Railways Bill

House of Commons

Session 2004 - 05
Internet Publications
Other Bills before Parliament

Railways Bill

Railways Bill
Part 1 — Transfer of functions and railway strategy
1

A
Bill
To
amend the law relating to the provision and regulation of railway services;
and for connected purposes.
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and
consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present
Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Part 1
Transfer of functions and railway strategy
Transfer of functions
1
Transfer etc. of SRA functions and abolition
(1)
Schedule 1 (which transfers consumer protection functions of the SRA to the
5
ORR, transfers other functions of the SRA to the Secretary of State and to
devolved authorities and also abolishes some functions of the SRA) has effect.
(2)
The Secretary of State may make a scheme for the transfer of property, rights
and liabilities from—
(a)
the Strategic Rail Authority, or
10
(b)
a company which is wholly owned by that Authority,

to a person specified in subsection (3) or to two or more of those persons.
(3)
Those persons are—
(a)
the Secretary of State;
(b)
the Scottish Ministers;
15
(c)
the National Assembly for Wales;
(d)
the Office of Rail Regulation;
(e)
the Rail Passengers’ Council established by section 19(1); and
(f)
a company which is wholly owned by a person falling within any of
paragraphs (a) to (d) or is jointly owned by more than one of them.
20
(4)
But a transfer of—

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Railways Bill
Part 1 — Transfer of functions and railway strategy
2

(a)
rights and liabilities arising under a Scottish franchise agreement, or
(b)
property created or vested in any person by such an agreement,

may be made by a transfer scheme under subsection (2) only to the Scottish
Ministers.
(5)
Before making a scheme under subsection (2) the Secretary of State must
5
consult every person to whom property, rights or liabilities would be
transferred under the proposed scheme.
(6)
Schedule 2 (which contains supplemental provisions about transfer schemes)
has effect in relation to schemes under subsection (2).
(7)
If the Secretary of State considers it appropriate to do so in connection with or
10
in anticipation of the commencement of any provision of this Act, or of the
abolition of the Strategic Rail Authority, he may—
(a)
terminate the appointment of any person as chairman or member of the
Strategic Rail Authority; and
(b)
direct a reduction, pending its abolition, in the minimum membership
15
of the Authority.
(8)
The Secretary of State may by order make such modifications of any provision
of—
(a)
Part 3 of the Transport Act 1980 (c. 34) (railway pensions),
(b)
Schedule 11 to the 1993 Act (pensions), or
20
(c)
section 244 of the 2000 Act (indexation of pensions),

as appear to him to be necessary or expedient in consequence of the provisions
of this section or of any scheme made under this section.
(9)
The power under subsection (8) to make modifications by order is subject to the
affirmative resolution procedure.
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(10)
Where, after consulting the Strategic Rail Authority, the Secretary of State is
satisfied—
(a)
that all such transfers have been provided for as will secure that the
dissolution of the Authority will not extinguish any of its liabilities, and
(b)
that it is no longer necessary, for any other reason, for that Authority to
30
continue to exist,

the Secretary of State may by order provide for it to cease to exist.
2
Transfer of safety functions to ORR
Schedule 3 (which makes provision for and in connection with the transfer to
the ORR of safety functions conferred by or under the Health and Safety at
35
Work etc. Act 1974 (c. 37)) has effect.
Railway strategy
3
General duties under s. 4 of the 1993 Act
(1)
Section 4 of the 1993 Act (general duties of the Secretary of State and the ORR)
is amended as follows.
40
(2)
In subsections (1) to (3), after “this Part”, in each place, insert “or the Railways
Act 2005 that are not safety functions”.

Railways Bill
Part 1 — Transfer of functions and railway strategy
3

(3)
In subsection (1), for paragraphs (za) and (a) (duties to further the strategies of
the SRA and to protect the interests of rail users) substitute—
“(zb)
to promote improvements in railway service performance;
(a)
otherwise to protect the interests of users of railway services;”.
(4)
In subsection (3)(a) (duty of ORR to have regard to safety matters), the words
5
from “taking into account” to “Executive” (which require the ORR to take into
account advice from the HSE) shall cease to have effect.
(5)
In subsection (3A) (functions of Secretary of State excluded from duty), after
paragraph (b) insert “and
(c)
the references in each of the subsections to the functions
10
transferred or assigned under or by virtue of the Railways Act
2005 include only the functions transferred or assigned to the
Secretary of State under or by virtue of the provisions of Part 4
of that Act other than section 39.”
(6)
After that subsection insert—
15
“(3B)
Subsections (1) to (3) above shall have effect in relation to the Scottish
Ministers as in relation to the Office of Rail Regulation except that, in
relation to those Ministers—
(a)
the references in each of the subsections to functions transferred
or assigned to those Ministers under or by virtue of Part 1 of this
20
Act include only the functions transferred or assigned under or
by virtue of sections 16A to 16G of this Act; and
(b)
the references in each of the subsections to the functions
transferred or assigned under or by virtue of the Railways Act
2005 include only the functions transferred or assigned to those
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Ministers under or by virtue of Part 4 of that Act.
(3C)
Subsections (1) to (3) above shall have effect in relation to the National
Assembly for Wales as in relation to the Office of Rail Regulation except
that, in relation to that Assembly, the references in each of the
subsections to functions transferred or assigned under or by virtue of
30
Part 1 of this Act or the Railways Act 2005 include only the functions
transferred or assigned to the Assembly under or by virtue of the
provisions of Part 4 of that Act of 2005 other than section 39.”
(7)
In subsection (4), after “this Part” insert “or the Railways Act 2005”.
(8)
In subsection (5) (supplementary duties)—
35
(a)
in the words before paragraph (a), after “this Part” insert “or the
Railways Act 2005 that are not safety functions”;
(b)
after paragraph (a) (guidance from the Secretary of State) insert—
“(aa)
to have regard to any general guidance given to it by the
Scottish Ministers about railway services wholly or
40
partly in Scotland or about other matters in or as regards
Scotland that relate to railways;
(ab)
in having regard to any guidance falling within
paragraph (aa), to give what appears to it to be
appropriate weight to the extent (if any) to which the
45
guidance relates to matters in respect of which
expenditure is to be or has been incurred by the Scottish
Ministers;”
(c)
in paragraph (b), after “this Part” insert “or that Act”;

Railways Bill
Part 1 — Transfer of functions and railway strategy
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(d)
for paragraph (c) (duty to have regard to financial position of the SRA)
substitute—
“(c)
to have regard to the funds available to the Secretary of
State for the purposes of his functions in relation to
railways and railway services;
5
(ca)
to have regard to any notified strategies and policies of
the National Assembly for Wales, so far as they relate to
Welsh services or to any other matter in or as regards
Wales that concerns railways or railway services;
(cb)
to have regard to the ability of the National Assembly
10
for Wales to carry out the functions conferred or
imposed on it by or under any enactment;”.
(9)
After that subsection insert—
“(5A)
Before giving any guidance for the purposes of subsection (5)(a) above
the Secretary of State must consult the National Assembly for Wales.
15
(5B)
In exercising its safety functions, other than its functions as an
enforcing authority for the purposes of the Health and Safety at Work
etc. Act 1974, the Office of Rail Regulation shall be under a duty to have
regard to any general guidance given to it by the Secretary of State.
(5C)
In performing its duties under subsections (1) to (5A) above in relation
20
to—
(a)
any matter affecting the interests of users or potential users of
railway services,
(b)
any matter affecting the interests of persons providing railway
services, or
25
(c)
any matter not falling within paragraph (a) or (b) but falling
within subsection (5D),

the Office of Rail Regulation must have regard, in particular, to the
interests, in securing value for money, of the persons mentioned in
paragraphs (a) and (b) above, of the persons who make available the
30
resources and other funds mentioned in that subsection and of the
general public.
(5D)
A matter falls within this subsection if the Office of Rail Regulation has
been informed that—
(a)
public financial resources (within the meaning of paragraph 1D
35
of Schedule 4A to this Act), or
(b)
funds that do not comprise such resources but are provided in
whole or in part by Transport for London, the National
Assembly for Wales, a Passenger Transport Executive or any
other body in receipt of such resources,
40

are or are likely to become available to be applied for purposes
connected with that matter.”
(10)
For subsection (7ZA) substitute—
“(7ZA)
Where any general guidance is given to the Office of Rail Regulation for
the purposes of subsection (5)(a) or (aa) or (5B)—
45
(a)
it may be varied or revoked by the person giving it at any time;
and

Railways Bill
Part 1 — Transfer of functions and railway strategy
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(b)
the guidance, and any variation or revocation of the guidance,
must be published by that person in such manner as he
considers appropriate.”
(11)
In subsection (9)—
(a)
after the definition of “the environment” insert—
5
“‘notified strategies and policies’, in relation to the
National Assembly for Wales, means the strategies and
policies of that Assembly that have been notified by that
Assembly for the purposes of this section to the Office of
Rail Regulation;”
10
(b)
after the definition of “the passenger transport market” insert—
“‘railway service performance’ includes, in particular,
performance in securing each of the following in
relation to railway services—
(a)
reliability (including punctuality);
15
(b)
the avoidance or mitigation of passenger
overcrowding; and
(c)
that journey times are as short as possible;
‘safety functions’ means functions assigned or transferred
to the Office of Rail Regulation—
20
(a)
under this Part,
(b)
under or by virtue of the Railways Act 2005, or
(c)
under or by virtue of the Health and Safety at
Work etc. Act 1974,
so far as they are being exercised for the railway safety
25
purposes (within the meaning of Schedule 3 to the
Railways Act 2005) or for purposes connected with
those purposes.”
4
Use of access charges reviews for application of strategy
Schedule 4 (which amends Schedule 4A to the 1993 Act to broaden the scope of
30
access charges reviews and to increase the influence of the Secretary of State
and the Scottish Ministers over such reviews) has effect.
5
Railway strategy for Scotland
(1)
The Scottish Ministers may prepare a strategy for carrying out their functions
in relation to railways and railway services.
35
(2)
The Scottish Ministers may from time to time revise that strategy.
(3)
Where the Scottish Ministers prepare or revise such a strategy, they must
publish the strategy or revised strategy in such manner as they consider
appropriate for bringing it to the attention of those likely to be affected by it.
(4)
The reference in subsection (1) to the functions of the Scottish Ministers in
40
relation to railways and railway services includes, in particular, their functions
under Part 1 of the 1993 Act and their functions under this Act.

Railways Bill
Part 2 — Public sector funding authorities for railways
6

Part 2
Public sector funding authorities for railways
Assisting and securing the provision of services
6
Financial assistance etc. from the Secretary of State
(1)
The Secretary of State may provide, or agree to provide, financial assistance to
5
any person—
(a)
for the purpose of securing the provision, improvement or
development of railway services or railway assets; or
(b)
for any other purpose relating to a railway or to railway services.
(2)
For the purposes of this section the provision of financial assistance includes
10
each of the following—
(a)
the making of grants or loans;
(b)
the giving of guarantees; and
(c)
investments in bodies corporate.
(3)
Agreements or other arrangements entered into by the Secretary of State under
15
this section may be entered into on whatever terms, and subject to whatever
conditions, he considers appropriate.
(4)
In exercising his powers under this section—
(a)
for any purpose mentioned in section 9(1) in relation to which powers
are exercisable by the Scottish Ministers under section 8, or
20
(b)
for any purpose mentioned in section 11(1) in relation to which powers
are exercisable by the National Assembly for Wales under section 10,

the Secretary of State must have regard to the desirability of acting consistently
with anything notified to him under section 9 or 11.
(5)
A power of the Secretary of State under this section or otherwise to enter into
25
agreements or other arrangements (other than franchise agreements) for a
purpose set out in subsection (1) may be exercised by his entering into an
agreement or other arrangement with a relevant person in respect of services
provided under a franchise agreement only where the agreement or
arrangement is entered into in accordance with that franchise agreement.
30
(6)
For the purposes of subsection (5) a person is a relevant person in relation to a
franchise agreement if he is—
(a)
the franchise operator;
(b)
the franchisee; or
(c)
an employee, agent or independent contractor of the franchise operator
35
or of the franchisee.
(7)
In this section “railway” has its wider meaning.
(8)
Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 17 of the Ministry of Transport Act
1919 (c. 50) (grants or loans for the construction, improvement or maintenance
of railways, light railways or tramways) shall cease to have effect.
40