Crossrail Bill

I do not want to spend a great deal of time on paragraphs 232 and 233 of our Select Committee report, except to say that we were particularly concerned about what would happen with the central tunnel, and that was where we directed most of our inquiries. We felt that ultimately it was appropriate for the negotiations taking place between the different parties to continue and that we would leave it to them. We hope that they find a satisfactory outcome. My principal reason for speaking is to express on behalf of Select Committee members our grateful thanks to the noble Viscount, Lord Colville of Culross, who, regrettably, is not with us today. He chaired the Select Committee effectively and efficiently, and was a most appropriate chairman. He had great experience of, and a background in, planning matters, which was of great assistance to us. He was firm but fair, and he was extraordinarily patient—to the point where one or two members of the committee reprimanded him for being too patient. I do not look at anyone in particular when I say that. At the end of the exercise, even though a fair number of petitioners went away without having secured what they had hoped to persuade us to give them, I am sure they all felt that they had had a very fair hearing and that the process had all been well worth while. They had seen the House of Lords at its best in trying to see the democratic process work to its maximum. Secondly, I place on the record our grateful thanks to our Clerk, Sarah Price, who was also extraordinarily efficient and effective in seeing us through some very difficult periods. She ensured that all the petitioners who wanted to see us appeared before us, and even some of those who did not want to see us were persuaded to come to express their views publicly. She did that in an extraordinarily persuasive and quiet fashion, which we all found enamouring. We are sorry to learn that she will not be staying with the House. That is the House’s loss, but I understand that she is going into education and teaching and I am sure that we all wish her well in her new career. We thank her for the excellent report that she has written. It would be inappropriate if I did not also publicly express thanks for her support from Darren Hackett, who had spent 20 or even 22 months working with the Select Committee in the House of Commons before coming to work with our committee. He had therefore spent about two years of his life working on Crossrail, on which I suspect he is the font of all knowledge, probably knowing as much about the subject as anyone, and we express our thanks to him for all the efficient work that he did on our behalf.