The clause is the standard clause that appears in Bills that provide for the expenditure of public money. It simply provides that any expenditure by the Secretary of State under the Bill

“shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament”.

The content of the clause itself is entirely uncontentious.

With regard to the new clauses, the hon. Member for Wimbledon seeks to achieve transparency in the way that Crossrail will be funded. I am happy to say that the Government agree that transparency about Crossrail is desirable, as evidenced by the documentation that we have already made available, to which I referred in an earlier sitting. I can give comfort to the Committee that we intend to more information public in future. Yesterday, a copy of the heads of terms agreed by the Secretary of State for Transport and Transport for London were placed in the Library of the House. Some details have been redacted to protect commercial confidentiality, but the key terms of the deal between the co-sponsors of the project are now in the public domain. We and TfL need to produce the detailed arrangements that will support the heads of terms. That will involve the production of a large number of documents, which we expect to take several months to finalise. Our presumption is that those documents will be made public, again subject to the need protecting commercial interests.

Turning to new clause 2, the publication yesterday of the heads of terms means that the Government have in practice already published the information that proposed subsection (1) would require. May I make it clear that we intend to make public the relevant detailed agreements that will be negotiated over the coming months to implement the heads of terms? I believe that that will deal in large part with what proposed subsection (2) seeks to achieve. The issue of the wider financial consequences of Crossrail for London mentioned in proposed subsection (2) (b) is a matter for the Mayor. I expect that he would want to be very clear with Londoners about that, and he is subject to ongoing scrutiny by the London assembly.

Proposed subsection (3) refers to the desire for ongoing information about progress during construction. Our intention in that respect is captured by paragraph 3.11.2 of the heads of terms, which makes it clear that Cross London Rail Links Ltd will be required to publish information,

“to ensure a high level of transparency as to the progress and cost of the Crossrail Project.”

To conclude, while I sympathise with the sentiment underlying new clause 2, I think that it is unnecessary. I hope that I have made it clear that the Government and the Mayor recognise the importance of keeping the public well informed about the way in which Crossrail is taken forward, and that we are already taking steps to do that. On that basis, I hope that the hon. Member for Wimbledon will not press the new clauses to a vote.