Clause 8 - Regulations
Railways and Transport Safety Bill
9:15 am
Mr John Spellar (Minister of State (Transport), Department for Transport; Warley, Labour)
That is all right. A long apprenticeship is obviously needed.
The hon. Lady raised many points that I wanted to make about precedent and practicality. The Merchant Shipping Act 1995 is no more detailed about the marine accident investigation branch chief inspector's functions. It simply says that regulations may specify the functions of the chief inspector and MAIB inspectors. The powers of the rail accident investigation branch inspectors have been modelled on those of MAIB inspectors.
The hon. Lady rightly asked about the consultations that took place on the regulations. Those are intended to help us to draft the regulations, not just the Bill. We will consult on the regulations shortly after Royal Assent. She also asked about any differences in the aviation accident investigation branch and the experience of parallel bodies. The AAIB has seen the Bill and says that it has experienced no problems with similar provisions. The hon. Lady asked about our general consultation on the Bill and on what could be in draft regulations. We hope to publish a response to the consultation shortly—probably within the next month.
We have drawn on two successful models, exactly as Lord Cullen recommended, and we have asked how we can implement the best practice and procedures appropriate to the railways. How do we outline the functions of the inspector? In what framework will detailed regulations be drawn up and, if necessary, subsequently amended, without the need to return to primary legislation? Out of practicality, we are right to draw on experience, and we have struck the right balance between proper parliamentary scrutiny of the broad powers and a practical policy for implementation.