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Madam Speaker: Order. The hon. Gentleman is making an observation rather than raising a point of order. In answer to the proper question that he asked at the beginning of his remarks, Sir Gordon Downey is a senior Officer of the House.
Mr. Dennis Skinner (Bolsover): Further to that point of order, Madam Speaker. You have said that you will express concern to Gordon Downey arising from the point of order raised by the Tory ex-Attorney-General, the right hon. and learned Member for North-East Bedfordshire (Sir N. Lyell). Perhaps you could also inform him that the ex-Attorney-General is one of 164 Conservative Members. He is a lawyer and he probably wants another job now that his pay has been docked.
The arithmetic tells us that there are 418 Members on the Government side, almost all of whom will not be involved in consultancies. It is conceivable that Gordon Downey did the arithmetic as well, saw what happened in the general election, and decided that that is the way we should go: one Member of Parliament, one job. The Tories are squealing because they do not have as much money as they had before.
Madam Speaker:
As I have said, I intend to make the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards aware of the exchanges that have taken place regarding this matter.
Mr. Secretary Prescott, supported by the Prime Minister, Mr. Secretary Straw, Mr. Secretary Dewar, Mr. Secretary Davies, Ms Hilary Armstrong, Mr. Nick Raynsford and Mr. Geoffrey Hoon, presented a Bill to make provision about the powers of local authorities (including probation committees and the Receiver for the Metropolitan Police District) to enter into contracts; and to enable expenditure of local authorities making administrative arrangements for magistrates' courts to be treated for some purposes as not being capital expenditure: And the same was read the First time; and ordered to be read a Second time upon Monday next, and to be printed [Bill 5].
Dr. John Cunningham, supported by Mrs. Secretary Beckett, Mr. Secretary Dewar, Secretary Marjorie Mowlam, Mr. Secretary Davies and Mr. Jeff Rooker, presented a Bill to make provision about rights in relation to plant varieties; to make provision about the Plant Varieties and Seeds Tribunal; to extend the time limit for institution of proceedings for contravention of seeds regulations; and for connected purposes: And the same was read the First time; and ordered to be read a Second time upon Monday next, and to be printed [Bill 6].
Motion made, and Question put forthwith, pursuant to Standing Order No. 107 (Welsh Grand Committee (Matters relating exclusively to Wales)),
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Ms Glenda Jackson):
I beg to move,
It may be helpful if I open the debate with a brief explanation of the statutory process and the purpose of the order. Orders under the Transport and Works Act 1992--the TWA--have replaced private Bills as the means by which new railways, tramways and certain other works projects are normally authorised. Section 9 of the TWA gives Parliament a continuing and important role in relation to schemes that the Secretary of State believes are of national significance by making the approval of each House a precondition to the making of an order under the TWA.
If a resolution approving such proposals is passed in both this House and another place, the application will go forward for more detailed consideration at a public inquiry. It would then be for the Secretary of State to decide, in the light of the inspector's report, whether to authorise the proposals in question by making a TWA order. The Secretary of State is not bound so to do. Until he makes his decision, he must keep an open mind on the merits of the proposals. Nevertheless, in reaching that decision, he would take careful note of Parliament's view.
The section 9 procedure has been used only once before, for the ill-fated central railway project which was roundly rejected by the House last summer. I trust that there will be a more positive outcome today.
The use of this procedure in connection with the proposed Stratford station and the twin-track link to the north London and west coast main lines arises because
section 42 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act 1996 provides specifically for these proposals, in any application for a TWA order, to be referred to Parliament under the section 9 procedure. That special provision was inserted in the CTRL Act with all-party support because the House wished to have an opportunity to give the proposals its formal support in principle. The Secretary of State is not required to form an opinion on their national significance.
The motion accordingly seeks the approval of the House for the proposals. It is phrased in this way, rather than in neutral terms, to enable us to secure a conclusive outcome in a single debate. If the House were to reject the motion, the scheme would, in effect, be dead, as the order could not be made. If the House passed the resolution--as, in this case, the Government recommend--the project would be considered in another place.
Mr. William O'Brien (Normanton):
My hon. Friend referred to the link to the west coast main line. I make a plea to her and to our right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to consider a link to the east coast main line--I appreciate that it cannot be done under this order--so that we have a service to all the regions through orders similar to this one. I hope that Ministers will keep in mind the fact that we need the same services on the east coast as are proposed for the west coast.
Ms Jackson:
I am sure that my hon. Friend understands that his proposal cannot be debated this afternoon, because it is not a matter covered in the order. However, I shall ensure that his strong representations on behalf of his constituents are brought to the attention of our right hon. Friend the Secretary of State.
As I was saying, only if the application is approved in both Houses can it proceed to a more detailed examination at a public inquiry.
I come now to the specific proposals that the House is asked to approve. The detailed case for the proposals will, with your leave, Mr. Deputy Speaker, be presented by my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich, East (Mr. Snape). I shall confine my comments to a short summary of the proposals and the representations received on them, and I shall set out the Government's position. A copy of the complete application, including plans and sections of the proposed works and the environmental statement, has been available for inspection in the Library since the application was made in January.
The application for the order was made by Eurostar (UK) Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of London and Continental Railways Ltd., which successfully bid for the contract to build the channel tunnel rail link. The works contained in the draft order were not included in the CTRL Act because the decision in principle to proceed with them came too late for inclusion in the Bill without seriously prejudicing its progress.
The proposed station at Stratford will provide a new intermediate stop for international and domestic services using the rail link. It will enable passengers to make connections with other railways services at Stratford, such as the London Underground Central and Jubilee lines, the docklands light railway and the north London and great eastern lines. The station will therefore give passengers a wider choice of access to international and domestic
services on the CTRL and make an important contribution to the Government's declared aim of establishing a more integrated public transport system.
That the Matter of the Government's programme for Wales, being a Matter relating exclusively to Wales, be referred to the Welsh Grand Committee for its consideration.--[Mr. Graham Allen.]
Question agreed to.
4.32 pm
That this House, pursuant to section 9(4) of the Transport and Works Act 1992 ("the Act") as applied by section 42 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act 1996, approves the following proposals, contained in an application for an Order submitted under section 6 of the Act by Eurostar (UK) Limited on 23rd January 1997 and entitled The Channel Tunnel Rail Link (Stratford Station and Subsidiary Works) Order, for
(1) The construction, maintenance and operation of--
(i) in the London Borough of Hackney and Newham, a station at Stratford for international and domestic services on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link with vehicular parking and other facilities in connection therewith; railways comprising down and up lines to serve international and domestic platforms at that station; and a station access road off Waterden Road, including a bridge over the River Lea;
(ii) in the London Borough of Hackney, a realignment and improvement of Waterden Road;
(iii) in the London Borough of Newham, a subway at the existing suburban Stratford station with a pedestrian link to the new station; and
(iv) in the London Boroughs of Camden and Islington, railways near St. Pancras to provide access between the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and the West Coast Main Line by means of a connection to the North London Line.
(2) The authorisation of works ancillary to the above-mentioned works, including the stopping-up of York Way in the London Boroughs of Camden and Islington, the making of a means of access to and from that road and interference with waterways.
(3) The compulsory acquisition or use of land or rights in land for the intended works; compensation for this and for the injurious affection of land; and the compulsory use of subsoil.
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