I asked the Scottish Government for an update on the outcome of its discussions with the UK Government regarding its Railways Bill.
The Cabinet Secretary for Transport (Fiona Hyslop) told me:
“The UK Government’s Railways Bill has, as we understand it, been informed by the success of the Scottish Government’s policy of integrated management of track and train in Scotland’s railway. Our preferred policy position remains that it is in Scotland’s best interests for rail powers to be devolved fully. However, we support the bill’s policy intent, as it seeks to maximise the benefits of greater rail industry integration while respecting current devolved responsibilities. The bill will allow the Scottish Government to have greater accountability for rail infrastructure, reflecting the significant financial investment that we make. It will also give the Scottish ministers new powers to give directions and guidance to Great British railways on Scottish railway activities.
“Although we are supportive of the bill, it will be subject to further scrutiny, including through the Scottish Parliament’s legislative consent process, which we are now going through. Further updates will be provided in due course.”
Despite the majority of funding for Scotland’s railways coming from the Scottish Government, not all aspects of them are fully accountable to the Scottish Parliament. The cabinet secretary addressed that point. The bill will not alter the fundamental reality of that.
The SNP has shown what can be achieved when decisions about Scotland’s railways are taken in Scotland. I asked the cabinet secretary if she agrees that, despite the UK Government’s current position, the bill provides a major opportunity to devolve powers over Scotland’s railways fully into the control of this Parliament and Government and to let us get on with the job of running the best railways in the UK.
She replied
“In Scotland, public ownership by the SNP Government has created the opportunity to deliver a railway that is truly run for the benefit of passengers, our communities and our businesses. Our approach is widely admired and even envied elsewhere in Great Britain. Our counterparts in Wales and the north of England want to follow the success of our devolved model, which has resulted in consistently higher passenger satisfaction in ScotRail train performance than the GB average.
“It remains our strong position that the best policy is to devolve rail powers fully, which would enable us to build on success and would reflect the level of funding that we provide to Scotland’s railway—more than £1.5 billion this year. However, within the limitations of the bill, I have secured greater ministerial powers of direction for the aspects of rail that we fund and set strategy for.”