Recommendations & Conclusions
24 items
2
Recommendation
Thirty-Eighth Report - Rail reform: The…
Accepted
There has been too little focus on passengers and taxpayers and how to get them a better deal. The Department claims that improving passenger experience is at the heart of its reform plans, but poor performance persists across the rail network. In 2022–23, 13.7% of trains were delayed and 3.8% …
Government response. The government agrees and commits to delivering the Great British Railways (GBR) model within this parliamentary term, which it states will address disincentives and aims to improve passenger services and financial sustainability. Interim actions include using annual business planning, resolving …
HM Treasury
3
Conclusion
Thirty-Eighth Report - Rail reform: The…
Accepted
It is unacceptable that so much of the rail network remains so difficult to access for so many people. The Department committed to improving access to the rail 6 Rail reform: The rail transformation programme network and other modes of transport as part of its 2018 inclusive transport strategy and …
Government response. The government agrees and commits to setting out next steps as soon as possible for improving rail accessibility, continuing the Access for All programme, and using accessibility audit data for all 2,575 stations to improve information and target future investment …
HM Treasury
4
Recommendation
Thirty-Eighth Report - Rail reform: The…
Accepted
We are not convinced that the Department has paid sufficient attention, in advance of the delayed creation of Great British Railways, to the changes it can make now to improve the situation for passengers and taxpayers. The Department expected its reform programme to result in annual savings of £1.5 billion. …
Government response. The government agrees and states it has already implemented the recommendation by delivering various reforms including rolling out barcode ticketing, expanding contactless PAYG, piloting PAYG in new regions, setting a rail freight target, and launching a rail sale. It remains …
HM Treasury
5
Recommendation
Thirty-Eighth Report - Rail reform: The…
Acknowledged
Six years since the Department started work on rail reform, it has failed to resolve fundamental disagreements and clarify key aspects of reform. The Department acknowledges that, while its white paper set the broad direction and detail for some areas of reform, there were still disagreements with HM Treasury and …
Government response. The government agrees to resolve disagreements regarding Great British Railways' role, function, and oversight to ensure financial sustainability, stating that further information on legislative plans will be provided as soon as practical.
HM Treasury
6
Recommendation
Thirty-Eighth Report - Rail reform: The…
Acknowledged
The Department has failed to engage with the workforce to successfully deliver its reform ambitions. Good policymaking relies on effective stakeholder engagement. The Williams Rail Review involved extensive consultation with trade unions and workers across the railway to understand their perspectives. However, while the Department expects to implement significant reforms …
Government response. The government agrees to meaningfully engage with the workforce, citing a recent pay proposal to the ASLEF trade union, and reiterates its belief that partnership with workforce representatives is essential for reform.
HM Treasury
1
Conclusion
Thirty-Eighth Report - Rail reform: The…
Accepted
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Transport (the Department) and Network Rail, in its capacity as lead for the Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT), about rail reform.1
Government response. The government outlines its ongoing actions on rail reform, including introducing legislation to bring passenger services into public ownership, announcing further legislation to create Great British Railways, and preparing for the mobilisation of a shadow GBR.
HM Treasury
7
Conclusion
Thirty-Eighth Report - Rail reform: The…
Government and industry reviews of the railways over the past two decades have identified similar problems to the Williams review.11 We asked the Department why these reviews had failed to lead to improvements. It said that reviews have not always looked at the whole of the railway in its entirety …
HM Treasury
8
Conclusion
Thirty-Eighth Report - Rail reform: The…
Accepted
The rail sector’s performance for passengers and the taxpayer is not good enough and has not been for some time.13 The Office of Rail and Road reported 3.8% of trains were classified as cancelled in 2022–23, along with 86.3% of trains arriving at their final destination on time, meaning that …
Government response. The government states that train operators' performance is already monitored across a range of operational and service quality measures and that each operator is contractually required to set out their commitments to passengers, including arrangements for delay compensation.
HM Treasury
9
Conclusion
Thirty-Eighth Report - Rail reform: The…
Acknowledged
Delays to reform have added pressure to the Department’s finances and higher costs to the taxpayer for longer. The Department’s costs now exceed the revenue it receives and at a level that the Department views as unsustainable – the Department spent £3.1 billion subsidising train services in 2022–23.19 We asked …
Government response. The government agrees the level of funding and subsidy for the railway is not sustainable and says it needs to increase revenues and reduce costs. They are committed to delivering a unified and simplified governance structure for the railways, alongside …
HM Treasury
10
Conclusion
Thirty-Eighth Report - Rail reform: The…
Acknowledged
The Department told us that the pandemic presented a fundamental challenge to sustainably funding the railways and that the financial pressures have driven a stronger focus to look at the whole system and improve performance, both financially and for passengers.21 The pandemic also exposed the scale of challenge on costs. …
Government response. The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. They are committed to delivering a unified and simplified governance structure for the railways, alongside passenger train services under public ownership, with the objective of providing improved services for passengers and better value …
HM Treasury
11
Conclusion
Thirty-Eighth Report - Rail reform: The…
Accepted
Rail Partners highlighted to us the risk that the Department may look to cut passenger services to save costs which would make the railway less attractive for passengers, mean lower revenues flowing into HM Treasury, and add to cost pressures. It said that it is essential to reunite cost and …
Government response. The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation to reunite cost and revenue and is committed to delivering a unified and simplified governance structure for the railways, alongside passenger train services under public ownership. Implementation is targeted for Spring 2025.
HM Treasury
12
Conclusion
Thirty-Eighth Report - Rail reform: The…
Not Addressed
Improving accessibility runs throughout the Department’s reform ambitions and is one of the 62 commitments included in its White Paper: ‘The first robust national accessibility strategy and long-term investment programme will improve inclusion and access for all.’25 Even earlier than its White Paper commitment, the Department 18 Q 44 19 …
Government response. This conclusion references the Department's prior commitments to improving access. The government's response is the same as for IDs 7080 and 7081.
HM Treasury
13
Conclusion
Thirty-Eighth Report - Rail reform: The…
Not Addressed
We asked the Department about the passenger improvements it has made for disabled passengers and people who find accessibility an issue. The Department recognised that it needs to make sure the railway works for disabled passengers, and that accessibility is going to increase in importance with demographic changes. The Department …
Government response. This conclusion references a consultation on a national rail accessibility strategy and the example of Leagrave station. The government's response is the same as for IDs 7081 and 7079.
HM Treasury
14
Recommendation
Thirty-Eighth Report - Rail reform: The…
Accepted
We highlighted our concerns about the impact of the Department’s lack of progress in improving rail services and station infrastructure on various groups of people. For example, disabled passengers, as well as parents with young children, and even the many passengers and tourists carrying luggage who would like to use …
Government response. The government agrees and will continue to support the access for all programme, using accessibility audit data of rail stations to improve passenger information and target future investment decisions.
HM Treasury
15
Recommendation
Thirty-Eighth Report - Rail reform: The…
Accepted
The Department’s scale of activity compared to its initial reform programme is much reduced. Its focus is on three types of work: short-term benefits it can achieve without legislation; promoting greater collaboration and culture change within the rail sector; and continuing some work on the future end state for reform.31 …
Government response. The government agrees and lists progress made prior to the 2024 General Election, including barcode ticketing and LNER initiatives, and says it is focused on delivering benefits for passengers and taxpayers ahead of legislation to establish GBR. It also mentions …
HM Treasury
16
Conclusion
Thirty-Eighth Report - Rail reform: The…
We asked the Department for clarity around how the new contracts would work. The Department told us that it is in the process of developing a further version of national rail contracts, designed to further encourage growth in revenue and passengers, and focus on the passenger experience. It said that …
HM Treasury
17
Recommendation
Thirty-Eighth Report - Rail reform: The…
Accepted
We asked the Department what we can expect to see within the next six months that will make a difference and improve the passenger experience. The Department provided examples such as the Great British Rail sales, roll out and trialling of more pay-as-you- go technology for customers in various parts …
Government response. The government agrees and lists progress made prior to the 2024 General Election, including barcode ticketing and LNER initiatives, and says it is focused on delivering benefits for passengers and taxpayers ahead of legislation to establish GBR. It also mentions …
HM Treasury
18
Conclusion
Thirty-Eighth Report - Rail reform: The…
The Department intended that Great British Railways (GBR) would act as the ‘guiding mind’ for the railways, with responsibility for the whole rail system.40 But the Department and HM Treasury disagreed on key areas of rail reform from the start, including GBR’s remit and level of independence, the extent to …
HM Treasury
19
Recommendation
Thirty-Eighth Report - Rail reform: The…
Accepted
We asked the Department about the challenges presented by not having agreement with HM Treasury from the outset of the programme about some of these aspects. The Department told us that the white paper had the collective agreement of ministers and set the broad direction and detail for some areas …
Government response. The government will work closely with HM Treasury on defining the role, function and oversight of Great British Railways to ensure the railway is financially sustainable and will set out further information on plans for legislation as soon as is …
HM Treasury
20
Conclusion
Thirty-Eighth Report - Rail reform: The…
Acknowledged
We asked the Department for its views on the current commentary around GBR and the balance between it acting as a guiding or directing mind. The Department said it is important to find the right balance between the guiding mind who is guiding but also who is prepared to stand …
Government response. The government states its ambition is to set the long-term strategy and priorities for the railway, with Great British Railways (GBR) acting as a “directing mind” focused on improving the rail network and the passenger experience.
HM Treasury
21
Conclusion
Thirty-Eighth Report - Rail reform: The…
Acknowledged
Reviews by the IPA and the Department in early 2023 found that the Rail Transformation Board’s governance was confused, accountabilities unclear, and there was not agreement across stakeholders on the scope and delivery approach of the Programme. The Department recognises that there will be a challenge in getting stakeholders to …
Government response. The department is preparing for the mobilisation of shadow GBR which will facilitate closer working between the senior leaders of Rail Services Group (RSG) in Department for Transport, Department for Transport Operator of Last Resort Holdings Limited (DOHL) and Network …
HM Treasury
22
Conclusion
Thirty-Eighth Report - Rail reform: The…
Acknowledged
The Department agreed with HM Treasury that it would deliver £2.6 billion in savings from rail reform by 2024–25, with most savings expected to come from workforce reform plans including modernising ways of working within train stations, improving control and deployment of drivers, and reductions in staff numbers.47 The Department …
Government response. The government is resetting the relationship with the trade unions as part of its overall approach to reforming the railways and has recently made a proposal to the ASLEF trade union to settle the existing national pay dispute.
HM Treasury
23
Recommendation
Thirty-Eighth Report - Rail reform: The…
Accepted
Good policy is made through involving stakeholders. We asked about the Department’s engagement with the workforce and how it understands the practical realities and challenges facing those responsible for implementing policy on the ground. The Department told us that when its officials supported the Williams Review, they consulted very widely …
Government response. The government is resetting the relationship with the trade unions, has made a proposal to ASLEF, and believes that working in partnership with the workforce is essential for long-lasting reform.
HM Treasury
24
Conclusion
Thirty-Eighth Report - Rail reform: The…
Acknowledged
Network Rail told us about its good, constructive relationships with trade unions which have allowed it to achieve workforce efficiency and productivity savings of around £775 million.53 They provided examples of headcount reductions from losing around 2,500 managers, work reductions whereby technology means they no longer use people for certain …
Government response. The Committee notes Network Rail's good relationship with unions and associated savings.
HM Treasury