Recommendation 16

HM Government Acknowledged

Agree The Government agrees that transparency is important and that industry benefits from clear forward visibility. Rather than relying on infrequent static documents, the Government is moving towards more regular, structured and accessible publication of the enhancements portfolio. The RNEP remains the structured governance framework for managing enhancements. While a consolidated public facing RNEP “update” document setting out the contents of the portfolio has not been published since 2019, the portfolio itself has continued to operate actively, with schemes progressing through development, approval and delivery stages. Transparency is most effective when it reflects the true maturity and funding status of schemes. Any announcement or publication that does not clearly distinguish between funded commitments and earlier-stage concepts or aspirations can undermine rather than enhance confidence. That is why this Government has been clear and careful in our approach. We have strengthened transparency through: • the Secretary of State’s announcement of major committed schemes following the Spending Review; • inclusion of enhancements above £25m in the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority’s (NISTA) Infrastructure Pipeline, providing a clear and up to date position on the major investments in the portfolio; • the quarterly Enhancements Delivery Plan published by Network Rail, showing the progress of schemes in the delivery stage; • and regular public announcements at formal decision milestones, providing the latest position and progress of schemes. NISTA have committed to providing an updated iteration of the Infrastructure Pipeline at least every six months, with the latest update having been published on 9 March 2026. As GBR is established, we anticipate that they will take steps to continue to provide clarity and avoid duplication, while preserving commercial sensitivity and fiscal discipline. We recognise that in doing this, it is important that the appropriate time-horizon is considered that can provide confidence to the supply chain and wider industry. Five-year Funding Period settlements already provide a clear baseline of certainty for core operations, maintenance and renewals. For enhancements, while funding comes from Spending Review periods, which are often shorter, these are complemented by forward-looking information that will be published through NISTA’s Infrastructure Pipeline. Beyond this, we aim to set out a potential pipeline that will provide an indicative view of the schemes we consider to be strategically aligned that may be progressed over a longer time horizon. While this will not constitute a funding commitment to those enhancements, it should allow the supply chain to plan for future activities and have greater confidence in the skills and capability required. Taken together with the NISTA’s Infrastructure Pipeline, these mechanisms are intended to provide both near-term certainty and longer-term directional visibility in a proportionate and credible way. In the future, the Railways Bill will require Great British Railways to develop an Integrated Business Plan, which will set out how GBR expects to use its money, including what activities it will undertake and what outcomes it will seek to achieve. This plan will provide significant transparency and clear signals for the supply chain and industry, building on what is available today.