Speeches by Mather.

“May I test something from the hon. Gentleman’s perspective? The Secretary of State has a lot of oversight over how GBR functions under this new regime. One of her duties, and a duty for GBR, will be to ensure efficient use of public money. Do you not think that that creates a strong incentive for her to drive up passen…”

“I will first address clause 3, and then listen to Members’ comments on the new clauses before responding to them in full. Clause 3 is fundamental to establishing Great British Railways as the integrated rail body that this country needs. It sets out GBR’s statutory functions, which provide a list of things that GBR is …”

“Clause 4 enables Scottish and Welsh Ministers to delegate their railway functions to Great British Railways, a subsidiary of Great British Railways, or a company jointly owned by Scottish or Welsh Ministers and Great British Railways. That means that, if they wish, those Ministers will be able to take advantage of the …”

“I thank hon. Members for their contributions. I will start by addressing new clause 30, which would require the full devolution of responsibility for rail services and infrastructure in Wales. The Bill is designed to bring strategic direction, accountability and oversight of the rail system into a single coherent frame…”

“My hon. Friend echoes a theme that we have heard throughout this debate: that those who live closest to the railway and the service it provides know best about its operation, and that includes on a devolved basis. He also rightly points to a number of themes that were brought to light during oral evidence by the repres…”

“I turn first to the definition of “may”, which feels as philosophically profound a point as it does a political one. I interpret “may” differently to the hon. Lady. Mayoral strategic authorities, and other local government organisations across the piece, have incredibly divergent aspirations, ambitions and existing str…”

“The hon. Lady will have to forgive me, but I do not want to be over-prescriptive, and that is for two reasons. The first is that, as she outlines, there are very different cases in different local areas, and I want integrated business units that are set up as part of GBR to be responsive to those particularities. Those…”

“The hon. Lady’s comments speak to the advantage of an integrated railway with a single point of accountability—whether that be at the local level, or through an integrated business unit or GBR’s HQ functions in Derby. The reason for having integration is that accountability is not diffuse, as one single point of contac…”

“Let me begin by addressing the point made by the shadow Minister about the discrepancies in the system in Greater Manchester as it applies to London. It is not wholly correct to say that we are treating these two things inherently differently. The co-operation clause, which applies to all MCAs including Manchester, is …”

“I beg to move amendment 165, in clause 6, page 4, line 25, after “functions” insert “(within the meaning of the Railways Act 2026)”. This amendment defines GBR’s statutory functions in the substituted section 175(3) of the Greater London Authority Act 1999.”

“I thank all the hon. Members for the amendments, which relate to GBR’s ticket retailing functions. I will turn first to amendments 2 and 117 and new clause 3. The amendments and new clause seek to amend GBR’s retail function and code of practice to promote a level playing field for third-party retailers, with parity of…”

“I thank the hon. Member for his constructive engagement on the amendment and the clause. Amendment 164 agreed to. Clause 2, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 3 Functions”

“Q I have a few more questions—and, Jason, these include you as well.”

“Q I am conscious of time, so I just have one broader question about the devolution settlement, which is devolving services and how the railway works, which is mentioned in the Williams review, and I also want to go to Mr Brown’s point about integrated business units. Mr Williams, could you expand a little bit on what t…”

“Q Thank you. My final question relates to accountability. There is a suite of measures within the Bill to ensure that GBR is compliant with its duties and the provisions of its licence as enforced by the ORR, but I understand that some people have concerns about the balance of accountability powers sitting between the …”

“Q When we are considering best use, which is integral to the smooth functioning of the railway and the benefits that it can realise for the UK economy more broadly, we should consider the importance of rail freight. Can you speak a little more on what provisions in the Bill promote the interests of rail freight? Could …”

“Q Thank you very much for being here this morning. Building on the topic of access and charging, which the Opposition spokesperson raised, can you go into a bit more detail on clauses 60 and 63, particularly on best use of the railway and GBR having to have regard for a range of services in deciding best use? Only afte…”

“Thank you so much. I have no further questions.”

“Q Thank you. I think that is really important. I have one final question, which builds on the point you made about mayoral combined authorities, devolution and the overall issue that goes to the heart of the passenger experience, which is accountability. We argue that by folding myriad private operators—franchised oper…”

“Q Thank you. You raise the really important point that the operational reality of how GBR works as an organisation matters as much as the accountability targets and metrics laid out in the legislation. Could you talk a little more about that? An overall theme across the sessions today has been the balance in terms of t…”