Contributions
565 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDRailways Bill (Fourth sitting)That is a very important point. I thank the right hon. Member for his contribution. The passenger watchdog will have the ability to make sure that GBR is compliant with minimum…22 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fourth sitting)I thank the hon. Member for Didcot and Wantage for new clause 8 and amendment 130, and all right hon. and hon. Members who have offered contributions in support of the notion of…22 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fourth sitting)For a gin and tonic.22 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fourth sitting)The hon. Member can intervene again if I have misunderstood his point, but I think there is a lot of utility in the fact that GBR, by being able to direct passenger services as…22 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fourth sitting)The right hon. Member makes an important point about resilience on the railway; it complements the points made by the hon. Member for West Dorset about the fact that we live in a…22 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fourth sitting)I thank the shadow Minister for that clarification. I want only to add, as a further clarification, that in the future GBR will account for about two thirds of passenger services…22 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fourth sitting)It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Alec. I thank hon. Members for the amendments and new clauses in the group. Before I turn to amendments 3 and 4, however, I…22 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Third sitting)Of course, those independent retailers can continue to operate. GBR also has, as part of its duties—the things that it is required to follow by law—an interest in promoting the…22 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Third sitting)The hon. Lady is right to point out that there are certain areas where GBR will operationally have to work with third-party retailers to ensure that they have the information that…22 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Third sitting)I thank all the hon. Members for the amendments, which relate to GBR’s ticket retailing functions. I will turn first to amendments 2 and 117 and new clause 3. The amendments and…22 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Third sitting)Amendment 164 will enable the Secretary of State to appoint GBR as an agent to undertake certain activities on her behalf—for example, to manage outstanding contractual…22 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Third sitting)I beg to move amendment 164, in clause 2, page 2, line 3, at end insert— “(5A) This section is not to be read as preventing the exercise of functions by Great British Railways on…22 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Third sitting)May I draw the hon. Member’s attention to the fact that so far I have not made a single rail pun in the course of this debate—and I intend to keep it that way? The hon. Member…22 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Third sitting)It is my understanding that the process of appointing non-executive directors on GBR’s board will be followed in the normal way. I expect departmental processes to find a range of…22 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Third sitting)I thank the hon. Member for his constructive engagement on the amendment and the clause. Amendment 164 agreed to. Clause 2, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 3…22 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Third sitting)It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Hobhouse. May I begin by saying how much I look forward to working with all members of the Committee as we advance the…22 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Fourth sitting)Let me first pick up on the points made by the hon. Lady as they relate to devolution, which is incredibly important. We will cover it in more extensive detail later, but it has a…22 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (Second sitting)Q Thank you; that is a really important point. It is worth stating for the record that a number of my constituents live in your combined authority— Tracy Brabin: And what a great…20 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (First sitting)Q I am conscious of time, so I just have one broader question about the devolution settlement, which is devolving services and how the railway works, which is mentioned in the…20 Jan 2026HANSARDRailways Bill (First sitting)Q Thank you. My final question relates to accountability. There is a suite of measures within the Bill to ensure that GBR is compliant with its duties and the provisions of its…20 Jan 2026