[1] The origins of London TravelWatch can be traced back over 70 years to the time of nationalisation of parts of the public transport network under the postwar Labour Government.

The creation of the state-owned British Transport Commission in 1947 was accompanied by a system for national and regional advisory committees set up to represent the public interest.

What has changed is the extent of the body's geographical and modal remit; responsibility for its appointment and remuneration; and on several occasions, its name.

This means that over half of all rail journeys within Great Britain relate to the area covered by London TravelWatch.

However, in practice this relates to a small number of cases as most rail passengers who make a complaint have a clear enough idea as to whether it is, in common sense terms, a London train or not.

The Committee was empowered to examine the effectiveness of London TravelWatch as an advocate body for transport users.

As part of this process, user groups across London alongside elected representatives made submissions to the Committee.

The remaining functions of the Board (which would cease to exist) would be carried out by the elected members of the Transport Committee.

The appropriate vehicle for any change would have been the Localism Act but the Minister declined to include any alteration in the status of London TravelWatch in that Bill when it originated in the House of Commons.

A further complication was the decision by central government to sharply reduce the funding of Passenger Focus, which would have made any transfer of further functions to that body problematic.