Further information from the Department for Transport
1. RIR Reg 5(8) was transposed from Article 14 of the Interoperability Directive. Para 3 includes "If a new authorisation is needed, the Member State shall decide to what extent the TSIs need to be applied to the project." An administrative procedure was chosen at the time as this was felt to be the most appropriate method for dealing with determinations on TSIs, which are of a technical nature. The draft regulations in front of the Committee today do not propose to deal with determinations on the PRM TSI in a different way. We recognise that this might reduce the level of Parliamentary scrutiny in an area where Peers in particular have shown interest in the past. However, we wish to pursue the current proposals for consistency with determinations from other TSIs, and have committed to consult with DPTAC before making any decisions regarding the PRM TSI.
2. The DDA 2005 included a requirement for the Secretary of State to produce an annual report on exemption orders from RVAR (there were none in 2006 and 2007). We would expect to additionally provide details of any determinations under RIR Reg 5(8) within such a report, so that Parliament can consider them.
11 June 2008
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