Contributions
565 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDIvanhoe Line: RestorationIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for North West Leicestershire (Amanda Hack) on securing the debate, and thank…28 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fifth sitting)Clause 9 provides a power for the Secretary of State to issue non-binding guidance to Great British Railways, which GBR must have regard to. Clause 10 provides Scottish Ministers,…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fifth sitting)The amendments will improve clarity and ensure that the Railways Bill works as intended. Clauses 7 and 9, as drafted, set out that the Secretary of State must obtain consent from…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fifth sitting)I beg to move amendment 166, in clause 7, page 5, line 4, leave out “operation of a GBR-provided Scottish service” and insert “exercise by Great British Railways of functions— (i)…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Sixth sitting)I thank Members for tabling amendments on GBR’s funding and financial framework. In this chunky group of important amendments and new clauses, I first turn to new clause 26,…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fifth sitting)On memorandums of understanding, I point the shadow Minister to the fact that the heads of terms for the memorandum of understanding with the Welsh Government have already been…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fifth sitting)In a spirit of cross-party contrition, I agree with the shadow Minister’s point; it is a fair one, and perhaps that was a poor example. In the setting out of the long-term rail…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fifth sitting)I will, but very briefly, and this is the final time.27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fifth sitting)It puzzles me that with all the other transport bodies that have been set up—National Highways is an interesting example—I do not recall a series of concerns having been outlined…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fifth sitting)I defer to my hon. Friend’s expertise on that particular matter, but my overall point is that, rather than create events in our heads about when this enforcement power may be…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fifth sitting)I will give way one final time, and then I really do want to make some progress.27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fifth sitting)I had not forgotten the shadow Minister’s request for me to provide specific examples. In a sense, though, I do not believe that it would be wise to do so. I do not think that the…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fifth sitting)I will give way one final time and then I want to make some progress.27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fifth sitting)Clause 11 introduces schedule 1, which will amend part I of the Railways Act 1993 to set out GBR’s licensing regime in a way that broadly mirrors the existing licence provisions…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fifth sitting)Although we have had an opportunity to discuss some of the provisions regarding the creation of the licence—it being enforced by the ORR with powers that include giving GBR…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fifth sitting)I thank the hon. Gentleman for the amendment, which is intended to prevent the Secretary of State from granting a licence to GBR unless the ORR gives a formal recommendation that…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Sixth sitting)May I begin, Mr Western, by saying what a pleasure it is to serve under your chairship? I thank the hon. Member for Broadland and Fakenham for tabling this group of amendments. I…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Sixth sitting)Clause 12 establishes a new funding process for GBR that takes what we have learnt from the successes of the periodic review process today and applies them to the new GBR world.…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Sixth sitting)When it comes to setting up the operational structure of GBR, including questions about workforce and staffing, it is fair to say that no piece of railway legislation for 113…27 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Sixth sitting)As my hon. Friend rightly highlights, questions about the operational structure of GBR have been left outside the framework of this Bill. That is precisely to allow those…27 Jan 2026