Schedule 1 - Office of rail regulation
Railways and Transport Safety Bill
3:15 pm
Mr David Jamieson (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Transport; Plymouth, Devonport, Labour)
There is no disagreement on the importance of properly reflecting regional interests in railway policy, but the amendment is not the way to
achieve it. It would put the independence of economic regulation at risk and cause confusion between the respective roles of the Strategic Rail Authority and the Office of Rail Regulation.
Let me detain the Committee a few moments to provide more detail. Broadly, the Strategic Rail Authority's role is to set policy and the Office of Rail Regulation's role is to ensure the fair implementation of that policy. Regional representation is appropriate for a policy body such as the Strategic Rail Authority, which is catered for in section 202(3) of the Transport Act 2000. In contrast, representation by regional interest is inappropriate for the Office of Rail Regulation. All appointments should be made on the basis of expertise and merit alone to reinforce the independence of the economic regulatory function.