the apps we are talking about. In places like Sedbergh and Coniston, it is often impossible to gain access to sixth-form provision at schools or colleges by public transport. That is why, alongside these regulations, there needs to be a statutory responsibility for local authorities to guarantee home-to-school transport for 16 to 18-year-old students, in the same way there is for under-16s.

    There must also be buses available to deliver that transport in the first place. In many of our towns and villages, if the Minister did agree to subsidise sixth-form bus travel alongside this technological innovation, there just are not any services to be subsidised. That has been emphasised during the covid crisis, as many families with free school meal vouchers have not been able to use them because the vouchers are not for the local supermarket in their town—

    Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)

    Order. The hon. Gentleman is going way off the scope of the regulations. If we are discussing regulations, that is what we are discussing. We cannot not have a general speech about everything that is happening in his constituency, as important as that is. This debate is about the regulations, and I urge him to return to them ASAP.

    Tim Farron

    I will do so instantly. I make the point, though, that the whole point of having the technology that is rightly rolled out through this statutory instrument is that it should apply to services that exist, not imaginary ones that we wish existed. My community is suffering under covid like anywhere else, but the hospitality and tourism industry is vital to us. We are the second biggest visitor destination after London, and yet our public transport infrastructure means that this instrument may as well not exist for many of the communities that I represent. While I support the regulations and will not oppose them, I want to send the Government the message that they should ensure that there are sufficient services in rural communities like mine, so that these applications actually have some application in a county like Cumbria.

  • Matt Rodda – 2020 Speech on Bus Fare Data

    Matt Rodda – 2020 Speech on Bus Fare Data

    Below is the text of the speech made by Matt Rodda, the Labour MP for Reading East, in the House of Commons on 16 June 2020.

    It is a pleasure to respond in this debate on behalf of the Opposition. I am grateful to the Minister for the detailed technical briefing she offered me from the Department. We will not be calling for a vote on these proposals. I will respond to the specific measures and new powers set out in the SI, but I also want to comment on how the proposals help to address the wider issue of how we can improve our bus services, which outside of London and a handful of other areas have faced deep cuts in recent years.

    Before I respond, I put on record my support for our bus services and the workforce who have been on the frontline during the coronavirus crisis. I pay tribute to our bus drivers and other transport workers. They are key workers who have kept vital public services running during the most serious and sustained crisis this country has faced since the second world war. The public are immensely proud of our key workers, and I hope the House will agree that it is important that bus workers are recognised as key workers and receive the support that they deserve.

    It is also important to remember that a number of bus workers and other transport workers have sadly died during the pandemic. I offer my deepest condolences to their families, and I hope Members from all parts of the House will join me in support of those and other key workers who have paid the ultimate price in our struggle with the coronavirus. I urge the Government to look again at health and safety on bus services and the financial support available for the families of those workers who have lost their lives. That is vital in the coming weeks.

    I am pleased that the Government have listened to calls from Labour and the unions for passengers to have to wear masks on public transport. I should say I was one of those passengers today. There is more to do to improve health and safety, such as tackling the risk of infection from drivers having to handle cash on buses and providing improved facilities for hand washing, which I know the Minister’s colleague in the Lords, Baroness Vere, is interested in supporting. I am also pleased that at a time of national crisis, we have been able, as the official Opposition, to work with the Government, ​trade unions and bus operators to consider these important problems, and I look forward to Ministers coming forward with further urgent improvements to health and safety.

    Before turning to the regulations, I will mention the significant economic effects of the crisis on bus operators and workers. We welcome the Government’s financial support for bus services during the coronavirus crisis and as lockdown eases. However, I underline the importance of that being applied fairly. Support needs to be maintained while demand for bus travel returns to normal, which could take some months.

    The current funding package is welcome, but it is offered to bus companies on a flat rate per mile, which is then multiplied by the distance of the routes that they travel. That inadvertently favours some rural routes and areas with lower wage costs, while disadvantaging urban or suburban operators, particularly those in areas where housing costs and costs of living are higher. I hope Ministers will look again at that and offer a fair deal to the whole country. Will the Minister meet me and MPs from all parts of the House who have concerns about this important issue? I note that she is nodding, and I am grateful for her support.

    It is also important that the Government review the length of time that support is available to reassure operators about the future of their businesses, as we have seen for other sectors of the economy, and to help them to plan for a gradual increase in passenger numbers. I understand that some operators are now experiencing around 20% of normal demand, up from just 10% during the height of the crisis. However, it is unclear how long it will take for passenger numbers to return to normal, and the current funding package ends during the summer. A further guarantee of funding would be welcome for the industry.

    Turning to the substance of the regulations, which are intended to help the bus sector, it is positive to see the Government’s interest in our bus services. That has not always been the case in recent years, despite buses being the most common mode of transport for commuters and, indeed, a lifeline for older and vulnerable people. Since 2010, Government funding for bus services has fallen by 45% and hundreds of routes have been lost, largely because of Government cuts to subsidies for socially vital services, as many Members will know. This policy has led to a steep decline in bus use and, I am afraid, increasing isolation, other social problems and, indeed, greater damage to the environment. I should add that things have got so bad that two major bus operators have thought about selling off large parts of their business.

    Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)

    Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the best way for the Government to address those matters is urgently to introduce a national bus strategy, which would put in place a hydrogen technology programme that would allow the development of a new bus building programme that would be totally free of a carbon footprint?

    Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)

    Order. I am anxious that we stick to the substance of the regulations. Matt Rodda.

    Matt Rodda

    Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I am going to try to cover the environment and other forms of innovation later in my speech.​

    Ministers are now trying to find ways to address the need to grow bus use, and the regulations address one small aspect of that, which is to allow greater sharing of bus data on timetables, fares, reliability and, indeed, the location of buses in real time. The Department hopes that making more information available to app developers will lead to more information about bus services being made available to the public, which in turn will increase passenger numbers. There are hopes that those measures could lead to a growth of about 2% in bus use, based on the effect of the policy in London.

    I would, however, add a note of caution. First, I would ask the Minister to reassure the House that the Government’s intention is not to allow disruptive businesses like Uber to try unfairly to entice passengers away from bus services, which could risk undermining some routes, including those that are a lifeline for older people and many who are vulnerable. I hope that she will address that point when she sums up and offer specific reassurance. Secondly, I urge her to regard the measure as one in a series which, I hope, will support our bus services and allow them to grow, both now and in future.

    Going forward, I hope that the Government will offer the same level of interest and support for a series of measures that have been shown to increase bus use and improve services. One of the best known is allowing councils to regulate services, which has been associated with much greater bus use in London, where there is a dramatically different picture of bus patronage. Will the Minister look at that again and allow all councils to explore that option, not just those with elected Mayors?

    Another measure that is strongly associated with growing bus use is allowing councils to run their own bus companies, which used to be common in both Labour and Conservative-controlled local authorities. Council-owned companies in my own town of Reading and in Nottingham have experienced strong growth in bus use for many years—something that, outside London, is almost unique in England. Municipal buses offer low fares, frequent services and modern vehicles that are popular in those communities, and I invite the Minister to come to Reading. [Interruption.] I understand, Madam Deputy Speaker, and I will proceed rapidly through the rest of my speech.

    Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)

    Order. I simply want to make sure that the hon. Gentleman is addressing the regulations.

    Matt Rodda

    I will come back to them. This is part of the wider picture of the need for investment as a whole.

    There are a range of other measures that I hope Ministers will reconsider, along with the regulations. For example, that could include more bus lanes and other bus priority measures to ensure more reliable services on busy roads and smarter support for innovation, which the hon. Member for North Antrim (Ian Paisley) mentioned, including electrification of buses. The Government’s current scheme is welcome, but it could be improved, and I look forward to speaking to the Minister about that.

    I hope that Ministers will look at the link between transport and new housing, and do more to develop brownfield sites and other ways of bringing housing close to public transport routes, which will increase bus patronage and protect the environment. Allowing more ​investment and such innovation measures would offer the prospect of significant growth in bus use, leading to real environmental and social benefits, far beyond the potential benefits of the app.

    To sum up, we are not calling for a vote on these regulations for the reasons I stated earlier. I thank colleagues across the House for their support for bus workers and bus services. I hope the Minister will respond to the risk that these measures could be misused and that the Government will now carry out a wider review of their support for buses, to allow councils more powers to regulate and to provide better services, which have the potential to allow far greater bus use in the future.