Crossrail Bill

moved Amendment No. 24: 24: Schedule 12, page 203, line 22, at end insert— ““Agreements relating to schemes The Secretary of State may by agreement fetter the exercise of his discretion relating to his powers under this Schedule.”” The noble Lord said: The amendments will ensure that the Secretary of State and London government can give an unqualified commitment at the start of the Crossrail project in relation to a potential transfer of assets between Transport for London and the Secretary of State at a later stage. Governance arrangements for the project currently allow that if the forecast final cost breaches an agreed level, the department has the right to take back control of the project, including ownership of CLRL and therefore, indirectly, assets of Crossrail. However, the GLA Act provides that, at any given time, TfL should follow the guidance or directions of the mayor in the exercise of its functions and that the Secretary of State must consent to the disposal of assets by TfL. The provisions being sought are permissive and do nothing more than clarify that the obligations entered into on signature of the sponsor agreement will endure. The amendment covers actions for purposes connected with Crossrail only and is not an amendment to the general applicability of the GLA Act. The provisions also allow agreement to be reached now about the use of a transfer scheme, for example, for a possible transfer of assets between TfL and DfT. I beg to move. On Question, amendment agreed to.