Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 5
Thirty-Eighth Report - Rail reform: The rail transformation programme
Published 27 May 2024
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Rail reform: The rail transformation programme All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
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 other stakeholders in some important areas. Unresolved issues remain regarding the extent of GBR’s role and responsibilities including the level of independence and ability it will have to be a “guiding mind” for the railways; the future commercial model between GBR and commercial operators; and how fares would be set. While it may be quite common in complex policy areas for there to be some areas of disagreement, it is surprising that the reform programme got underway without the Department and HM Treasury agreeing on such core elements. It remains to be seen how, in practice, GBR will balance providing a “guiding mind” with stepping in and directing stakeholders to a specific course of action when required. Rail reform: The rail transformation programme 7 Recommendation 5: The Department should urgently resolve disagreements ahead of taking forward reform in the next Parliament. Its Treasury Minute response should set out what areas remain to be agreed and how it and HMT plan to resolve these.
From: Public Accounts Committee, Thirty-Eighth Report - Rail reform: The rail transformation programme (HC 652), 27 May 2024
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 11 July 2025 (deadline 27 July 2024).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government states that it "agrees with the Committee's recommendation" on each of the six recommendations, with target implementation dates ranging from Winter 2024 to Spring 2025, and one marked as already implemented.
- On delivering reform, it states the department is "remobilising" and preparing for the mobilisation of shadow Great British Railways, and will "set out next steps shortly". Further legislation to create GBR was announced in the King's Speech.
- On passenger focus, it says GBR will be "incentivised by targets and performance criteria set by the Secretary of State", and a new Passenger Standards Authority will independently monitor standards.
- On subsidy and value for money, the department "expects to see these reforms delivered over the course of this parliamentary term" as legislation is enacted and private operators move into public ownership. The target implementation date given is Spring 2025.
- On accessibility, it says the department "will set out next steps as soon as possible" and will use accessibility audit data from all 2,575 stations to target future investment decisions.