Welsh Affairs: Wales and Borders Rail Franchise.
Witnesses: Ken Skates AM, Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure, Welsh Government (via videolink) Simon Jones, Director of Transport and ICT infrastructure, Welsh Government Councillor Samantha Dixon, Chair, North Wales and Mersey Dee Cross-Border Rail Task Force Ashley Rogers, Chair, North Wales Business Council Iwan Prys-Jones, Programme Manager, North Wales Economic Ambition Board
The following Member made and subscribed the Affirmation required by law: Samantha Dixon, for City of Chester.
Samantha Dixon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he will publish his full response to Sir Peter Hendy’s Union Connectivity Review.
Samantha Dixon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what date he expects to announce the outcome of bids to the second round of the UK Levelling Up Fund for transport-related investments.
Samantha Dixon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what contractual requirements he has placed on the Avanti West Coast train company on the restoration of the frequency of direct train services linking North Wales, Chester and London Euston; and what penalties will be imposed in the event of that operator failing to meet those standards.
Samantha Dixon: What assessment he has made of trends in the level of bus services in England since 2019.
Samantha Dixon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of housing for armed forces personnel.
Lindsay Hoyle: We now come to a maiden speech. I call Samantha Dixon.
Samantha Dixon: What recent steps he has taken to provide humanitarian support for Ukraine.
Samantha Dixon: I agree with the hon. Member for Upper Bann (Carla Lockhart). At the current rate of recruitment, it is highly questionable whether the Government will achieve their target of replacing the 20,000 police officers by the end of March.
Samantha Dixon: On 1 March, will the decision be the Minister’s or will it rest with others, and if so, who?
Samantha Dixon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many local authorities fund the management and upkeep of historic scheduled monuments as part of their highways budget.
Samantha Dixon: York and Chester have many similarities, and it would appear that a complete absence of any access to dental services is another one. Can I impress on the Minister the urgency of improving access to NHS dentistry, because it is essential that my constituents do not have to travel for miles and worry for months?
Yvonne Fovargue: I remind hon. Members that they should bob if they wish to be called in the debate. I call Samantha Dixon.
Samantha Dixon: What steps he is taking to ensure that the UK meets its obligations to NATO.
Samantha Dixon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to prevent discarding of fishing nets in the sea by vessels landing at ports.
Samantha Dixon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure Avanti West Coast allocate an adequate provision of advance tickets on its Chester-London services.
Samantha Dixon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the High-Level Output Specification and Statement of Funds Available for the railways, published on 1 December 2022, on what date he expects (a) to publish the next iteration of the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline and (b) to make a statement on proposed improvements to Chester railway station.
Samantha Dixon: Sadly, catcalling and other gender-based micro-aggressions are still commonplace in schools. The Chester Sexual Abuse Support Service, which works closely with schools across my constituency, tells me there is still a lack of awareness, education and prevention regarding these issues. What is being done to resource schools to raise awareness and help young people to challenge behaviours that...
Samantha Dixon: In Chester, we are fortunate to have a high street full of wonderful small and medium-sized businesses. The Chancellor’s announcement of cuts to the energy bill relief scheme from April will be devastating to many of those businesses. The cost of living crisis continues, yet the support is being pulled. Does the Minister agree that businesses need support to continue driving our economy?
