Contributions
1,335 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDRailways Bill (Eighth sitting)Thank you, Mrs Hobhouse; I am grateful for that guidance. Amendment 36 is a bench-marking amendment. It is absolutely crucial to keep GBR honest in the future when it comes to…29 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fifth sitting)Will the Minister give way?27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Sixth sitting)GBR may plan on a five year basis, but it is not the same five years, is it?27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Sixth sitting)As I intimated earlier, amendments 119 and 129 are probing and I will not press them to a vote. I was interested to hear the Minister’s apparent position that there is no boom and…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Sixth sitting)I heard what the Minister said, but it flies in the face of the evidence that the industry itself gives him and all of us about the need for certainty towards the end of a control…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Sixth sitting)I beg to move amendment 120, in schedule 2, page 60, line 36, leave out “may” and insert “must”. This amendment would require the statement of objectives to contain standards to…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Sixth sitting)I am grateful for that clarification, but although the Minister may share that ambition, he is not choosing to do anything about it. Having said that, I said I was not going to…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Sixth sitting)Our amendments in this group develop the theme that I spoke about in the debate on the last group. We have tabled two small probing amendments to challenge the stop-start nature…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Sixth sitting)I beg to move amendment 119, in schedule 2, page 60, line 2, at end insert— “(1A) The date specified in section 1(d) must be at least 24 months before the start of the funding…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Sixth sitting)Amendments 120 to 123 aim to strengthen GBR’s value for money and wider performance duties. As drafted, paragraph 2(2) in schedule 2 only gives the Secretary of State the option…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fifth sitting)It is certainly welcome, but we are still in the position in which an improvement to a line—something as small as the Haughley junction improvement, which costs roughly £15…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Sixth sitting)I agreed with the hon. Gentleman until that last sentence, because new clause 40, which I will come to in a moment, would require not the removal of subsidy but looking towards…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Sixth sitting)This afternoon is turning into a marathon session, and the only people who cannot take a comfort break are the shadow Minister and the Minister, so far as I can work out; I have…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Sixth sitting)I listened with interest to the explanation the Minister gave and his request that the amendment be withdrawn. I was particularly interested to hear him describe the role of the…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fifth sitting)I am grateful for Minister’s explanation, but I am not persuaded by it and seek to put amendment 109 to a vote. Question put, That the amendment be made.27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Sixth sitting)I beg to move amendment 233, in schedule 1, page 55, line 10, leave out “consultation” and insert “agreement”. This amendment limits the Secretary of State’s powers to set GBR’s…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Sixth sitting)The Minister wants flexibility, and he says that is why amendments 123 and 206—tabled by myself and the hon. Member for Didcot and Wantage respectively—should not be agreed to.…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Sixth sitting)Thank you, Mr Western, for allowing me a second bite at the cherry. I misdirected myself in dealing just with clause 12 in itself, rather than the new clauses in the group. A…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Sixth sitting)Clause 12 is an enabling clause. It is very short and merely refers to schedule 2, so I make no representations to change it and shall not seek to divide the Committee on it.27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Sixth sitting)So here we are: this is the eminently sensible approach to providing funding for the ORR to continue its operations as a safety regulator. Clause 14 allows the Office of Rail and…27 Jan 2026