Contributions
565 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDRailways Bill (Ninth sitting)I can start by confirming that existing exemptions from designation will be retained. I hope that provides an assurance to the shadow Minister. The powers could be used to allow…03 Feb 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Ninth sitting)May I begin by saying that I hope the shadow Minister can forgive my initial sluggishness on this drab Tuesday morning, because he asked a perfectly reasonable question about the…03 Feb 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Ninth sitting)On the role of the Secretary of State in setting parameters for fares, we have had a lot of debate in the Committee about the need to ensure efficiency on behalf of taxpayers, who…03 Feb 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Ninth sitting)The right hon. Member is far too eager. I shall turn to that in due course. Amendment 148 would prevent the Secretary of State and Scottish Ministers from issuing directions to…03 Feb 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Ninth sitting)We have repeatedly had this allusion drawn between NHS England and the NHS on the one hand and the Department for Transport and GBR on the other. I do not believe that these…03 Feb 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Ninth sitting)These direction powers, as drafted, replicate those in many other pieces of legislation, which are fit for purpose in making sure there is democratic accountability for the…03 Feb 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Ninth sitting)We may have to hash this out in our own time. There is a principle around the replication of functions between organisations. The principle of GBR is that once those…03 Feb 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Eighth sitting)It won’t be the last!29 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Seventh sitting)I thank hon. Members from all parties for their well-considered contributions to this debate. I shall endeavour to give full answers to them. First, on the point made by the…29 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Seventh sitting)I will give way briefly in a moment, but first I will build on the point that was made by my hon. Friend the Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford about how services can run across…29 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Eighth sitting)Regard will have to be paid to the business plan over the period for which it is implemented. It will also be possible to tell, on the business plan’s completion, whether it has…29 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Eighth sitting)It is a pleasure to once again serve under your chairship, Mrs Hobhouse. Before I begin my remarks, may I seek a piece of advice on amendment 250? We are considering it as part of…29 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Eighth sitting)Thank you, Mrs Hobhouse. I thank all hon. Members for their amendments, which seek to make changes to the provisions on the rail freight growth target. I also thank the shadow…29 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Eighth sitting)It is my understanding that the system this Bill creates for GBR to engage with third-party retailers through ticketing will include the sharing of necessary data. I presume that…29 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Eighth sitting)I will start with the point about accessibility, which the shadow Minister and my hon. Friend the Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford have both spoken about. I reiterate how…29 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Eighth sitting)I thank the shadow Minister for tabling the amendments. Amendment 33 would add further duties to clause 18. The proposed duties are either duplicative of existing provisions in…29 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Eighth sitting)As I said, it has the power to request enforcement, and that is important because, ultimately, GBR needs to be able to take those decisions but have robust accountability from the…29 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Eighth sitting)I thank my hon. Friend for her contribution as part of this debate, and throughout our proceedings, on the importance of accessibility for people with disabilities and for parents…29 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Seventh sitting)Good morning, Mr Western. It continues to be a pleasure to serve under your chairship. I thank right hon. and hon. Members for their contributions and for the clarity and…29 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Eighth sitting)Before I get into to my substantive points on this amendment, I want to circle back to a query the shadow Minister raised earlier, via an intervention, about accessibility and…29 Jan 2026