Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 4
4
Accepted
Implement tangible rail reforms to improve passenger outcomes and deliver savings for taxpayers.
Recommendation
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. But GBR has not yet been established and this scale of saving will not materialise for many years. The Department is framing its ambitions for rail reform around the introduction of GBR, seeing this as the point at which it can start to accelerate its reforms. However, it could take up to 2 years after legislation is enacted before GBR becomes operational, while passengers and taxpayers must continue to wait for much-needed improvements. The Department is planning improvement work that does not require legislation in the meantime, but we have not seen any real sense of urgency in what it is trying to do. Recommendation 4: The Department needs to make tangible, visible progress in implementing reforms which improve outcomes for passengers and taxpayers. Its Treasury Minute response should set out a) what passenger improvements and outcomes it has delivered and b) an update on the savings it has made from rail reform in this interim period and how it has made these savings.
Government Response Summary
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 focused on delivering benefits ahead of GBR legislation.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented Prior to the 2024 General Election, the department was focused on delivering the reforms which could be progressed ahead of legislation, in line with the 2021 Plan for Rail. Progress included: • Barcode ticketing technology rolled out across the network. • London North Eastern Railways (LNER) simpler fares and single leg pricing trials to reduce the complexity of purchasing a ticket. • Contactless “pay as you go’” (PAYG) ticketing being expanded in the South East, with 6 stations added in the Summer and a further 47 ready to launch in the Autumn. • “Pay as you go” pilots announced in Greater Manchester and West Midlands, as well as trailblazer deeper devolution deals. • Minimum target for growing rail freight volumes on the network announced. • The second Great British rail sale was launched, providing significant ticket discounts to journeys for passengers. The Plan for Rail originally forecasted £2.6 billion gross savings over the three-year Spending Review 2021 period (2022-23 to 2024-25) based on the previous government’s policy. As set out in the National Audit Office report, the department forecast gross savings across the Spending Review 2021 period to be around £2 billion. This accounted for estimated savings from workforce reform, fares, ticketing and retail reform and structural and commercial reform, some of which are non-cashable savings. This government is now focused on delivering benefits for passengers and taxpayers ahead of legislation to establish GBR. Resolving the national pay dispute with Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) will reduce disruption due to industrial action linked to the dispute and enable operators to deliver more reliable services to passengers and recover lost revenue. The mobilisation of shadow GBR will see an immediate focus on improving services for passengers, unlocking barriers to delivery and improving the financial sustainability of the railway. Through key organisations working in partnership as shadow GBR, we will harness the leadership of the whole system with a common goal of improving services for passengers and freight customers.