My Lords, these draft regulations will be made under the powers conferred by the Channel Tunnel Act 1987. They will make the necessary amendments to domestic rail operator licensing legislation to enable the implementation of a bilateral agreement between the UK and France on the recognition of rail operator licences for the Channel Tunnel and cross-border area. This will support the continued smooth operation of Channel Tunnel traffic when the temporary arrangements expire on 30 September 2021.
The regulations will also provide long-term certainty, clarity and confidence to cross-border operators, both current and prospective, regarding the future operator licensing framework for the Channel Tunnel. They will apply to England, Scotland and Wales, although the main operative provisions will, in practice, apply only to the Channel Tunnel and cross-border area. The regulations are subject to the affirmative procedure, as set out under the Channel Tunnel Act, and Schedule 8 to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.
The regulations amend the 2005 railway operator licensing regulations, which updated the rules for the licensing of passenger and freight train operators in Great Britain established under the Railways Act 1993 by introducing a new EU form of licence. This was done to reflect changes to EU operator licensing laws. The 2005 regulations introduced the requirement for operators running services on the basis of the new EU form of licence in Great Britain to hold a statement of national regulatory provisions, or SNRP. SNRPs supplement licensing requirements, covering, for example, the provision of information to passengers, membership of industry bodies and third-party insurance conditions.
The regulations also amend the Railway (Licensing of Railway Undertakings) (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, which were introduced to correct deficiencies in the 2005 regulations arising from the UK’s exit from the EU, to ensure that they continued to operate effectively post exit. As well as converting the EU form of licences issued by the Office of Rail
and Road, the ORR, to “railway undertaking licences”, the 2019 regulations provided for the continued recognition in Great Britain of European licences for a period of two years from exit day—in other words, until 31 January 2022.
Following the end of the transition period, there is no longer automatic mutual recognition of licences between the UK and the EU. The recognition of UK licences for the Channel Tunnel is currently provided for by an EU contingency regulation that expires on 30 September 2021. These operator licensing regulations, and the proposed bilateral agreement that they implement, will ensure the continued recognition of operator licences for the Channel Tunnel when the current temporary arrangements expire. This will have a significant positive impact on cross-border operators, by providing long-term certainty on the licensing requirements for the Channel Tunnel. It will also reduce the administrative burdens on them, by enabling them to operate in the Channel Tunnel and cross-border area without the need to hold two separate licences—that is, one issued in Great Britain and one issued in the EEA.
Under the regulations, EU licences will be recognised up to the first border crossing station in the UK only, which is Dollands Moor for freight and Ashford International for passenger services. This mirrors the extent of the recognition of UK licences in French territory under the proposed bilateral agreement, and so ensures equivalence.
The regulations, and by extension the agreement that they will implement, are fully compatible with the Government’s fundamental red lines in the Channel Tunnel negotiations with France, which are to support the continuation of cross-border services while conferring no role for the EU courts or the European rail agency in UK territory and avoiding dynamic alignment with EU law.
Information-sharing provisions are included in the regulations to give effect to requirements of the proposed bilateral agreement. Under these requirements, the ORR will be able to share information with the equivalent French authorities in relation to, for example, any doubts as to the validity of a licence or compliance with licensing requirements on the part of either a European licence holder operating a Channel Tunnel service in Great Britain or an ORR-licensed operator operating a Channel Tunnel service in France.
The regulations will also ensure a level playing field regarding the licensing requirements for operators on the French and UK sides of the Channel Tunnel and cross-border area by disapplying the current UK requirement to hold an SNRP for EU-licensed operators of Channel Tunnel services, up to Dollands Moor or Ashford International only, and ensuring that no equivalent additional licensing requirements will be in place for UK-licensed operators on the French side—it will be the same either side. Again, this will support the recognition of those licences on a fully reciprocal basis under the bilateral agreement.
To conclude, the regulations will reduce administrative burdens on cross-border operators and enable them to plan their businesses into the future with confidence. Most importantly, they will support the long-term
continued smooth operation of cross-border services through the Channel Tunnel. I commend these regulations to the Committee.
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