---

Channel Tunnel Rail Link (Supplementary Provisions) Bill

My Lords, I am grateful to all noble Lords who have made a contribution to this debate, which I fully acknowledge is an important one. It has been the main thrust of concern and discussion on the Bill as it has gone through its various stages, so it was no great surprise to me when the noble Lords, Lord Bradshaw and Berkeley, later joined by the noble Lord, Lord Hanningfield, put this amendment down for further discussion today. They have been commendably clear in terms of what they are after, and I congratulate them on that. It is very welcome that we can clear the air on this. I hope that noble Lords will bear with me; I have a lengthy series of points to make, but I ask them to follow through the argument. I shall also try to answer some of the points that have arisen during the course of their contributions. As explained, the amendment would subject High Speed 1 to the same regulatory scrutiny by the Office of Rail Regulation as the national rail network. I disagree with the suggestion of the noble Earl, Lord Mar and Kellie, that a separate system of regulation somehow separates the line in discussion from the rest of the network. That point is not entirely relevant to the debate. We have had much discussion on this, but I am happy to expand on the points and provide some of the assurances that noble Lords seek. Noble Lords are concerned that the new railway falls outside the scope of regulatory arrangements which cover the national network. I clarify that the Bill makes only minor changes to the existing situation. It does not exempt High Speed 1 from regulation. High Speed 1 has never fallen within the regulatory regime in the Railways Act 1993 as a result of provisions within the CTRL Act 1996. This Bill is more of the same, with some minor differences. In Committee, we discussed the dining habits and the dining partners of the noble Lord, Lord Bradshaw. We have been joined today by the dining partners of the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley.