Clause 6 - Investigations
Railways and Transport Safety Bill
2:30 pm
Mr Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North, Labour)
May I say what a pleasure it is to serve under your chairmanship, Mr. Hurst?
I intend to support my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary, although the Liberal Democrat spokesman was right to table the amendment. However, the world has moved on since the Under-Secretary gave his answer. Contractors are no longer as highly regarded as they were. That is certainly true of the rail industry in the light of recent accidents and since the establishment of Network Rail, which recently decided to take some of its maintenance contracts in-house and extend them. The costs of contracting are now seen to be much higher than direct employment. I hope that that will influence any decision about using contractors in railway safety. As the hon. Member for Bath (Mr. Foster) pointed out, there is scope for using outside assistance in providing services during an investigation, such as hiring a minibus and providing sandwiches for the investigators. Even photographers might be on contracts and might be seen as contractors.
The wording of the amendment suggests too wide a scope. It might be stronger and more precise if it read, ''to undertake investigations'', rather than to ''assist'' in them. I will vote against it, but it is appropriate to raise the issue. I hope that the Under-Secretary and the Minister will consider direct employment for those who undertake the investigations.