Speeches by Mayhew.

“I beg to move amendment 237, in clause 20, page 11, line 21, leave out paragraph (c). This amendment removes the exemption for ORR’s functions under schedule 2 from its competition duty.”

“I can beat that. The clause appears necessary, and it is not one that His Majesty’s Opposition will object to. Question put and agreed to. Clause 19 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 20 Competition duty of ORR”

“Does the hon. Gentleman not see the logic of the lobby group for rail freight saying that we should focus on rail freight while the lobby group in favour of the passenger, which I quoted earlier, says that there should be a passenger growth target? Does he not think that those representing passengers are better qualifi…”

“It may well do, in short answer. The Minister makes a valid point: having a single point of contact for this may well have a benefit. Of course, it could be the Office of Rail and Road as opposed to GBR, but the real problem, which we will come on to in a few hours—or days—is the drafting of clause 63, which concerns t…”

“You will not be wholly surprised, Mrs Hobhouse, to know that I am entirely unconvinced by the Minister’s arguments. This is one of the key differences of opinion between the Government and the sector, and I seek to give the sector a voice through my amendments and my submissions. I will look to you, Mrs Hobhouse, for g…”

“To give you an advance clue, I intend to press amendments 237 and 37 to a vote. Depending on the outcome of the vote on amendment 37, I may not seek to divide on the others, apart from amendment 38.”

“This is now a common refrain in our deliberations. The Minister says, “Don’t worry. All these things will be taken care of at some future date in documents that have not been drafted and certainly haven’t been shared with the Committee.” With the greatest respect to him, I do not take it on trust that the Government ar…”

“The principle the Government continue to establish is important for the relationship between the state and the ORR when it comes to safety-related duties. I recognise the Government’s work to ensure that the clauses protect the ORR’s independence in many regards, rather than encroaching upon it. The protection of that …”

“I beg to move amendment 39, in clause 23, page 13, line 9, at end insert— “(3) The memorandum of understanding must be published at the same time as the Rail Strategy. (4) The memorandum of understanding must be laid before both Houses of Parliament for a period of two months before it can come into force.” This amendm…”

“I do not know why I bothered going to the gym this morning, Mrs Hobhouse, because I have been doing squat thrusts every time I rise to speak to a new group of amendments. Clause 23 deals with the memorandum of understanding, about which we have heard so much but know so little, and the relationship between the Secretar…”

“I hope it will be the last, but I fear I will not be. I have some key questions for the Minister. I understand that the memorandum of understanding has not yet been finalised; has the work to scope it out even begun? The Minister should at least be able to answer that. At what stage in the deliberations between the two…”

“I am interested to hear the Minister’s strong hints that the memorandum of understanding may be much more advanced than we had previously been led to believe. The intention of amendment 39 was to flush out the MOU—it sounds like it may well have already achieved its purpose. Taking the Minister’s words at face value, I…”

“The Government amendment makes further provision concerning the memorandum of understanding between the Secretary of State and Welsh Ministers. I have no objection to it. The Minister is absolutely right that clause 24 is similar in intention to clause 23, but there are huge questions about the role that Welsh Minister…”

“I hope I am not going to miss out any of those amendments, Mrs Hobhouse, but it is going to be quite a challenge. Clause 20 concerns the “competition duty” of the Office of Rail and Road; it sounds pretty good when you read that title but the clause gets progressively less and less good once you delve into it. The clau…”

“I understand the point the Minister is making about the lack of relationship between those two documents. In the debate on the previous group, he was able to give an indication of the likely timeframe for publishing the Scottish memorandum of understanding. Can he give a similar hint on the Welsh memorandum of understa…”

“Having heard the semi-reassurance of the Minister, I will not move amendment 40. Clause 24, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Ordered, That further consideration be now adjourned. —(Nesil Caliskan.)”

“The Minister is touching on a key issue that the railway will have to address if he is serious about achieving a reliable Sunday service, and that is operating a seven-day schedule with a six-day roster. Does the Minister intend finally to address the six-day roster issue and to move working practices on to a seven-day…”

“The hon. Member is as capable of reading the amendments as I am of drafting them. I do not want to get hung up on that, but my working assumption and my assertion to him is that the ownership structure internationally may be a state-owned organisation, but the delivery body in the United Kingdom would be a for-profit, …”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. New clause 33(3)(a) to (d) is aimed at reducing short-term decisions and focusing more on long-term efficiency and savings. I am sure there are many former business people on the Labour Benches—or maybe not, actually—[Interruption.] I am glad to hear that there are. There are many fo…”

“The usual procedure applies again. Clause 16 requires both GBR and the Office of Rail and Road to “have regard to” a number of different requirements, such as the long-term rail strategy, the statutory transport or rail strategies published by the Welsh and Scottish Governments respectively, the mayoral combined author…”