Speeches by Turner.

“Just to be really clear, in respect of anything that might be beyond the Bill, such as guidance or plans for how this will operate in practice, have you heard from the DFT at this point as to whether they see a role for local transport authorities within that ORR and central Department process?”

“Has any work been done to quantify the value-for-money benefits, or potential benefits?”

“Yes, and we will come on to the formal powers and duties in the Bill, inasmuch as they relate to combined authorities and transport authorities, but are you confident that the positive benefits of that partnership approach in the West Midlands will be preserved as we go through this transitionary period in which public…”

“Good morning. There is already experience in Scotland of integration between track and train. We don’t know, but I imagine and hope, given that Alex Hynes is part of the GBR transition team, that some of those lessons will be learned by the Department for Transport here. From your experience of that integration and the…”

“Do you anticipate revisiting the alliance agreement that was struck last year between ScotRail and Network Rail now that you know what is in the Bill?”

“If the Lords amendment were not rejected, it would have two immediate effects. First, it would collapse the agreement between employers and union representatives. It is not some reasonable call for a review; it strikes out the changes to the compensation cap, which was a key component of that agreement. The Conservativ…”

“I enjoyed many hours in proximity to the hon. Member. He will know that the only reason we are considering the measure in such a short time is that the Bill has been delayed, so close to the April implementation period, because of the Conservative party. The final proof of the implications of the constitutional limits …”

“If the hon. Gentleman had been listening carefully, he would know that I was referring to the review called for in the Lords amendment. That is not all that the amendment contains; it seeks to strike out the powers to change the compensation cap. It is a nonsense to say on the one hand that the Bill must be halted in i…”

“I am grateful to have been called to speak in this debate. I draw the House’s attention to my membership of the GMB and my chairship of its parliamentary group—an unremunerated role. The Bill has been the subject of 14 months of debate and scrutiny, and it should have received Royal Assent months ago. Let us not beat a…”

“The debate is on the Employment Rights Bill, although I struggle to follow the line of logic in the hon. Member’s speech. He said that the effect of the change would be to benefit the wealthiest employees, but chief executive officers and other senior executives rarely seek recourse to employment tribunals, for a numbe…”

“Will the shadow Minister give way?”

“I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate and on again reading into the record the names of the 37. I hope I might put two sentiments of my own on the record. First, I pay tribute to the work of Eddie Marnell who, over many years as a member of GMB’s north-west and Irish region and central executive council…”

“I draw attention to my membership of the GMB and my chairship of its parliamentary group. The BMA is currently in dispute with its workforce over an offer of 2% for this year, which is below the inflation rate on the retail prices index and the consumer prices index. Does my right hon. Friend agree that there is a stri…”

“So it is reliant on one of those bodies to make that enforcement. I have one more question, Chair.”

“Say a complaint has gone through the process and the watchdog and GBR end up with diametrically opposed points of view, how does that get resolved? What mechanism will there be to break the logjam?”

“Exactly. How do you see that working? Do you think that the same tests applied under the current system will be carried through, or are you working on a new, alternative way of balancing those competing demands?”

“One issue that is probably going to come up frequently is written into the legislation: the contrary duty to have regard to public funds. I know that is an issue that comes up a lot with requests for new bridges and level crossings.”

“Under the new system, who should be responsible for deciding whether accessibility is good enough? If, for example, a passenger has a very poor experience of Passenger Assist or there are pronounced level-boarding issues at a particular location, what should that passenger’s experience of raising an issue, and it getti…”

“Clause 36 says that the passengers’ council “must have particular regard to the interests and needs of disabled persons”. We have heard suggestions that this could be alternatively worded as “a duty to promote” or could be akin to the public sector equality duty to narrow disadvantage faced by disabled passengers. Do y…”

“It would be helpful if you can come back to the Committee with that comparison, because it is a publicly funded industry.”