Member

In the time available to me, I will touch on just three specific areas of concern that these amendments speak to. First, there is the effective route of appeal where people feel that self-preferencing has happened. As is recognised in the Bill, the rail retail market will be a new area for the ORR. I suggest to the Minister that he might think again about whether an appeal to the ORR should be not just on the basis of process but on the merits of the case and how the decision is taken—not least because the evidence from the CMA and indeed from Europe is that there is a material risk of a state-based entity engaging in self-preferencing. Therefore, if our objective is to uphold our route of appeal, perhaps an entirely ex post process, as we have heard, is not the most effective approach to market regulation. In a case where there was any distorting market competition, a remedy of that kind could perhaps take years, and that may merit further consideration.