Yasmin Qureshi: I begin by congratulating the campaigners, especially Gina Martin, who has shone a spotlight on this important issue, as has the hon. Member for Bath (Wera Hobhouse). I welcome the Government’s decision finally to bring forward the legislation, but I must put on the record that the delays in getting to this point were totally unnecessary and have caused needless suffering. The...
Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effects on passenger safety of overcrowding on trains.
Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the merits for passenger safety of a maximum ratio of passengers to seats in trains.
Yasmin Qureshi: It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Howarth. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton North East (Sir David Crausby) on securing this timely debate, coming as it does with the fiasco of the timetable chaos. I will not repeat what my colleagues have said. Hon. Members have dealt with the issues and challenges and with the main problems with the transport system in...
Yasmin Qureshi: That train then goes to Bolton station, in my constituency, and by that time there is no space for anyone to get on it.
Yasmin Qureshi: It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Gapes, in discussing this vital issue. On the surface, potholes and road maintenance may not sound like the most appealing or urgent of concerns. However, roads are a reflection of a country’s infrastructure and ability to provide essential services. Good roads are the lifeblood of our country. They connect communities, families,...
Yasmin Qureshi: I entirely agree, and I was going to come on to that point in my speech a bit further down the road. Today, our roads are unarguably in a state of disrepair that worsens by the day. A brief survey of the facts reveals that the challenges that we face will increase if the Government continue to ignore concerns.
Yasmin Qureshi: I entirely agree, and I will touch on that point later. The Local Government Association recently stated that we are facing a “roads crisis”. That is demonstrated by the worst findings that the LGA has found since it began measuring potholes in 2006. The Royal Automobile Club Foundation for Motoring has found that pothole faults have worsened for the fourth consecutive quarter. An...
Yasmin Qureshi: Absolutely, and I will come on to that point later. The decline has been noted by drivers, with 51% of motorists saying that the conditions of local roads worsened between 2016 and 2017. Only 7% said that they had improved. An overwhelming majority—92%—attributed that to road surfaces and the numerous potholes on the roads. Most significantly, the situation is extremely dangerous...
Yasmin Qureshi: I thank the hon. Lady for that intervention. Of course, one of the problems is that local authorities’ budgets have been slashed consistently over the last eight years, to the point that local authorities are often left able to deal only with their legal obligations, and potholes and road repairs have to be put on the backburner. Such worries are particularly serious for cyclists, as my...
Yasmin Qureshi: That is absolutely correct; I cannot disagree with that. Damaged roads are also a serious concern for the elderly and for children. Some roads in my constituency of Bolton South East are particularly problematic. The potholes in Westland Avenue are so big that when it rains, the rainwater stays. That has caused damage to people’s homes. At least four families have had to be taken away...
Yasmin Qureshi: I will come on to the blaming of local councils, but first I will finish talking about roads in my constituency. Bridgewater Street has Maxton House, a supported home for the elderly and people with dementia, on it. Over a number of months, there have been six accidents alone on that particular road. Again, the work has not been done. A recent RAC survey found that the condition and...
Yasmin Qureshi: That is absolutely correct. In 2015-16, my local authority spent £6.5 million on repairing roads. It had to find that money. Continually to blame local authorities for the fact that they do not have the money is completely wrong. I do not know where the £23 billion for potholes came from, because I can assure hon. Members that none of that money has made its way to my council in...
Yasmin Qureshi: I am sure there are good ways of trying to repair roads, but they all require money. Even the cheaper option that the hon. Gentleman suggests requires money to be made available. The problem is that the money is not there. One of the purposes of today’s debate is to highlight to the Minister and the Government the importance of the issue. I do not know why people here seem to be in...
Yasmin Qureshi: So do many others, such as Burnley. Chronic underfunding has led to extremely worrying short-termism on the part of local councils. They have opted for the inexpensive, short-term solution, which of course fails to tackle the actual issue of repairing the whole road. We know that at some later point, there will be problems on that road. It does not have to be that way. I urge the Government...
Yasmin Qureshi: There are many things that local authorities, working collectively, can do to try to mitigate the problems, and I am sure there are constructive ways of working, but—I am sorry that I sound like a broken tape recorder—how are they to do that? To be able to meet its legal obligations for social care, my local authority had to raise rates by 3% so it could meet the shortfall in...
Yasmin Qureshi: The recent National Audit Office report on the courts programme says: “Expected costs have increased and planned benefits have decreased.” Given that the National Audit Office says the courts programme will now cost £1.2 billion—£200 million more than the Government previously stated—will it lead to even deeper cuts elsewhere in the Ministry of...
Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that dependent children are included on the register of death of a parent.
Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment the Government has made of the effectiveness of the Bereavement Support Payments Regulation 2017.