Speeches by Smith.

“I am thinking of those examples where they are not near one of those big chunky mayoral combined authorities that exist already.”

“You described how you have the West Midlands piece but you also have this wider thing that brings in the smaller councils. I am assuming that is the equivalent of the peninsula rail group down in the south-west, where you have several counties that work together. Does this not just highlight how complicated the Bill is…”

“This is the document that has just been published.”

“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?”

“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?”

“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?”

“But basically, they will get a website, possibly, and some easier ticketing until those opportunities get grasped, because of devo.”

“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?”

“That is useful.”

“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?”

“You have talked a lot about the need for the MOU and how you are positive about that. Do you think there are any lessons to be learnt from that MOU structure and what is going to be in it for local authorities and mayoral authorities? From your experience, what should we be looking for particularly on that modal shift?…”

“In Bills coming through Parliament recently, we have seen a lot of things like the code of practice not being set in stone before the Bill Committee. Are you confident that the memorandum of understanding will be finalised before we start scrutinising the Bill, so that we can make sure that everyone is happy with it, o…”

“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?”

“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?”

“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?”

“Jamie, in Merseyside you have a private operator running the trains in Liverpool, with the mayor’s oversight, so you have both bits there. Is that private operation with mayoral control of what is being offered a good alternative to nationalisation?”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Turner. I will be brief because we are running out of time. Detransitioners are an often marginalised and misunderstood group. Ritchie Herron is a civil servant who underwent gender surgery in 2018 in order to live as a woman. That involved rearranging tissue in the…”

“The NHS has finally issued a call for evidence regarding a clinical pathway for adults who wish to detransition. Does the hon. Lady agree that that is a welcome and long-overdue first step, and that the NHS must continue making serious efforts to improve care for detransitioners?”

“The Minister knows of the Plymouth Violence against Women and Girls Commission, which highlighted the role of pornography in VAWG. It is my view that schools should be a place where pupils can concentrate on learning and not have access to social media, including abusive forms of online pornography, which have been ban…”

“Turnchapel Wharf and the Cattewater in my constituency host many marine autonomous defence innovators, but the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s workboat code edition 3 is hampering the testing, development and utilisation of autonomous vessels. They cannot even get the licences to be out on the water. What conversation…”