Examination of Witnesses (Questions 12980
- 12999)
12980. MR GOODMAN: I can point out certain
obvious deficiencies.
12981. CHAIRMAN: Do not say it to us.
It is much better if you put it to Mr Berryman. Baroness Fookes
has a point.
12982. BARONESS FOOKES: Mr Goodman, the
Promoters have already suggested that there should be a helpline
when there is actually work going on. I wonder whether it might
be fruitful to look at that in more detail and see whether, as
it stands at the moment, it is adequate or whether it might perhaps
be beefed up to provide the kind of simple arrangement for your
clients who are worried—and I do understand why they are
worried—and see whether something fruitful might come from
that. It might be worth exploring.
12983. MR GOODMAN: That is very much
the nature of my suggestion, that the helpline become a help service
of a more beefed-up nature.
12984. BARONESS FOOKES: But you were
asking for it to be totally independent and I think that does
provide us with problems, but if the Promoter's own helpline could
be strengthened, improved and given a greater explanation it might
be a compromise.
12985. MR GOODMAN: I appreciate it may
be a compromise.
12986. BARONESS FOOKES: From your point
of view.
12987. MR GOODMAN: From our point of
view. Clearly there would be reservations about something by which
we seek advice from the Promoter about the Promoter's shortcomings,
but if that is all we can hope to achieve by way of undertaking
or recommendation then—
12988. BARONESS FOOKES: It will be a
means, if you like, of putting pressure on the Promoters by using
the service that is provided. Anyway, I simply put that forward
as a possible help.
12989. MR GOODMAN: I appreciate that
suggestion.
12990. CHAIRMAN: The other thing, Mr
Goodman, is that in other areas where this project is going to
proceed there are liaison groups, and we have had the experience
just the other day of one of them, and it works extremely well.
It is a two-way trade and you will find that the local residents
have meetings on all sorts of technical matters. They are not
professionally advised but they have been able to carry on a dialogue
with Crossrail which has enabled a great number of things to be
not yet solved but, at any rate, clarified as to what the solution
might be.
12991. MR GOODMAN: Indeed many of those
are my clients as part of the wider coalition that I represent
today.
12992. CHAIRMAN: It has not been a success
in Spitalfields but it has been a success elsewhere. Anyway, do
you want to put some of those deficiencies to Mr Berryman?
12993. MR GOODMAN: If I can have a short
adjournment to take instructions on them. That is the only way
in which I could feasibly do that.
12994. CHAIRMAN: The Promoters can open
their case, you can take some instructions and Mr Berryman will
be in the witness box.
12995. MS LIEVEN: Can I suggest, my Lord,
that I put Mr Berryman into the witness box and go through a number
of the issues that have been raised this morning. It may then
be close to the lunch adjournment so Mr Goodman, if he needed
to, could maybe ask for an adjournment at that point. There is
a large number of points that Mr Berryman can deal with in examination-in-chief
which may not set the residents' minds entirely at rest but I
hope will set the Committee's mind largely at rest, so perhaps
we could do that first.
12996. CHAIRMAN: I think that is a very
sensible suggestion and that will then give you some time to take
instructions.
MR KEITH
BERRYMAN, recalled Examined
by MS LIEVEN
12997. MS LIEVEN: Mr Berryman, I am not
going to introduce you on this last day of the Committee; I think
we all know who you are. There is a number of points that I want
to cover. Can we start on the consultation/local residents' involvement
point and can you explain to the Committee how it is intended
that local residents will be informed and involved in the processes
of Crossrail as it goes forwards from Royal Assent?
(Mr Berryman) As I think the Lord Chairman has
mentioned, we have already established a couple of liaison panels
and they will be established for the whole length of the route,
including the surface sections as well as the underground sections.
There will be, in addition to that, a number of one-stop shops,
we are calling them, where they will be open, possibly not every
day, to allow people to go in and get information about specific
matters. We will have a 24-hour a day helpline. We already have
such a helpline but obviously at the moment no construction is
proceeding so the helpline tends to be involved in matters like
property purchase and things of that sort. The helpline will be
beefed up to provide a full 24-hour service. In addition, there
will be a complaints procedure which people will have easy access
to which will be headed by a Complaints Commissioner who will
be a person of appropriate seniority in the community to take
that role.
12998. CHAIRMAN: Independent?
(Mr Berryman) Independent. On the Channel Tunnel that role
was taken by Professor Kennerly who was I think a Professor of
Planning Law, and we will appoint someone of similar stature to
be the Commissioner for that and he will have an independent role
almost like an Ombudsman-type of role, so he will be able to have
access to all the information he needs and so on.
12999. CHAIRMAN: He would have access
to professional advice if he wanted it?
(Mr Berryman) If he felt he needed it. I understand that
on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link that situation never arose and
he always felt the issues were sufficiently tractable for him
to deal with himself, but it would be someone with experience
of planning law or construction or one of those areas that is
relevant to the process.
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