Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the policy rationale is for clause 31(7) of the Railways Bill, which provides that the obligation to provide or secure the provision of designated railway passenger services does not give rise to civil liability; and whether she has assessed how this limitation of liability aligns with (a) accountability within the new rail system and (b) the protection of passenger rights.

Clause 31(7) of the Bill makes it clear that the Secretary of State, Scottish Ministers or Welsh Ministers cannot be found liable for breach of statutory duty (which allows a person to claim damages in tort) when they provide or secure designated railway passenger services. This mirrors section 50 of the Railways Act 1993 so that the same approach to civil liability is carried over to the new passenger services provisions. There are other examples of this in legislation, such as section 44 of the Railways Act 2005. If Ministers act unlawfully then judicial review is available.

Responsibility for providing designated passenger services will rest largely with Great British Railways (GBR), or, in Scotland or Wales, with another public sector company. GBR will be governed by a cohesive accountability framework. Passenger rights will be protected in that framework with the GBR licence setting minimum consumer standards. The Passenger Watchdog, established to champion passenger interests, will set and monitor these standards, with the Office for Rail and Road able to take enforcement action should these standards not be met.