Stephen Hammond (Shadow Minister, Transport; Wimbledon, Conservative)

I beg to move amendment No. 49, in clause 30, page 20, line 37, after ‘Regulation’, insert ‘and other interested parties’.

I am sure that we will endeavour to live up to your strictures to be alert, Lady Winterton, and will make good law. The clause will remove the requirement for new access contracts to be approved by the rail regulator where they relate to a railway facility forming or to the principal Crossrail tunnel running through central London. The powers under the clause are exercisable by the Secretary of State, albeit after consultation with the Office of Rail Regulation about the terms of the contract.

The purpose of the amendment is to insert the words, “other interested parties”, after the word “Regulation”. While it is wholly appropriate that the regulator should be consulted in such a situation, other parties likely to be affected by the provision are excluded from the consultation. In particular, parties to the contract itself will have something to say on the subject. The amendment is designed to allow other interested parties to communicate with the Secretary of State before she decides to bypass the provisions of the Railways Act 1993 and allow an access contract to come into force without the approval of the regulator. While the motivation behind the clause is clear and I have no objection to it, I think that it would benefit from a more open and fair consultation under the amendment.

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