Speeches by Mather.

“Committee members will be very pleased that I have considerably less to say about this group than the previous one. Government amendment 173 corrects a small naming error in the Bill: a clause for the London Transport Users Committee incorrectly refers to the passengers’ council. The correction ensures that the Bill is…”

“I thank the shadow Minister for his constructive approach to the remaining clauses and the Government amendment as part of this group. He and his colleagues have ably and comprehensively outlined any potential concerns that they have in relation to the passenger watchdog, many of which would map over to consideration o…”

“Good morning, Mr Western. It continues to be a pleasure to serve under your chairship. I thank right hon. and hon. Members for their contributions and for the clarity and succinctness with which they delivered them. I am afraid I will not be able to follow in their footsteps when responding to what is a chunky group of…”

“On locking in a 15-year strategy that can be reopened only if the Secretary of State chooses to revise it, it has been said throughout our deliberations that we do not want politicians micromanaging the railway. I therefore presume that the Secretary of State would want to reopen the three control period review envelop…”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for that assurance. I suppose that, in response to the amendments that he tabled, we agree that timetabling is of special significance because of the diffuse way in which it is currently organised between Network Rail and the Office of Rail and Road. We are conscious of the fact that making G…”

“I thank the shadow Minister for his intervention. I very much identify with the sentiment identified by the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge. This is something that impacts Selby town, much as it affects communities across the country. It is right that GBR has regard to managing the way in which level crossings …”

“We want GBR to be empowered to address and deal with all these questions relating to personnel and timetabling in a way that is consultative and in partnership with both unions and private sector operators. My point merely remains that it is not appropriate to freeze them in aspic as part of this Bill, in a way that mi…”

“I thank hon. Members from all parties for their well-considered contributions to this debate. I shall endeavour to give full answers to them. First, on the point made by the shadow Minister about how GBR will handle conflicting priorities that emerge within different strategies, as laid out by mayoral combined authorit…”

“I will give way briefly in a moment, but first I will build on the point that was made by my hon. Friend the Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford about how services can run across the boundaries of mayoral strategic authorities. Through GBR, we will be able to enter into processes that engage not only with a mayoral str…”

“I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention. My reading of the amendment is that it would remove the ability to amend the strategy within a 15-year period. Her broader point, about having flexibility to make determinations about the long-term rail strategy and cater for unforeseen events, technological innovations and g…”

“The hon. Lady must have read my mind about that detail being forthcoming. If she will allow me to take away that specific point over the break that we are about to have, I might be able to come back to her when we resume the debate. For the moment, I will quickly turn specifically to the amendments in the group. The le…”

“It is a pleasure to once again serve under your chairship, Mrs Hobhouse. Before I begin my remarks, may I seek a piece of advice on amendment 250? We are considering it as part of this group, but if it has not been moved and has been proposed by a Member who is not on the Committee, am I required to speak to it?”

“Thank you, Mrs Hobhouse. I thank all hon. Members for their amendments, which seek to make changes to the provisions on the rail freight growth target. I also thank the shadow Minister for his very warm birthday wishes. I agree with the sentiment that he expressed: what more of a gift could I have received than working…”

“I will start with the point about accessibility, which the shadow Minister and my hon. Friend the Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford have both spoken about. I reiterate how essential it is that accessibility provisions are hardwired into the Bill. I thank my hon. Friend for raising the work that is already taking plac…”

“It is my understanding that the system this Bill creates for GBR to engage with third-party retailers through ticketing will include the sharing of necessary data. I presume that would apply to such things. However, I will clarify that for the hon Member and get back to him on that point as I do not have the exact answ…”

“I thank the shadow Minister for tabling the amendments. Amendment 33 would add further duties to clause 18. The proposed duties are either duplicative of existing provisions in the Bill or would constrain GBR’s operational priorities, undermining the directing-mind approach that the Bill implements. Specifically, the p…”

“As I said, it has the power to request enforcement, and that is important because, ultimately, GBR needs to be able to take those decisions but have robust accountability from the ORR and the Secretary of State should it not have regard to things such as its duties, one of which is to promote the interests of passenger…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for her contribution as part of this debate, and throughout our proceedings, on the importance of accessibility for people with disabilities and for parents with children. She has already shared with me, for my benefit, examples from across Europe of where family-friendly accessibility measures a…”

“Regard will have to be paid to the business plan over the period for which it is implemented. It will also be possible to tell, on the business plan’s completion, whether it has been completed in a way that is cognisant of and reflects GBR’s duties. The Secretary of State will review the business plans with the duties …”

“Before I get into to my substantive points on this amendment, I want to circle back to a query the shadow Minister raised earlier, via an intervention, about accessibility and data sharing. I have a little more specificity to share with him: independent retailers will have the same opportunity as GBR to provide passeng…”