Speeches by Smith.

“Will the Wales and Border business unit have the detail of how it works in that MOU, or is that a separate thing that we need to be mindful of in the workings of that unit?”

“We have already heard a few comments from you on the passenger watchdog, and from others we have heard the view that it will lack sufficient power and independence to be a sufficiently powerful voice for passengers. Do you share that view?”

“Just a quick question: do you feel there is anything in the Bill that would serve the interests of people living outside a mayoral strategic authority, as it stands?”

“I do not mean the devolution settlements; I just mean the work through of your relationships with the British Government on the Railways Bill. Do you think your outcomes will be worse than Scotland’s, as a result of that?”

“Finally on that, following the cancellation of the Avanti services in Wales, what discussions have you had with the UK Government about GBR reinstating some of these services once it is back in public ownership?”

“Obviously, the Secretary of State down here will have the power to revoke directions made by Scottish Ministers like you, under clause 8. Is that a concern? Does there need to be a specific threshold in the legislation for when they can do that, or should they have free rein to do it whenever they like?”

“Out of interest, what engagement have you had on the production of the guidance that has just been published? Have you had any say in that, or has it just landed on your desk from the DFT, leaving you thinking, “It might have been nice to be asked about this”?”

“But you are in an existing mayoral authority with that outside role. If you have no links to a mayoral authority, is there anything for people in the Bill? I am thinking, say, about those in the south-west.”

“Fiona, you touched on the elections that are coming up. You said you have been around over a number of years, so I am sure you have seen changes of Government in Westminster and Scotland. Are you concerned that any future changes would threaten the ways of working that are set out in the MOU, or are you experienced eno…”

“Can you foresee instances where the directions that the Scottish Ministers give conflict with the equivalent directions from the Secretary of State? Given your experience, how do you suggest that that could be mitigated?”

“Clause 80 of the Bill puts a duty on GBR to consult with Scottish Ministers if it appears that a decision would “significantly affect the interests of Scotland’s economy or of persons living in, working in or visiting Scotland.” Do you think “significantly affect” is the right test?”

“Do you think that more detail should be given on how that consultation would take place, or are you comfortable, given your experience, that what is there is okay?”

“Do you think that it is the right approach to have a memorandum of understanding—I think you have kind of covered that already—and are you confident that it will cover all the arrangements it needs to?”

“You say that you think it is good to have that statutory underpinning. However, there is the opportunity to put some of what would be included in a memorandum of understanding into primary legislation rather than having it in a separate document. Do you think that that would benefit the relationship and insulate from e…”

“We have covered bits of my questions already, so I am going to pick out bits that we have not, and then possibly throw in something else. To start, given the different devolution settlements between Scotland and Wales, do you have concerns that Scotland will get better outcomes than Wales under the Bill?”

“It would be useful to have some more correspondence on that.”

“Finally, next year’s elections came up in the session with the previous panel. Do you have any concern that changes of Government in Cardiff or Westminster threaten the ways of working that are set out in your MOU, and what do we need to be mindful of with the Welsh elections coming next year?”

“I do not mean the devolution settlements; I just mean the work through of your relationships with the British Government on the Railways Bill. Do you think your outcomes will be worse than Scotland’s, as a result of that?”

“You say that you think it is good to have that statutory underpinning. However, there is the opportunity to put some of what would be included in a memorandum of understanding into primary legislation rather than having it in a separate document. Do you think that that would benefit the relationship and insulate from e…”

“As Ministers in Scotland, you will have powers of direction over GBR under the Bill, at clause 8. Do you think that those sufficiently reflect the devolution settlement that you already have?”