Clause 30
Crossrail Bill
10:30 am
Tom Harris (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Transport; Glasgow South, Labour)
Good morning, Lady Winterton. May I welcome you back to the Chair?
It is often advisable to start as one means to go on, but I will not do so this morning, because I intend to begin by more or less accepting the principle of the amendment. That pattern is not likely to be repeated throughout the rest of the day. The amendment requires consultation with interested parties on the terms of a proposed access contract for Crossrail services in the central tunnel that would not be subject to the ORR’s approval. There is nothing in the clause to stop the Secretary of State from consulting as she considers appropriate. The point of subsection (4) is to ensure consultation with the ORR, as the body with expertise and responsibility, on the terms of access contracts.
Although I do not think that it is absolutely necessary, the amendment does have some merit. The only reason that I ask the hon. Gentleman to withdraw it is that I would like parliamentary counsel to see the proposed wording to ensure that it is robust. If the hon. Gentleman agrees to withdraw the amendment, we will bring it back on Report and give it a fair wind.