Member

Turning to the idea that competition duties should apply when the ORR assesses access appeals, this would mean the ORR assessing decisions through a different set of criteria from GBR. It would effectively mean the ORR re-running the best-use judgment based on competition dynamics rather than relevant duties in the Bill, such as the freight growth duty or the passenger interest duty, which are the outcomes that matter. We want the ORR to ensure that GBR has treated people fairly and reasonably against those outcomes, not to take decisions according to a totally different set of criteria. The ORR will not be the directing mind, and the last thing the access framework needs is more fragmentation, conflict, disagreement and delays with passengers and freight customers being deprioritised, as in many cases today.