Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords]

Debate between Paul Kohler and Helen Maguire

Report stage
Wednesday 10th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paul Kohler (Wimbledon) (LD)]

I thank the Minister and commend him for his constructive engagement throughout the passage of this Bill on the Floor of the House, in Committee and via the usual channels.

Let me make it clear from the outset that my party supports the basic tenets of this Bill. The Tories’ ideologically driven decision to deregulate the bus network in the ’80s and allow private operators to cream off the profitable routes paid scant regard for many unprofitable, mainly rural, routes serving small communities, which unless subsidised by an increasingly hard-pressed local government were simply abandoned. Since 1985, as a direct consequence of their meddling, the number of bus journeys taken in this country has fallen by over 2 billion—a decline of almost 40%—and more than 8,000 services have been cut or withdrawn entirely. In counties such as Shropshire and Devon, and across the country from Cornwall to Caithness, entire villages lost daily services, and some areas were reduced to one bus per week or none.

The Bill represents a bold attempt to reverse that decline. If implemented properly, which will require more funding than currently on offer, it could be transformational, returning control over local bus networks to local communities. It would remove bureaucratic barriers to franchising, enabling local authorities to design routes, timetables, fares and branding that meet the needs of communities, while allowing profitable routes to cross-subsidise the unprofitable ones, rather than lining the pockets of big business, opening up the possibility of a more reliable, integrated and affordable network, which is so crucial for rural and deprived areas that are currently facing steep service declines.

Liberal Democrats want to ensure that this legislation fulfils its potential by empowering local communities, protecting vital routes and driving the shift to greener, fairer transport. We know how important buses are to people’s daily lives. If this Bill is to succeed, it must put passengers first. That is why my hon. Friends and I have tabled so many amendments. I acknowledge that many of them will not be selected for a vote, but even at this late hour, I ask the Minister, please, to cast his eye over them to see which ones he might still accept.

It is worth highlighting that no fewer than 42 amendments were accepted on Report in the Lords, 30 of them from the Government and a further six from Lord Blunkett which the Government chose to support, after some intensive behind-the-scenes lobbying by my Lib-Dem colleagues. I thank them for amendments that we re-tabled in this place to address bus fare affordability, disabled passenger access, decarbonisation of the bus fleet and the protection of socially necessary routes.

[Helen Maguire]

The E5 bus service for Langley Vale in my constituency has a woefully inadequate timetable and a route that does not stop at the local hospital. Local bus routes are simply not servicing my residents. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Bill must tackle poor services and restore the £2 fare cap, reversing the devastating effect of route cuts administered under the Conservatives?

[Mr Kohler]

Those are exactly the issues that the Bill should and could address if the Minister took the bold steps we are asking of him today. In its passage through the other place, the Bill was clearly strengthened through constructive engagement across the political divide. The Government have been willing to accept sensible proposals from their lordships, so surely there can be no good reason why equally sensible amendments tabled here in the Commons could not be adopted.

One such sensible proposal concerns floating bus stops. Badly designed floating bus stops are a menace to the disabled, old and infirm, and in particular to the visually impaired, which is why my party tabled new clause 17, requiring the Secretary of State not only to conduct a review, but to retrofit all existing floating bus stops where necessary. We support amendments 18 to 21, tabled by the hon. Member for Battersea (Marsha De Cordova), and welcome the Minister’s concessions on the issue.

I will address the three amendments that we continue to press with most conviction before turning to new clause 2, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Tom Gordon). Our amendment 10 addresses the scourge of headphone dodgers, which is not a trivial matter. Many passengers feel unsafe or uncomfortable when others play loud content on their devices without headphones, oblivious of those around them. That is not simply an irritation; it causes genuine distress to many trying to travel in relative peace and quiet. More than 75% of those who use public transport stated that it disturbs them, according to a recent Savanta poll. More than 80% of people in a separate YouGov poll agreed that it is unacceptable.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Paul Kohler and Helen Maguire

Monday 28th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paul Kohler (Wimbledon) (LD)]

11. What steps her Department is taking to improve support for children with SEND.

[Helen Maguire (Epsom and Ewell) (LD)]

17. What steps her Department is taking to help ensure that SEND children are being adequately assessed.

[The Minister for School Standards (Catherine McKinnell)]

Colleagues across the House will know about the “lose, lose, lose” system—to use the Tories’ own words—that we inherited. We are investing an extra £1 billion into high-needs budgets, £740 million into creating new places, and have restructured the Department to put SEND at its heart. The system needs far-reaching reform. We are engaging with parents and we have brought experts on board to assist us in this important work.

NHS Backlog

Debate between Paul Kohler and Helen Maguire

Monday 6th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Helen Maguire]

I absolutely agree that it is partly a failure of the previous Conservative Government that the hospitals have not been built. It is vital that the Epsom and St Helier hospitals trust is put at the top of the list as a priority for a new hospital. A new hospital will improve outcomes by consolidating critical services under one roof, easing the strain on staff who are currently stretched across two sites. Moreover, it will enable the Epsom and St Helier hospitals to focus on elective care, diagnostics and out-patient services, which will help them to tackle the backlog more efficiently. Crucially, the new hospital will expand the overall number of beds. Centralising major acute services will address estate challenges, strengthen staffing levels and improve patient outcomes, which will reduce the intolerable waiting times experienced at Epsom and St Helier hospitals.

I turn to the distressing delay in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder assessments. In September 2024, the Darzi report highlighted the stark reality that demand for ADHD assessments has grown so significantly that it risks overwhelming available resources. Nationally, it could take an average of eight years to clear the backlog at the current rate.

My constituent Sophie has been facing the brunt of this backlog. She has been waiting since June 2020 for an adult ADHD assessment, and she will wait quite a bit longer, as Surrey and Borders partnership NHS foundation trust has informed me that it is addressing referrals from as far back as March 2019. The root cause is a mismatch between demand and funding. The service was commissioned to support 400 assessments annually, but it receives 400 referrals every two months. Sophie, like many others, has been advised to seek private assessment, an option that is financially out of reach, as she has been unemployed due to her symptoms. This inefficient system should be reconsidered to help reduce the enormous backlog. The situation is wholly unacceptable.

[Mr Paul Kohler (Wimbledon) (LD)]

A third of children with a serious eating disorder are not seen within the NHS waiting time standard. Does my hon. Friend agree that such delays only make matters worse, leading to sicker children, more suffering and greater costs to the NHS?

[Helen Maguire]

I absolutely agree that prevention is key. If we do not deal with issues immediately, they will just take longer to deal with and be more costly in the long term. The people of Epsom and Ewell simply deserve better. They deserve a healthcare system that works for them, not against them. I urge the Government to act swiftly to address these issues, and to deliver the investment and reforms that our NHS so desperately needs.

Pakistan: Freedom of Religion

Debate between Paul Kohler and Helen Maguire

Thursday 28th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paul Kohler (Wimbledon) (LD)]

I thank the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for securing the debate, and am grateful to him and other Members for their excellent contributions.

Pakistan’s constitution enshrines the right of every citizen to

“profess, practice and propagate his religion”,

and in January, the Minister of Foreign Affairs went as far as to claim:

“Pakistan has undertaken wide ranging measures to promote religious freedom and protect minority rights.”

That is sadly and simply untrue. In the face of forced conversions and mob violence, the Pakistani Government are far too often failing to fulfil their basic duty of protecting their citizens.

Even more seriously, there is widespread evidence of the state actively supporting the discrimination of certain religious minorities, including Shi’a Muslims, Christians and Hindus, with laws against blasphemy in particular being used to undermine their human rights and freedoms. Today, however, I will focus on the Ahmadi Muslim community, who are subject to some of the most serious discrimination.

I am proud that many in the Ahmadi Muslim community live and/or worship in my constituency, which is home to Morden’s magnificent Baitul Futuh mosque, the largest mosque in the UK and the worldwide headquarters of the faith. It is from there that the caliph’s regular Friday sermon is televised live throughout the world, but while Ahmadi Muslims can practise in freedom in this country, that is sadly not the case for those watching and listening to him in Pakistan. I have heard from the mosque and from many of my constituents about the persecution that their community faces on a daily basis in Pakistan. In their mosques, their homes and their businesses, Ahmadi Muslims are facing persecution merely for observing their faith.

[Helen Maguire (Epsom and Ewell) (LD)]

I also have a number of Ahmadiyya Muslims in Epsom and Ewell, and it was really shameful that this faith group had to move its home to the UK to avoid exactly this persecution. Does my hon. Friend agree that all religious groups in Pakistan should have the freedom to practise their faith, and that we in this House should be a voice for the persecuted?

[Mr Kohler]

I completely agree. We have an absolute duty to enforce that and make sure that happens.

The Pakistani Government are doing more than just turning a blind eye to this discrimination, with the state actively seeking to marginalise the Ahmadi Muslim community. Unless Ahmadi Muslims declare themselves to be non-Muslims, they are not permitted to stand for office or vote—they are denied a voice in the system that is meant to uphold their rights. It is important to note that this was not always the case: for example, the first Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Sir Chaudhry Zafarullah Khan, was an Ahmadi Muslim. Sadly, however, Ahmadi Muslim freedoms have been undermined by the Pakistani Government over time, but that does not mean that those rights cannot be restored.

For that reason, our Government should be speaking more loudly on this issue. The UK is Pakistan’s third largest trading partner and its largest in Europe. We are consequently not without influence. Disenfranchised and marginalised Pakistani Ahmadi Muslims have very few options at their disposal. It is therefore our duty to raise our voices, and for the Government to do what they can to help protect their rights and those of other religious minorities. I consequently echo my party leader’s calls last year to reconsider Pakistan’s trade preferences. I also hope the Government will work with Ahmadi Muslim refugees across the world and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to preserve those refugees’ safety. As Gladstone said in 1877:

“Nonconformity supplies the backbone of English Liberalism.”

The Government must do what they can to continue this country’s proud liberal tradition, protecting the rights of the Ahmadi Muslims and other religious minorities in Pakistan.