Examination of Witnesses (Questions 12740
- 12759)
12740. MR TAYLOR: My Lord, you can express
whatever view you want to express and I am not going to seek to
curtail that. The undertaking that I provided yesterday was an
undertaking provided in response to a request for an undertaking
from the Committee in relation to the infrastructure works. It
says what it says and it goes further than the Promoter has gone
to date before the Committee of either this House or indeed the
other place. If the Committee feels that the undertaking does
not go far enough, then certainly I am sure we will see that in
your recommendations.
12741. LORD SNAPE: Indeed, and I speak
purely personally, but I think it is a matter for us to discuss
ourselves. It is not that the undertaking does not go far enough,
but I do not think it addresses the concern that the Committee
felt about the future of rail freight, but perhaps, my Lord Chairman,
you might think it more appropriate for us to deal with this when
we come to prepare our final report in the next couple of weeks.
12742. CHAIRMAN: I think so and we have
got a great deal to do today, so perhaps we had better not spend
too much time on it.
12743. LORD SNAPE: Well, I saw your face
fall when I mentioned it! I picked up the vibes, sir!
12744. CHAIRMAN: Mr Taylor, the other
thing that we have not dealt with, and I am not inviting you to
deal with it today, is the infrastructure manager for the central
tunnel.
12745. MR TAYLOR: Indeed.
12746. CHAIRMAN: We have had quite a
lot of paper on this and I am not going to discuss it now, but
we are going to have to deal with it at some time.
12747. MR TAYLOR: I am very pleased you
are not.
12748. CHAIRMAN: Shall we proceed with
today's programme?
12749. LORD JAMES OF BLACKHEATH: Is there
at some point going to be an opportunity just to ask a single
question concerning the safety arrangements as they provided the
information they did yesterday, which was one of the points referred
to by Ms Lieven as bits of housekeeping?
12750. MS LIEVEN: I heard my name, my
Lord, but not really anything else.
12751. LORD JAMES OF BLACKHEATH: In your
housekeeping list this morning, you mentioned, I think, that we
have been given the outstanding information yesterday concerning
the safety model and I was just asking the Chairman if we are
going to have an opportunity to ask questions arising out of that
note that was given to us yesterday.
12752. MS LIEVEN: Sorry, I thought this
might be something to do with me and I was very confused.
12753. LORD JAMES OF BLACKHEATH: It is
a Mr Berryman issue.
12754. LORD BROOKE OF ALVERTHORPE: It
is the risk management.
12755. MS LIEVEN: My Lords, we could
handle this in one of two ways. One way is that perhaps your Lordship
could raise any questions with Mr Taylor outside the Committee
and the other is that perhaps your Lordship could just put on
the record what your questions are and then we will seek to deal
with them in the rest of the day.
12756. LORD JAMES OF BLACKHEATH: The
good news is that it is one question, not questions.
12757. MS LIEVEN: Perhaps the best thing
would be if your Lordship told us what it was because I am very
conscious that today is the last day, so we have to deal with
everything.
12758. LORD JAMES OF BLACKHEATH: The
question I would have for Mr Berryman is very straightforward,
but, bearing in mind that my philosophy of risk management is
that accidents are never due to a single factor, but are a combination
of two half misfortunes that coincide at the same time, what combination
of half chances was fed in that was not clear when interrogating
the safety model?
12759. MR TAYLOR: Well, I have to say
again that that is a matter I will have to take instructions on,
but we will get back to you on that.
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