With the UK to set a net zero carbon emissions target, I’ll be pushing for transport infrastructure to make Redditch cleaner and greener, writes Redditch MP Rachel Maclean in her Letter From Westminster

That’s why I held a Westminster Hall debate on transport infrastructure in Redditch.

These debates are a great way to get the Government to respond to the concerns my constituents have raised with me.

Apart from Brexit, bus services and transport infrastructure is one of the most popular topics residents write to me about.

I’m well aware of the issues and residents’ views on bus services in our town. I’ve had Diamond Buses around the table, as well as transport managers from Worcestershire County Council.

I’m doing all I can as your MP to see bus services improve in Redditch. All I can do is have these conversations with bus companies and council officials.

As your MP I don’t have any power or control over how the bus services are run, but I do have very detailed and constructive conversations with bus companies and local authority officials to make sure that concerns and questions are heard and acted on.

If we’re to meet the net zero emissions target by 2050, then towns like Redditch must play its part.

We must support the take up of electric cars and make sure that charging infrastructure is ready for drivers.

We can also do this by investing in transport infrastructure and getting more people to use public transport instead of their cars.

To do this we must make public transport more accessible, more reliable and more suited to the demands of passengers.

And there is already work going on in Redditch to achieve this goal.

Thanks to the lobbying efforts of Conservative-led Redditch Borough Council, the team has secured funding from Worcestershire County Council to invest in our train station.

I'm supporting this project wherever I can, for instance I am pressing leaders at the county council to provide regular updates and details of exactly how much funding will come to Redditch and when we can expect it.

This is a form of localised diplomacy if you will and an important way in which an MP can contribute.

As we move forwards, I will continue to do all I can to see improvements made to Redditch’s transport infrastructure.

The more reliable we can make public transport in Redditch, the cleaner and greener are town can become.