Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 26
26
In 2020, the Office of Rail and Road reported inherent uncertainty in the value of...
Conclusion
In 2020, the Office of Rail and Road reported inherent uncertainty in the value of some of the efficiency savings made by Network Rail in 2019–20.69 The Office of Rail and Road told us that it has now agreed a set of indicators with Network Rail which measure the likelihood of Network Rail meeting its efficiency targets for the Control Period. It also told us that Network Rail’s regional management information has improved, enabling a better understanding of relative performance. Despite these improvements, the Office of Rail and Road reiterated the large scale of the challenge faced by Network Rail in achieving its efficiency target for Control Period 6.70 68 Office of Rail and Road, ORR’s review of Network Rail’s RF11 delivery plan update for the financial year 2021–22, March 2021 69 Office of Rail and Road, Annual efficiency and finance assessment of Network Rail 2019–20, July 2020, p5 70 Q 34 16 Overview of the English rail system
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
6.2 Network Rail will write to the Committee in December 2021. Network Rail remain committed to delivering the committed efficiency improvements in Control Period 6, and Network Rail will continue to be held to account for doing so by the independent Office of Rail and Road. Network Rail is developing a detailed response to recommendation 6 for submission by December 2021. In this, Network Rail will further set out how it will achieve the efficiency target in Control Period 6 and address wider points raised by the Committee: • set out improvements in approach, process, incentivisation and governance for Control Period 6 delivery; • describe the efficiencies framework to track the movement of industry costs over time; • provide details of efficiency targets for the remaining years of Control Period 6; • explain the increase in the Operations, Maintenance and Renewals (OMR) efficiency target from £3.5 billion to £4 billion; and • provide further detail on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.