Committee
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee 10 March 2026 [Draft]
10 Mar 2026 · S6 · Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Item of business
Railways Bill
There are two reasons for that. The substantive part of the bill, as presented, was the result of the prior involvement of ministers—a good example of what should happen—so a lot of our issues about protecting and enhancing Scotland’s devolved position were agreed in advance of the bill’s publication. Building in devolved sensibilities at the start is always a good idea.The bill is complex. There are provisions for Scottish ministers throughout the bill and that is why a lot of clauses require the LCM approach. We lodged the LCM in December and the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee did the right thing by taking time to go through everything, and I am confident that it has done that. There is no controversy about the bill’s contents and the legislative consent applications have been applied appropriately.Protection of devolution is really important for everybody, and we have managed to do that. My main concern, however, is that, having secured that, we do not know what will happen next. If Parliament sets out an assertive position that we have protected and, to an extent, enhanced the powers of the Parliament, that would be a strong message to whoever is looking at the bill at Westminster thereafter.The problem is probably the interruption of the Scottish Parliament elections, although I should not call it an interruption, because it is an important democratic event. What that will mean is that the new committee that is established will not have the same experience as this committee has. It will also have much less time—weeks as opposed to months—to consider the bill. The House of Lords will be the final place for amendments, and it will likely deal with them when it comes back from recess, so the time and opportunity for the future committee and Parliament to have a view is limited. The substantial amendments have already been lodged, and we do not anticipate major amendments at the next stage. However, if there were such amendments, the committee would have to look only at those aspects of the bill and the final text, and I think that that process would be restricted and limited.I would also add that the supplementary LCM addresses a point that this committee identified, which is what happens to the provision of services at the end of the period of control of assets, when assets may be transferred. The supplementary LCM that we asked for has been provided and reflects what the committee identified when it considered the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024. An important responsibility for Parliament is to tidy up our responsibilities, this side of the election, on the substantive elements of the bill, with the statement of the LCM, as the bill stands. That is the view of the Government.
In the same item of business
09:15
The Convener
Con
Our second item of business is consideration of a legislative consent memorandum and a supplementary legislative consent memorandum on the Railways Bill. The...
The Cabinet Secretary for Transport (Fiona Hyslop)
SNP
Convener, I want to start by acknowledging the very serious fire incident near Glasgow Central station over the weekend and paying tribute to the emergency s...
The Convener
Con
Before you do so, cabinet secretary, I want to thank you for those comments. I know that all of these things come with a risk to those who are trying to solv...
Fiona Hyslop
SNP
Obviously, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service will have to give permission for access to and use of the station. I refer everyone to the Network Rail and S...
The Convener
Con
Okay, thank you. I am sorry to have interrupted you, but I think that it is a fundamentally important issue. Do you want to move on to talk about the LCM now?
Fiona Hyslop
SNP
Turning to the purpose of this agenda item, I thank the convener and the committee for inviting me to give evidence on the Railways Bill legislative consent ...
The Convener
Con
Thank you, cabinet secretary. Our briefing tells us that it is a fairly complicated bill, which might be an understatement. There is an LCM and a supplementa...
Fiona Hyslop
SNP
There are two reasons for that. The substantive part of the bill, as presented, was the result of the prior involvement of ministers—a good example of what s...
The Convener
Con
I am smiling slightly, because, although the next committee may be short of time, this committee is not exactly flush with time, given all the things that we...
Fiona Hyslop
SNP
There is far more integration here than in the rest of the United Kingdom. The Railways Bill tries to replicate, across the rest of the UK, the benefits that...
Michael Matheson (Falkirk West) (SNP)
SNP
Good morning. A key part of making the new arrangements work effectively is the memorandum of understanding that will be developed between the Scottish Gover...
Fiona Hyslop
SNP
You will be aware that there is already a memorandum of understanding, but the bill makes the relationship statutory, which provides an important underpinnin...
Michael Matheson
SNP
Given the underpinning of the MOU in statute, I presume that there will also be an opportunity for parliamentary scrutiny at some point once it has been fina...
Fiona Hyslop
SNP
I assume so. Everyone would be interested in that. I gave evidence to the Westminster Transport Committee, which was looking at the legislation from a UK per...
Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
You mentioned the memorandum of understanding. Will it include things such as dispute resolution? If there was a conflict because, for example, ScotRail serv...
Fiona Hyslop
SNP
We are developing the heads of terms for the MOU. Access and freight are the two issues that are of interest to everybody UK-wide and which seem to be coming...
Bill Reeve (Transport Scotland)
The heads of terms have not been completed, but they are keeping us busy. Our engagement with colleagues in the Department for Transport has been constructiv...
Douglas Lumsden
Con
I am a big fan of open-access operators. Are you assured that they will not be squeezed out by the services that will be operated by GB rail?
Fiona Hyslop
SNP
We would not want that to be the case. The access arrangements are still reserved, so those issues are primarily for the UK Government. As I reflected, the b...
Douglas Lumsden
Con
Are you confident that open-access operators will not be affected by the bill?
Fiona Hyslop
SNP
That is not for me to determine; it is an issue for the UK Government. I will be ensuring, from a Scottish perspective, that they will not be affected. If yo...
The Convener
Con
Can I press you slightly on that? I believe that open-access operators have helped to keep the price of tickets down. Their prices seem to be lower than thos...
Fiona Hyslop
SNP
I agree with you. Bill, do you want to come in?
Bill Reeve
To recap, there are three broad types of open access. There are the operators that you are referring to, such as Lumo, which runs services across the border....
The Convener
Con
Your last point is noted. On your first point, it is relevant to note that you are aware of the issues and of how important open-access agreements are and th...
Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green)
Green
Will the role of Transport Focus change at all as a result of the bill?
Bill Reeve
The role will be strengthened. There will be some consolidation of powers in Transport Focus, as the rail ombudsman will move in there and some work that is ...
Mark Ruskell
Green
That will be on a UK-wide basis. Do you expect any changes in how the organisation operates in Scotland?
Fiona Hyslop
SNP
The impact on passengers runs through what the UK Government wants to do as part of the Railways Bill. As far as the operation of devolved aspects is concern...