Contributions
1,335 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDRailways 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 (Fifth sitting)My hon. Friend is entirely right. That will be a theme of our comments on and challenges to the Bill throughout the progress of our scrutiny: accountability without responsibility…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Sixth sitting)The Minister refers to clause 18(2)(e), which states: “They must exercise the functions… in the manner best calculated to be in the public interest”. Can the Minister not see that…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fifth sitting)Where is the reference to persistent, urgent and unforeseen incidents in the Bill?27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Sixth sitting)I beg to move amendment 22, in clause 13, page 7, line 22, leave out “as it thinks fit” and insert “as are reasonable”. This amendment would ensure Great British Railways only…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 (Fifth sitting)That is a perfectly fair challenge, but amendment 11 would not require the CEO’s removal by the Secretary of State if those KPIs are not met; it would be a necessary first step to…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fifth sitting)It is not a perfect analogy, because GBR is at least intended to be more akin to a business—a nationalised business—but my hon. Friend is entirely right that where we have two…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fifth sitting)rose —27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Sixth sitting)Mr Western, you get what you measure. We on this side of the Committee are very keen that we measure the level of involvement for the taxpayer and that we do our best to look…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fifth sitting)You are kind to call me to speak again, Sir Alec; I realise that I did not speak to clause 10 earlier. Briefly, I recognise that clause 10 mirrors clause 9, which we have debated…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fifth sitting)We have debated these two clauses. We have made clear our concerns about the current drafting and have tried our best to improve the Bill through a number of very sensible…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fifth sitting)It is just as pleasurable to have you in the Chair today as it was last week, Sir Alec. I remind hon. Members that clause 7 gives the Secretary of State the power to issue and…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Sixth sitting)We now turn to paragraph 4 of schedule 2, which deals with the business plan and approval by the Secretary of State. To receive public funding under paragraph 4, GBR is required…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fifth sitting)I beg to move amendment 109, in schedule 1, page 55, line 10, leave out from “may,” to “grant” and insert— “at the recommendation of the Office of the Rail and Road in relation to…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fifth sitting)I echo all the comments made by my right hon. and hon. Friends. I also thank the Minister for facing up to it with a point of order. It was obvious last week that a point of order…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)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)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 2026