Speeches by Mayhew.

“That is an interesting point. If the productivity of a private business falls, it becomes less profitable and cannot afford pay rises. Should the same attitude not be directed to public sector bodies? Where productivity falls, the people who suffer are the taxpayers. As the Secretary of State and GBR stand in the shoes…”

“The Conservatives are very supportive of the intention behind the new clause. The replacement for Network Rail within GBR cannot bring the same, frankly uninterested, culture to these assessments that Network Rail is notorious for. I salute the tireless campaigning of my hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybrid…”

“As we have just heard, the Luxembourg protocol is designed to provide access to cheaper rolling stock in the UK and overseas, as finance can be secured and/or rolling stock leased from non-UK sources, and UK rolling stock companies can lease abroad at lower risk. I learned an interesting fact over the weekend. I though…”

“The answer is no, because money was involved. A shining example of the restoring your railways project is the Northumberland line, which was created under and funded by the restoring your railways project, and which is now open and a great success. New clause 35, which is in my name, is relatively long, and would requi…”

“As I mentioned, we support the intention behind these clauses, but I stand firm in defending the need for the ORR to be the issuing body, so I will press my amendment to a Division. Question put, That the amendment be made.”

“I have nothing to add. Question put and agreed to. New clause 61 accordingly read a Second time, and added to the Bill. New Clause 62 Transfer schemes made by Scottish Ministers “(1) The Scottish Ministers may, for any purpose connected with railways or the provision of railway services, make one or more schemes for th…”

“I seek a bit of advice here, Sir Alec: I presume this is the right time to talk about new clause 35 as well.”

“We have no objection in principle to the new clause, but, as we have learned to our cost as consumers in the similar approach taken to car parking charges and the removal of vehicles badly parked elsewhere, this will all come down to the operators contracted by GBR to undertake that function. It is merely asserted that…”

“Thank you, Sir Alec. On new clause 11, I hear what the hon. Member for Didcot and Wantage says about fiscal responsibility, but it seems a bit strange to set up a fund with no funds in it. Although, as Committee members have seen in the new clauses I have tabled, I support the principle of having a long-term approach t…”

“I beg to move amendment 103, in clause 80, page 47, line 13, leave out subsection (1) and insert— “(1) Great British Railways must inform Scottish Ministers before making a decision within subsection (2), and if, in the view of Scottish Ministers, the decision would significantly affect the interests of Scotland’s econ…”

“Before I respond to that, Mr Western, is this my last opportunity to speak in the Committee?”

“In that case, these are all straightforward ancillary parts to the Bill, and I have no comments to make. Question put and agreed to. Clause 89 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 90 General interpretation Amendments made: 200, in clause 90, page 53, line 12, at end insert— “‘Passenger Transport Executive for an i…”

“I am grateful to the hon. Lady for giving way. This is an important debate. If she has been following the proceedings of the Public Bill Committee for the Railways Bill, she will have heard that at the current rate it will take more than 100 years to get step-free access across the full estate. Does she agree with the …”

“I was just thinking about the response that my right hon. Friend got from the permanent under- secretary. Does he think that was a permanent under-secretary trying to be helpful to the Committee, or was it him obfuscating and telling elected Members of Parliament to get their noses out of his business?”

“The Prime Minister made a huge deal about the process that had been gone through when he answered questions from the Leader of the Opposition earlier today. If I understand it correctly, the process was that the Prime Minister wanted Peter Mandelson.”

“The hon. Member says that he would not buy a second-hand car from Mandelson. Would he have made him ambassador to the United States?”

“I am unpersuaded. As I previously indicated, I will press amendment 74 to a vote. Question put, That the amendment be made.”

“I am interested in the Minister’s repeated insistence that there would be confusion if there were more than one enforcement body for rail activities. What is his proposed solution to the Competition and Markets Authority and its enforcement competency for the railways, which currently is shared with the Office of Rail …”

“The Minister has described the function of clause 48, the lead measure in this group, but there is one notable exception from the list of bodies that can refer to the council for advice under clause 48(1)(a) as drafted. It includes mayoral combined authorities, Transport for London and Ministers—whether the Secretary o…”

“Clause 47 deals with improvement plans. It allows the passengers’ council to request improvement plans from licensed rail operators “where it judges them to be, or likely to be, non-compliant with the standards it sets and therefore, the consumer licence conditions”— not that we have seen them, and the “improvement pla…”