Transport for London Bill [HL]

Baroness Randerson Excerpts

Monday 8th February 2016 Grand Committee

[Baroness Randerson (LD)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for initiating this debate. It is important, given the age of the Bill, that we have the opportunity to say something about it. As the noble Lord said, it has been around for a long time and I would argue that the financial and political mood has changed in that time. The Bill may no longer be as in tune with its time as it was four or five years ago.

There is greater concern now about corporate social responsibility, financial transparency and corporate taxation. Tied up with all this is a general public unease about the predominance of foreign ownership of much of our infrastructure. TfL itself has an excellent reputation for what it does and it is essential that it does not undermine that reputation. As a company owned by the public and working for the public, it needs to set the highest possible standards of social and financial responsibility and transparency.

I understand the imperatives behind the Bill. They have been reinforced since it was introduced. The Government’s spending review last November cut the revenue grant faster than ever—faster than expected—and it will be cut by £2.8 billion over the period up to 2021. In addition, the London housing crisis has intensified. The truth is, we desperately need the land that TfL will sell as surplus for new homes. So I support TfL in doing that, but with caveats.

First, Clause 5 deals with limited partnerships, which in my view are a step too far for a public body. It could mean additional risk for TfL and it certainly would mean a lack of transparency on ownership of land and who exactly the partners of TfL are. In addition, I urge TfL not to repeat the mistakes that have been made, for example, at Earl’s Court. That really is a recipe for how not to do it. I very much hope TfL will learn from that situation. There are too many flaws and disadvantages to that development for it to be called a bonus for the people of London. I would like TfL to commit very strongly and transparently to social housing and rentable housing—not just the umbrella term of “affordable housing”—on the sites that it sells.

Secondly, we need more public consultation and engagement, and more transparency, please. With that in mind, I strongly welcome the announcement last week that Transport for London is partnering with 13 specific organisations with which it plans to undertake long-term development. That is a really good step.

Finally, I urge TfL to take a long look at the mistakes of the past in the transport industry in general. Too often, land used for transport infrastructure was sold off too quickly and was then discovered to be strategically important. I know that there are clauses in the Bill—and indeed TfL manages its business in this way in general—which require it to get permission from the mayor and, in some cases where the land is of strategic importance, from the Secretary of State. However, there is no role, for example, for the National Infrastructure Commission, although that is understandable because it did not exist until recently. However, I ask both the Minister and TfL to consider whether there should be a role for the infrastructure commission in advising on the sale of large parcels of land, which could well prove to be of strategic importance.