Harper non-committal on GBR’s prospects
SECRETARY of State for Transport Mark Harper has cast fresh doubt on whether a new Great British Railways public body will ever be established with full legal powers.
Appearing in front of the House of Commons Transport Select Committee on December 7, Harper (pictured) declined to commit to proceeding with this key element of the Government’s rail reform agenda.
Instead, he told MPs that having only been appointed in October, he was still taking time to “listen to alternative views” on how best to implement the recommendations made by the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail when it was published in May 2021.
He said he remained committed to “achieving the intention behind that idea” of creating a GBR-style ‘guiding mind’ to end fragmentation in the industry, but that he had not yet reached any firm conclusions.
“I am taking some time to reflect on it, and to make sure that when we move forward that I am entirely happy with what we are doing,” he said.
“I know that there are a range of views in Parliament, and I think it is important that I take some time to listen and bear those in mind before I make any final decisions.”
As legislation is needed to equip any new guiding mind with a full range of legal powers, including franchising authority, Harper was asked whether a Transport Bill would be introduced before the next General Election (which must be called by no later than December 2024).
He replied that he would “look at legislation for the fourth [2023-24] session” of Parliament, but that the final decision for the Government’s legislative programme “is not entirely a decision for me”.
His non-committal answer followed a statement during a previous TSC session from his predecessor Anne-Marie Trevelyan (who briefly served as Transport Secretary from September 6 to October 25), who declared that legislation would not be forthcoming until after the end of the third session (in May 2023) at the earliest (RAIL 969).
Harper added: “The Department [for Transport] is clear about the things that we wish to prioritise, and the Committee will have discussed that with my predecessor [Trevelyan] and her predecessor [Grant Shapps]. But it is not within my gift to set out the priorities for the full session. We are clear that all the things that you said are things that I want to achieve, and we will be making the case strongly within Government.”
On the continued delay to legislation, Harper pointed to the Coronavirus pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine as examples of competing ministerial priorities “that could not have been predicted”, but which have
necessitated significant amounts of Government time and funding.
He stressed that although he did not have the ability to promise specific legislation, the Great British Railways Transition Team would continue to work on areas of reform that do not require legislation. This includes the rollout of contactless pay-as-you-go ticketing across areas in England outside of London and the South East.
Rail Partners Director of Policy John Thomas reacted with disappointment to Harper’s indecision on the future of GBR and the lack of any timeline for its creation.
“We [train operators] welcome his commitment to engage and listen to other viewpoints, but action must be taken to end the hiatus on reform,” he said.
“Further delay isn’t in the interests of customers, taxpayers or the industry as a whole.”