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Crossrail Bill

The amendment would ensure that the Secretary of State and London Government can give an unqualified commitment at the start of the Crossrail project in relation to a potential future transfer of assets between Transport for London and the Secretary of State. Governance arrangements for the project currently allow that if the forecast final cost breaches an agreed level, the Department has the right to take back control of the project, including ownership of CLRL—Cross London Rail Links—and, indirectly, assets of Crossrail. However, the Greater London Authority Act 1999 provides that, at any given time, Transport for London should follow the direction of the Mayor in the exercise of its functions and that the Secretary of State must consent to the disposal of assets by TfL. The provisions being sought in the amendment are permissive and limited to actions for the purposes of Crossrail only. They do nothing more than ensure that the obligations entered into on signature of the sponsor agreement will endure. The provisions also seek to allow agreement to be reached now as to the use of a transfer scheme, such as a possible transfer of assets between TfL and the Department for Transport. Lords amendment agreed to. Lords amendments Nos. 28 to 45 agreed to.