Member

My final point is on Amendments 294 and 295. I strongly agree with my noble friend Lord Moylan. While it is probably possible, with the number of economics analysts in the Department for Transport, that the department and therefore GBR would be perfectly capable of doing economic analysis that would produce the impact of changes to rail services on both the Welsh and the Scottish economies, that is not really the question. The question is a judgment call about what you do as a result of that economic analysis and, frankly, that decision should properly be taken by democratically elected Ministers who are accountable to the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Senedd rather than by GBR. If the decision was going to be taken by anyone other than Welsh and Scottish Ministers, it should be taken by the UK Minister. That decision should be taken by a Minister, not by GBR. My noble friend’s amendment raises a very good point and, if the Minister is not able to give a clear answer today, I think it is worth him taking that away and having a think, particularly in light of the fact that the new Prime Minister has set out that an increased focus on devolution is one of the key objectives of his Government.