I am grateful to my hon. Friend Mr. Davidson for explaining the point of his new clause, which is that this Bill should make the same provision for passenger transport executives in Scotland as for those in England.

I, too, remember fondly our days as members of Strathclyde regional council many years ago, on which we both served our political apprenticeship. If I remember correctly, he had to serve his slightly longer than I served mine, before moving on to other things.

I accept what my hon. Friend said about the approach of Strathclyde PTE, and I should make it clear that I highlighted those points in responding to my hon. Friends the Members for Glasgow, Cathcart (Mr. Harris) and for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth (Rosemary McKenna), who have raised similar issues before. That PTE was forward-thinking and was at the forefront of providing integrated transport. As my hon. Friend alluded to, it underpinned a political agenda that recognised the need and desire in the west of Scotland for an integrated public transport system that served all the communities in the area. I should point, however, that I will be asking my hon. Friend to withdraw his new clause and amendment, for reasons that I hope he will understand.

It would be remiss of me not to put on the record the fact that yesterday, the Scottish Parliament gave its unanimous support—such unanimity is very unusual—for a Sewel motion transferring functions relating to railways from this House to Scottish Ministers. Having agreed that transfer of power to Scottish Ministers, it would not be right for this House then to second-guess what they want to do. As my hon. Friend said, they have outlined their approach to railway development in Scotland in the Transport (Scotland) Bill. They have made it clear that there will be a need for local input into the Scottish rail network, and have therefore stated categorically that the west of Scotland regional transport partnership, which will replace Strathclyde PTE, will have a role in the development, management and monitoring of the franchise in that part of Scotland. Indeed, the new regional transport partnerships will be established across Scotland.

I am aware that concern exists that there might be a gap between enactment of the Railways Bill and of the Transport (Scotland) Bill, but we anticipate no such gap. Under the terms of clause 14 of the Railways Bill, Strathclyde PTE will continue to be a party to the ScotRail franchise. That will allow it to maintain its current role in the management of that franchise, until Scottish Ministers make an order under the Transport (Scotland) Bill—once enacted—to transfer its powers.

The Transport (Scotland) Bill also includes provisions that allow Scottish Ministers, if they so wish, to transfer or share their own transport functions with the new regional transport partnerships that will be established across Scotland. Therefore, if they wish, Scottish Ministers can share rail functions with any RTP. So clause 13 as drafted will not statutorily debar Scottish Ministers from involving other parties in rail franchises, and in the light of that assurance, I hope that my hon. Friend will see fit to withdraw his new clause. If he does so, it would be entirely logical for him to withdraw amendment No. 7 as well.

The amendment tabled in the name of Mr. Knight is not necessary. We share the view that there needs to be maximum consultation, transparency and openness. Under freedom of information Acts north and south of the border, the opportunity now exists to underpin that transparency. I know that Scottish Ministers share the UK Government's concern that Scottish citizens should be properly informed about what is proposed for their railway network and why. As I said in Committee in response to a previous amendment to clause 5 that was based on a similar principle, the Scottish Executive have adopted the principles of the Cabinet Office's code of practice on policy development and public consultation. That being the case, the reasons behind policy and strategy proposals will be explained as part of observing those principles, and of good practice. There is every likelihood that before its actual publication, a strategy will have been widely available as a consultation document.

Those of us who represent Scottish constituencies know that the Scottish Executive and the Scottish Parliament are well versed in the importance of consultation in respect of policies and initiatives.In that spirit, I ask my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Pollok to withdraw the new clause.