Railways Bill (Second sitting)

Debate between Olly Glover and Andrew Ranger

Committee stage
Tuesday 20th January 2026 Public Bill Committees

[Olly Glover (Didcot and Wantage) (LD)]

Q Mr McDonald, it is an interesting that the extent of rail devolution in Wales and Scotland is at rather different levels; perhaps I can put it that way. The Welsh Government have long called for greater devolution of rail policy. Does the Bill, and all that comes with it, give you hope for progressing that ambition?

Peter McDonald: It certainly does not take us further away, if I can put it that way. In technical terms, I would say that the Bill is neutral for the devolution settlement. It does not adjust the fundamental constitutional arrangement in Wales, just as it does not change the fundamental constitutional arrangement of Scotland.

I think the Bill makes the current settlement more operable and better; I will not comment on the Scottish case—I will leave that for Bill. Certainly, the Welsh Government support track-train integration. I appreciate that I came at your question from a negative direction, but the Bill definitely advances us in terms of making the settlement more operable and efficient.

[Andrew Ranger (Wrexham) (Lab)]

Q Thank you both for coming in. This question is for both of you. Clause 80 of the Bill puts a duty on GBR to consult Scottish and Welsh Ministers if it appears that a decision that it makes would “significantly affect the interests” of the Scottish or Welsh economy, or persons living in, working in, or visiting Scotland or Wales. Is “significantly affect” the right test? Is it a strong enough term to ensure consultation, or is there a risk that it will allow GBR and different personnel to make such a determination based on their own judgment?

Peter McDonald: It is very reasonable for there to be a conditioning adjective in the clause, certainly for the purposes of primary legislation. In practice, hundreds of operational decisions will be happening every day that—certainly in the case of Wales and England—affect the border. I certainly would not want each of them to have to go through a duty to consult.

The Welsh Government view is that “significantly affect” is reasonable. It could be further codified and defined in a memorandum of understanding, which provides a more flexible, non-legislative route to get into when consultation matters and when this can be done at working level more informally, without legislative backing.

Bill Reeve: We would agree. I might have a professional interest in the signalling of the Newquay branch in Cornwall, but I am not sure I need to be consulted on it. We are a small team in proportion to the size of the network that we are responsible for: we would be overwhelmed if we had to be consulted about everything on a precautionary basis. As Peter said, the working of the MOU will be important and people’s behaviours will always matter. But the drafting is fine from our perspective.