Clause 56
Crossrail Bill
4:30 pm
Tom Harris (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Transport; Glasgow South, Labour)
I strongly suspect that the hon. Gentleman has read the clause completely wrongly, but I shall try to explain. Clause 56 allows any TWA order that relates to a proposed extension of Crossrail or to provision of a facility connected with Crossrail to apply to any provision of the Bill, with any modifications necessary to the order, or to provide that any provision of the Bill should have effect as if the extension were part of Crossrail.
Let me explain the purpose of Clause 56. As the hon. Gentleman knows from earlier debates, the Bill establishes a bespoke regime for Crossrail. It modifies and disapplies various pieces of legislation, and replaces them with a tailor-made regime that is based heavily on that created by the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act 1996. Indeed, he will recall from our debate last week that the Bill creates a bespoke planning and railway regulatory regime for Crossrail.
If a TWA order is subsequently sought for an extension to Crossrail—for example, to Reading or Ebbsfleet—or for a new Crossrail facility such as a new station, the TWA order cannot necessarily apply the same regime to the works as is established by the Bill. The reason is that, as a form of delegated legislation, TWA orders are limited in their ability to modify the application of legislation.