Crossrail Bill

moved, as an amendment to Amendment No. 3, Amendment No. 4: 4: Before Clause 22, line 6, at end insert ““with regard to the interests of users and operators of the rail network”” The noble Lord said: I also speak to Amendment No. 8. My amendments are a reaction to the new clauses proposed by the Minister. As he outlined in considerable detail, the clauses expand the objectives of the ORR and place a duty on it to publish reports. I shall address each new clause in turn. He asked us not to press our amendments but we should put forward our reasons for tabling them so that we can debate the issue. The first new clause proposed by the Minister extends the primary objectives of the ORR to facilitate the construction of Crossrail—which I agree is important to have in statute—so that there is clarity of purpose, responsibility and accountability relating to the ORR’s involvement in the project. Although I agree that that is important, at what cost will the Minister be prepared to allow the ORR to achieve this specific objective, especially when the other, more general, objectives relate to protecting the interests of passengers, promoting the use of the rail network and promoting efficiency and economy? I am concerned that adding a specific, albeit temporary, objective for the ORR to facilitate the construction of Crossrail will lead to that objective being prioritised over the ORR’s more general duties. The Crossrail project will be high-profile because of its size and cost and there will be pressure on all involved to deliver. However, that should not be at the cost of other rail users and operators. The amendment aims not to remove the new objective from the list but, instead, to ensure that it is balanced against the ORR’s wider duties and will protect the interests of passengers and rail operators from the undoubted disruption to services during Crossrail’s construction. Although it is important that we deliver this crucial project—we all agree on that—we must not deliver it at a cost to the existing rail network, on which our citizens and economy undoubtedly rely. On the second new clause suggested by the Minister, I applaud the Government for their intention and commitment to increase transparency and reporting—an intention that I hope the Minister remembers when we come to my proposed amendment to Clause 66. As the Committee will see from my amended version of the clause, I do not oppose the purpose or intention; my only frustration is with frequency, on which the noble Lord has commented at length. However, at what point should we expect to receive these reports? The Minister’s amendment would mean that it would be down to either the Secretary of State or the ORR to choose, but I find that level of uncertainty unacceptable. My amendment would therefore place a direct duty on the ORR to publish an annual report regarding its past performance and future strategy to achieve the new objective imposed on it relating to Crossrail. The aim of my amendment is simply to clarify when the ORR must publish a report relating to its Crossrail activities. On a massive £16 billion, seven-year project, it is important that adequate checks and safeguards are in place. The current wording, ““from time to time””, lacks definition and clarity, and provides no reassurance that regular updates to Parliament, the rail industry and the public will be given by the ORR. I hope that the Minister and other Members of the Committee will agree that this is a more pragmatic approach, and support my endeavour for consistent and timely reporting. I beg to move.