Contribution
My Lords, this has been a strong debate on an important issue. It is about ensuring that passengers have a wide range of retailers from which to buy their tickets and other associated services, whether for leisure or onward travel and so on, and that there is a level playing field between Great British Railways’ retail arm and the third sector providers. At the start of the discussion on this group, the noble Baroness, Lady Harding, and the noble Lord, Lord Young, made a clear case about the issues, which are uniting members from across the Committee.
Throughout the discussions on all the amendments in these groups there has been a desire for genuine and fair choice for passengers. We want to promote a competitive retail market and equal access to systems, data and products so that they can be used by start-ups and others as well as established practitioners in this area. The latter point is important. It is part of Amendment 211 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Young of Cookham, and is supported by a number of other Members, including my noble friend Lord Dixon of Jericho. I want to spell out why these issues are so important.
I was really interested to hear about the recent product launched in Wales earlier, which not all third-party retailers were able to promote. In the last week, South Western Railway has had a special discount, some kind of flash sale, on rail tickets on its services. I was not able to find these on my usual app—Trainline, though others are available—but only on the South Western Railway website, which is what I had to use to purchase these super-discounted tickets. It may well be my technological limitations failing me, but, if I had not seen an email from South Western Railway, I would not have known about these special tickets and would have ended up paying three to four times the amount for my travel.
There has to be a genuine level playing field where all retailers can sell the same tickets and discounted tickets and use their skills and innovations to drive more traffic through their sites and apps. Different people read data and information in different ways, and that is why we have such a range of apps; we all look at things differently and have different ways we want to purchase tickets. It is important that this can thrive, with the jobs and innovation that this creates.
Members from different parties are in the same area on this issue, but some go further. Amendment 17 from the noble Lord, Lord Moylan, wishes to prevent Great British Railways having any retail website or application until Parliament has had a say over its full-life cost. This sounds a little bit like what the noble Lord, Lord Harper, was talking about—when he was in the department saying, “Why is Great British Railways getting into this space at all?”
As we have already heard, if you look internationally, SNCF has a retail arm in France, but it is kept separate from the main SNCF network, so there is no conflict. In some ways, that is a bit like the regeneration and planning functions of a local authority. They are a part of the same body, but they have to be kept separate because of their distinct functions. Amendment 182 from the noble Lord, Lord Holmes of Richmond, suggests a way to do this, which may help with this concern.
My noble friend Lord Dixon of Jericho spoke eloquently at Second Reading about this area. I know he has held several meetings with officials to discuss his concerns not just about the existing third-party retailers but the ease for new entrants—start-ups—to come into this marketplace and offer the quality services that passengers desire.
Finally, I want to pick up on Amendments 208 and 339, tabled by my noble friend Lady Leaman. This is so important for passengers. It would ensure automatic Delay Repay compensation, whichever retailer you have bought your tickets with. It is about putting the passenger front and centre so that, if something does go wrong, they are compensated without having to jump through hoop after hoop. It is a basic right if we are to transform our railways into the modern, passenger-focused service that we all desire.
I look forward to the Minister’s response on this really strong debate; I hope that it is far more than simply saying that the retail code of practice, as an approved document, will deal with all these issues. I think the Minister will have heard loudly and clearly—and not just from the transport enthusiasts, though many of us are here in this Room—that noble Lords are rightly concerned about this area, and we must get this right.