Commentary on Sections and Schedules Assisting and securing the provision of services Section 7: Notification of assistance from Secretary of State for freight services, Section 9: Notification of assistance from the Scottish Ministers for freight services and Section 11: Notification of assistance from Welsh Assembly for freight services
50.Under the Transport Act 2000, the SRA has sole power (under section 211) to make or modify financial assistance schemes aimed at securing the provision, improvement or development of rail freight. The SRA must inform both the Scottish Ministers and National Assembly of Wales of these schemes (under section 249). The Scottish Ministers have the sole power to apply these schemes in Scotland and the National Assembly of Wales and SRA have joint powers to do so in Wales. These provisions of the Transport Act 2000 are repealed by this Act.
51.Under sections 8 and 10 of this Act, the Scottish Ministers and National Assembly of Wales will have new powers to make and modify schemes of this kind themselves. The sections to which this note relates seek to encourage the co-ordination of such schemes, given that rail freight activities may cross the borders between England, Wales and Scotland.
52.Section 7 requires the Secretary of State to notify the Scottish Ministers and National Assembly of Wales of any new or modified schemes. Sections 9 and 11 impose reciprocal duties on the Scottish Ministers and NAW to notify the Secretary of State of their own new or modified schemes.
53.Section 6(4) requires the Secretary of State to have regard to the desirability of acting consistently with anything notified to him by either the Scottish Ministers under section 9 or the NAW under section 11. Sections 8(6) and 10(9) require the Scottish Ministers and National Assembly of Wales respectively to have the same regard to anything notified to them by the Secretary of State under section 7.