Passenger Rail Services in England

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Passenger Rail Services in England BRIEFING PAPER Number CBP 6521, 9 January 2018 Passenger rail services in By Louise Butcher England Inside: 1. How do passenger services work? 2. Franchising policy since 2007 3. The future www.parliament.uk/commons-library | intranet.parliament.uk/commons-library | [email protected] | @commonslibrary Number CBP 6521, 9 January 2018 2 Contents Summary 3 1. How do passenger services work? 4 1.1 Franchising 4 What is it? 4 The early years 5 How does it work? 7 Direct awards 8 Scotland 9 Wales 10 1.2 Open access operators 10 1.3 Concession agreements 11 1.4 Track access contracts and charges 11 2. Franchising policy since 2007 13 2.1 Labour Government, 2007-10 13 2.2 Coalition and Conservative governments, 2010- 14 First reform paper & McNulty report, 2010-11 14 West Coast re-let failure, Laidlaw & Brown, 2012-13 15 Further reviews and reform, 2014- 17 2.3 Franchise length 19 3. The future 21 3.1 More competition? 21 3.2 More public ownership? 24 3.3 More partnership working? 27 3.4 More devolution? 29 London 29 Rest of England 31 Contributing Authors: Louise Butcher, Transport Policy Cover page image copyright: Michael Day – flickr/CreativeCommons 3 Passenger rail services in England Summary This paper explains how passenger rail services are provided in England and the policies of successive governments towards rail franchising. It also looks at those proposals which have been put forward for further reform – specifically more partnership working, competition, public ownership and devolution. Since privatisation in the mid-1990s, there have been two types of passenger rail service on the GB rail network: open access operators (i.e. those that bid for ‘slots’ – specific parts of the overall National Rail timetable – to operate their own passenger services) and franchisees (i.e. those who operate a contracted service on a particular part of the rail network under licence from the Government and the regulator). By far the majority of services are run by franchises. Franchising involves the Government setting out a specification for what it would like a franchise to do over a set period (level of service, upgrades, performance etc.). Companies then bid for the right to operate a franchise to that specification. The Government picks whichever company it thinks will deliver the best overall package for the franchise and give the best value for money. Franchise agreements include details of the performance standards that franchisees must meet and arrangements for the termination of a franchise in the case of failure to meet these standards. There have been several reforms of the system since privatisation, most recently in 2012-14 following the failed West Coast let. There is much discussion at the moment about where the rail industry goes next and whether the current franchised system is fit for purpose. Over the past couple of years there have been a number of reports looking into reform of the rail franchising system, advocating various changes, from more competition to more devolution, to more partnership working and moves towards reintegration of track and train. In November 2017 the Government published its strategic vision for rail, setting out plans for alliancing or partnerships, where the train operator works in tandem with the infrastructure manager, Network Rail. Had Labour formed a government following the 2017 General Election it had pledged to bring the railways, in particular rail franchises, back under public control. There have been a number of reports looking into this idea over the past five years, suggesting how a future Labour Government could either nationalise the railways or create a publicly-run and partly devolved railway. Finally, there is the question of what impact Brexit may have on how the railways are structured and operated. This remains uncertain for the moment. Details of individual franchises can be found in the companion HC Library briefing paper CBP 1343 and information on other rail-related matters can be found on the Railways Briefings Page of the Parliament website. Number CBP 6521, 9 January 2018 4 1. How do passenger services work? There are essentially two1 sorts of services on the rail network: • Franchises: train companies operating passenger rail franchises are awarded the right to run specific services within a specified area for a specific period of time, in return for the right to charge fares and, where appropriate, to receive financial support from the franchising authority.2 Franchised train operating companies (TOCs) generally lease stations from Network Rail (NR) and earn rental income by subletting parts of them, for example to retailers. There are currently 16 franchises operating in England and Wales and two in Scotland.3 • Open access operators (OAOs): OAOs operate on a commercial basis with no subsidy and are required to apply to the rail regulator (the Office of Rail and Road, or ORR) and NR for the necessary access rights to run their proposed service. Fares set by OAOs are not subject to fare regulation. Of a total of 19 proposals for open access services received by ORR between 2000 and 2014, only four were successful. There are currently just two OAOs: First Hull Trains and Grand Central Railway.4 1.1 Franchising What is it? A franchise is the right to run specified services within a specified area for a specified period of time, in return for the right to charge fares and, where appropriate, to receive financial support from the franchising authority. Government subsidy is payable in respect of socially necessary services that might not otherwise be provided. Service standards are monitored throughout the duration of the franchise. Franchisees earn revenue primarily from fares and from subsidy. They generally lease stations from Network Rail (NR) and earn rental income by sub-letting parts of them, for example to retailers. Franchisees' main costs are the track access charges they pay to NR, the costs of leasing stations and rolling stock and of employing staff. Franchisees may do light maintenance work on rolling stock themselves or contract it out to private companies. Heavy maintenance is normally procured for them by the rolling stock leasing companies according to the contracts between them. 1 concession agreements are very similar to franchises, but the legal framework is different so they are dealt with separately in section 1.3, below 2 currently the Department for Transport in England and Wales, the Scottish Government in Scotland; the Welsh Government in Wales becomes the relevant authority for the new Wales & Borders franchise, in the process of being let at time of writing 3 CMA, Competition in passenger rail services in Great Britain: A policy document, 8 March 2016, p38 4 ibid., pp41-2 5 Passenger rail services in England The rights and obligations are specified in a Franchise Agreement Individual Franchise between the franchising authority (in England the Department for Agreements can be Transport) and the TOC. Each franchise is negotiated individually and is found on the a legal document that can only be terminated with the agreement of Gov.uk website. both parties. The present system dates back to the Labour Government’s 2004 rail White Paper and the Railways Act 2005.5 In England the Department for Transport (DfT) is responsible for specifying and letting franchises and for managing franchisees’ performance against the Franchise Agreements. Franchisees (called train operating companies or TOCs) are responsible for providing passenger services; they sell tickets and retain fare revenue.6 Franchise contracts are awarded by the DfT. The number of franchises let at one time has reduced from the 25 at privatisation to 14 now.7 Franchises are broadly aligned with Network Rail’s regional structure, in order to make joint working easier – the Government plans to take this further in future (see sections 2.2 and 3.3, below, for more on this). The early years The railways in Great Britain were privatised under the Railways Act 1993.8 The passenger railway was restructured so that domestic passenger train services could be offered to the private sector to run on a franchised basis. British Rail (BR) reorganised its passenger services into 25 different train operating units. These units were gradually incorporated as subsidiaries of BR and run as separate ‘shadow’ businesses. They paid access charges for the use of track and infrastructure, and rentals for stations and rolling stock, as do the franchisees that have followed them. Each operated under its own licence (granted by the Rail Regulator), its railway safety case (approved by the Health and Safety Executive) and a track access agreement with Railtrack (approved by the Regulator). A wide range of station and depot access agreements (also approved by the Regulator), property leases and other contracts were also required by each train operating business. Each of the 25 train operating companies (TOCs) was then offered for sale as a separate franchise. Private sector companies, management- employee buy-outs and, if the Franchising Director agreed (in practice he never did), BR could bid for the franchises through a bidding process overseen by the Franchising Director. The successful bidder acquired the TOC outright for a fixed number of years. The first franchises, South West Trains and Great Western, were awarded on 19 and 20 December 1995 and the first privatised services started operating on 4 February 5 section 1 and paragraph 13 of Schedule 1 to the 2005 Act 6 this is usually the case, though on occasion a franchise will be financial structured in a slightly different way – such as with the current Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) franchise which is essentially a ‘management contract’ whereby the operator receives a fixed payment for delivering services and all the fares revenue goes to the Government 7 not including Wales and Scotland or the potential new east-west franchise, see: DfT, Rail franchise schedule, 6 December 2016 8 not in Northern Ireland where NI Railways are still state-owned and operated Number CBP 6521, 9 January 2018 6 1996.
Recommended publications
  • 2 Godovoy Otchet Ktzh Angl.Pdf
    www.railways.kz Annual Report Address of the CONTENTS Chairman of the Board of Directors } 02 Information on JSC «NC «Kazakhstan Temir Zholy» } 04 Operating results 0208 for 2015 } Assets profile of the Company } 22 Objects and Plans for Future Periods } 30 Risks Management } 34 Corporate Governance } 38 Sustainable 02 Development } 56 Financial Statement } 66 Address of the Chairman www.railways.kz Dear readers of the annual report, colleagues, partners! In 2015 negative global economic trends, political tensions, and sanctions policy against countries that are trade partners of Kazakhstan continued to exert its influence on the main basic positions of Kazakhstan’s exports and the overall performance in the country’s economy. In the reporting period, the pace of the national economy development fell to 1.2%, in 2014 this figure was 4.3%. In January-December 2015 the foreign trade turnover of Kazakhstan amounted to 76 billion US dollars and decreased by 37.1% compared to 2014, including exports - by 42.5%. Trade turnover with Russia and Belarus, which accounts for over 50% of the volume of rail transportation decreased by 27.8% and 37.8%, respectively. Generally this had a negative impact on operation of the transport and logistics sector of the country, especially in a traditional for JSC «NC «KTZ» segment of export shipments of general cargo mass. So, due to decrease of world prices and of demand for iron ore on the world market, mainly in the Chinese market, a shipper of such cargo - Sokolov-Sarbaiskoye mining and processing production association - during 2015 exported to China the iron ore in the amount of 190 thousand tons against 2.8 million tons in 2014 and comparing with the level of 2013, this figure had decreased by 30 times.
    [Show full text]
  • Cytundeb Diffiniadau
    TO BE EXECUTED AS A DEED DEFINITIONS AGREEMENT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR TRANSPORT (1) and WELSH MINISTERS (2) 1 45763.11 THIS DEFINITIONS AGREEMENT is dated 2018 BETWEEN (1) THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR TRANSPORT whose principal address is Great Minster House, 33 Horseferry Road, London SW1P 4DR (the “Secretary of State”); and (2) WELSH MINISTERS whose principal place of business is Crown Building, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3NQ ("Welsh Ministers)" (including, as appropriate, Affiliates or subsidiaries of Welsh Ministers acting on its behalf), each a “Party” and together the “Parties”. WHEREAS: (A) The Secretary of State and Welsh Ministers propose to enter into a number of agreements (the “Wales & Borders Agreements”) in connection with Welsh Ministers acting as agent for the Secretary of State in respect of certain English services which are specified in a Welsh franchise agreement. (B) The Secretary of State and Welsh Ministers wish to set out in this Agreement, definitions of the terms used in the Wales & Borders Agreements. NOW IT IS AGREED as follows: 1. CONSTRUCTION AND INTERPRETATION In the Wales & Borders Agreements, except to the extent the context otherwise requires: (a) words and expressions defined in the Railways Act have the same meanings when used therein provided that, except to the extent expressly stated, “railway” shall not have the wider meaning attributed to it by Section 81(2) of the Act; (b) words and expressions defined in the Interpretation Act 1978 have the same meanings when used in the Wales & Borders Agreements;
    [Show full text]
  • 25897 Chapter 19 Cover 6Mm.Indd
    Civil Aviation Act 2012 CIVIL AVIATION ACT 2012 AVIATION CIVIL CHAPTER 19 Explanatory Notes have been produced to assist in the understanding of this Act and are available separately Published by TSO (The Stationery Office) and available from: Online www.tsoshop.co.uk Mail, Telephone, Fax & E-mail TSO PO Box 29, Norwich, NR3 1GN Telephone orders/General enquiries: 0870 600 5522 Fax orders: 0870 600 5533 E-mail: [email protected] Textphone: 0870 240 3701 The Houses of Parliament Shop 12 Bridge Street, Parliament Square London SW1A 2JX £18.50 Telephone orders/General enquiries: 020 7219 3890 Fax orders: 020 7219 3866 Email: [email protected] Internet: http://www.shop.parliament.uk TSO@Blackwell and other Accredited Agents Civil Aviation Act 2012 CHAPTER 19 CONTENTS PART 1 AIRPORTS CHAPTER 1 REGULATION OF OPERATORS OF DOMINANT AIRPORTS General duties 1 CAA’s general duty 2 Secretary of State’s general duty Prohibition 3Prohibition 4 Prohibition: exemption Dominant airports 5 Dominant areas and dominant airports 6 Market power test 7 Market power determinations 8Publication of market power determinations 9 Operators of areas 10 Operator determinations 11 Publication of operator determinations 12 Advance determinations 13 Appeals against determinations Licences 14 Application for licence ii Civil Aviation Act 2012 (c. 19) 15 Granting licence 16 Refusing to grant licence 17 Content and effect of licence Licence conditions 18 Licence conditions 19 Price control conditions 20 Conditions relating to CAA charges 21 Content and effect
    [Show full text]
  • Train Companies Ferry Companies Public Transport Companies
    The following railway companies accept Interrail Passes on board their services: Public Ferry Country Train companies transport companies companies ÖBB, plus the private train S-Bahn: Vienna and Austria companies ROeEE / - Innsbruck GYSEV, Westbahn and RegioJet Belgium NMBS / SNCB - - Bosnia ZFBH - - Herzegovina Bulgaria BDZ - - Croatia HZ - - ČD, and private train companies: LEO Czech Republic - - Express and RegioJet DSB, and private train companies: Denmark Arriva, DSB S-Tog, DSB-Øresund Fjord Line - and Nordjydske Jernbaner VR and private bus companies: Veljekset Finnlines, Tallink Finland - Salmela and Net-matkat Silja Oy, Viking Line France SNCF - Irish Ferries Deutsche Bahn (DB) and various private Germany companies (see pdf-document for Finnlines S-bahn complete list) Great Britain National Rail and several others Irish Ferries, Stena - Line Greece TRAINOSE - Superfast Ferries, Minoan Lines, Grimaldi Lines, Blue Star Ferries MÁV-START and private railway Hungary - - company: GySEV/Raaberbahn Irish Ferries, Stena Ireland Irish Rail / NI Railways - Line Grimaldi Lines, Trenitalia and Trenord, Leonardo Superfast Ferries, Italy Express (Roma Termini to Fiumicino - Blue Star Ferries, Airport) and Micotra Minoan Lines Lithuania Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai Luxembourg CFL - - FYR Macedonia MZ - - Montenegro ŽCG - - NS and private railway companies: The Netherlands Arriva, Connexxion, Keolis, Syntus, Stena Line - Veolia and DB Regio Norway NSB Fjord Line - PKP and local-government run Poland companies: Koleje Dolnoslaskie and Finnlines - Przewozy Regionalne Portugal CP - - Romania CFR - - Serbia SV (Serbian Railways) - - ZSSK, and private railway companies: Slovakia - - LEO Express and RegioJet Slovenia SZ - - Spain RENFE including FEVE Balearia, Grimaldi - Lines SJ and private railway companies: Ländstrafiken in Arlanda Express, Arriva, Inlandsbanan, innlines, Tallink Silja Norbotten, Sweden JLT, Norrtåg, Skånetrafiken, Oy, Viking Line, Veljekset Salmela, Tågkompaniet, Värmlandstrafik and Destination Gotland Net-matkat Västtrafik.
    [Show full text]
  • Annual Report 2001: the Government's Expenditure Plans For
    Annual Report 2001 The Government’s Expenditure Plans 2001–02 to 2003–04 Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions Office of the Rail Regulator Office of Water Services Ordnance Survey Presented to Parliament by the Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury by command of Her Majesty March 2001 Cm 5105 £30.00 Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions Eland House Bressenden Place London SW1E 5DU Telephone 020 7944 3000 Internet service www.detr.gov.uk Acknowledgements Cover and inside: Yellow cleaner – Association of Town Centre Management. Cover and Inside: House and children – Rural Housing Trust and Colchester Borough Council. Inside: Landscape – South Downs Conservation Board. © Crown Copyright 2001 Copyright in the typographical arrangement rests with the Crown. This publication (excluding the Royal Arms and logos) may be reproduced free of charge in any format or media without requiring specific permission. This is subject to the material not being used in a derogatory manner or in a misleading context. The source of the material must be acknowledged as Crown copyright and the title of the document must be included when being reproduced as part of another publication or service. Any enquiries relating to the copyright in this document should be addressed to HMSO, The Copyright Unit, St Clements House, 2–16 Colegate, Norwich NR3 1BQ. Fax: 01603 723000 or e-mail: [email protected] Applications for reproduction should be made in writing to The Copyright Unit, Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, St Clements House, 2–16 Colegate, Norwich NR3 1BQ.
    [Show full text]
  • DIRECTIONS and GUIDANCE to the Strategic Rail Authority
    DIRECTIONS AND GUIDANCE to the Strategic Rail Authority ESTABLISHMENT OF THE STRATEGIC RAIL AUTHORITY 1. The Strategic Rail Authority (“the Authority”) has been established under section 201(1) of the Transport Act 2000 (“the Act”) as a body corporate. PURPOSES OF THE STRATEGIC RAIL AUTHORITY 2.1. The Authority is to provide leadership for the rail industry and ensure that the industry works co-operatively towards common goals. This objective should underpin the whole range of the Authority’s activities. The Authority will set priorities for the successful operation and development of the railway. It will work with other industry parties to secure continuing private investment in the railway, and to deploy public funding to best effect. To this end, the Authority has been given a wide range of statutory powers and duties. 2.2. Section 205 of the Act sets out the Authority’s purposes as: • to promote the use of the railway network for the carriage of passengers and goods; • to secure the development of the railway network; and • to contribute to the development of an integrated system of transport for passengers and goods. 2.3. Section 207 of the Act requires the Authority to exercise its functions with a view to furthering its purposes and it must do so in accordance with any strategies that it has formulated with respect to them. In so doing the Authority must act in the way best calculated: • to protect the interests of users of railway services; • to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development; 1 • to promote efficiency and economy on the part of persons providing railway services; • to promote measures designed to facilitate passenger journeys involving more than one operator (including, in particular, arrangements for the issue and use of through tickets); • to impose on operators of railway services the minimum restrictions consistent with the performance of its functions; and • to enable providers of rail services to plan their businesses with a reasonable degree of assurance.
    [Show full text]
  • NS Annual Report 2018
    See www.nsannualreport.nl for the online version NS Annual Report 2018 Table of contents 2 In brief 4 2018 in a nutshell 8 Foreword by the CEO 12 The profile of NS 16 Our strategy Activities in the Netherlands 23 Results for 2018 27 The train journey experience 35 Operational performance 47 World-class stations Operations abroad 54 Abellio 56 Strategy 58 Abellio United Kingdom (UK) 68 Abellio Germany 74 Looking ahead NS Group 81 Report by the Supervisory Board 94 Corporate governance 100 Organisation of risk management 114 Finances in brief 126 Our impact on the environment and on society 134 NS as an employer in the Netherlands 139 Organisational improvements 145 Dialogue with our stakeholders 164 Scope and reporting criteria Financial statements 168 Financial statements 238 Company financial statements Other information 245 Combined independent auditor’s report on the financial statements and sustainability information 256 NS ten-year summary This annual report is published both Dutch and English. In the event of any discrepancies between the Dutch and English version, the Dutch version will prevail. 1 NS annual report 2018 In brief More satisfied 4.2 million trips by NS app gets seat passengers in the OV-fiets searcher Netherlands (2017: 3.1 million) On some routes, 86% gave travelling by passengers can see which train a score of 7 out of carriages have free seats 10 or higher Customer 95.1% chance of Clean trains: 68% of satisfaction with HSL getting a seat passengers gave a South score of 7 out of 10 (2017: 95.0%) or higher 83% of
    [Show full text]
  • Memorandum to the Transport Select Committee Post-Legislative Assessment of the Railways Act 2005 Cm 7660
    Memorandum to the Transport Select Committee Post-Legislative Assessment of the Railways Act 2005 Cm 7660 £5.50 Memorandum to the Transport Select Committee Post-Legislative Assessment of the Railways Act 2005 Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Transport by Command of Her Majesty June 2009 Cm 7660 £5.50 © Crown copyright 2009 The text in this document (excluding the Royal Arms and other departmental or agency logos) may be reproduced free of charge in any format or medium providing it is reproduced accurately and not used in a misleading context. The material must be acknowledged as Crown copyright and the title of the document specified. Where we have identified any third party copyright material you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. For any other use of this material please write to Office of Public Sector Information, Information Policy Team, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU or e-mail: [email protected] ISBN: 9780101766029 MEMORANDUM TO THE TRANSPORT SELECT COMMITTEE Post-Legislative Assessment of the Railways Act 2005 Introduction 1. This memorandum provides a preliminary assessment of the Railways Act 2005 (2005 Ch. 14) and has been prepared by the Department for Transport for submission to the Transport Select Committee. It will be published as part of the process set out in the document Post Legislative Scrutiny – The Government’s Approach (Cm 7320). The paragraphs below follow the order of the provisions in the Act. Objectives of the Railways Act 2005 (“the Act”) 2. The Railways Act 2005 received Royal Assent on 7 April 2005.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction by Our Chair, Sir Peter Hendy CBE
    Network Rail Limited Annual Report and Accounts 2018 Strategic report Introduction by our chair, Sir Peter Hendy CBE Railways are the economic arteries of our country and create economic growth, jobs and housing. We are really seeing a transformation take place at Network settlement, as will the System Operator. They will thus have Rail. We are now a much more customer-focused organisation, greater ownership and greater responsibility. with devolved structures that allow local managing directors and their leadership teams to put their customers and Our plan for CP6 will also start the railway’s digital age with passengers at the heart of everything they do. We have digital train control and signalling that will enable even more become more cost competitive, making over £85m of savings services to run, more safely and at a lower cost. To realise through our continuous improvement initiatives in the past these benefits there must be a whole system change across year alone. And we are also becoming a more diverse the industry to support it, and Network Rail is ready to play organisation. Since 2014 we have increased the number of its part in this transformation. women working at Network Rail by 32% and we have been The rail network is a complex set of national systems that recognised as an inclusive employer. need to work seamlessly in order to deliver for our customers. Since Mark Carne CBE took over as chief executive in 2014, he Unfortunately the May 2018 timetable change has not yet has completely transformed the safety culture at Network Rail.
    [Show full text]
  • Competitive Tendering of Rail Services EUROPEAN CONFERENCE of MINISTERS of TRANSPORT (ECMT)
    Competitive EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF TRANSPORT Tendering of Rail Competitive tendering Services provides a way to introduce Competitive competition to railways whilst preserving an integrated network of services. It has been used for freight Tendering railways in some countries but is particularly attractive for passenger networks when subsidised services make competition of Rail between trains serving the same routes difficult or impossible to organise. Services Governments promote competition in railways to Competitive Tendering reduce costs, not least to the tax payer, and to improve levels of service to customers. Concessions are also designed to bring much needed private capital into the rail industry. The success of competitive tendering in achieving these outcomes depends critically on the way risks are assigned between the government and private train operators. It also depends on the transparency and durability of the regulatory framework established to protect both the public interest and the interests of concession holders, and on the incentives created by franchise agreements. This report examines experience to date from around the world in competitively tendering rail services. It seeks to draw lessons for effective design of concessions and regulation from both of the successful and less successful cases examined. The work RailServices is based on detailed examinations by leading experts of the experience of passenger rail concessions in the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands. It also
    [Show full text]
  • Railways Act 2005 Statement of Funds Available Control Period 6 (2019-2024)
    RAILWAYS ACT 2005 STATEMENT OF FUNDS AVAILABLE CONTROL PERIOD 6 (2019-2024) Background 1. This Statement of Funds Available fulfils the requirements of paragraph 1D(2)(b) of Schedule 4A of the Railways Act 1993, as amended by the Railways Act 2005. 2. It sets out to the independent regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), such information as it is reasonable to provide about the public financial resources that are or are likely to become available to be applied during Control Period 6 for purposes that contribute (directly or indirectly) towards the achievement of the outcomes contained within the Scottish Ministers High Level Output Specification, published in July 2017. 3. The SoFA covers funding available for Network Rail operations, maintenance and renewal activities and the completion of projects which carry over from Control Period 5. It also includes some provision for railway improvement projects, which will be subject to the governance and decision making processes to be outlined in the Rail Enhancements and Capital Investment Strategy, due for publication in coming weeks.1 4. The Scottish Ministers have not defined a profile of spend in this SoFA, which will be subject to the outcome of the ORR’s periodic review process. We will also continue to work with Department for Transport and HM Treasury to ensure that governance and budgetary oversight is consistent with the funding arrangements for Control Period 6, including the requirement for greater Scottish Government budgetary flexibilities to manage volatility, secure value for money and improve planning. 5. Through the periodic review process, the Scottish Ministers will expect the ORR to work closely with Transport Scotland to ensure strong and robust challenge on cost and deliverability, including transparency and contestability on central costs.
    [Show full text]
  • Journal of the Scottish Parliament Volume 2: 2Nd Parliamentary Year
    Journal of the Scottish Parliament Volume 2: 2nd Parliamentary Year, Session 3 (9 May 2008 – 8 May 2009) SPJ 3.2 © Parliamentary copyright. Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Information on the Scottish Parliament’s copyright policy can be found on the website - www.scottish.parliament.uk or by contacting Public Information on 0131 348 5000. Foreword The Journal is the central, long-term, authoritative record of what the Parliament has done. The Minutes of Proceedings, which are produced for each meeting of the Parliament, do that in an immediate way, while the Journal presents essentially the same material but has the benefit of hindsight to allow any errors and infelicities of presentation to be corrected. Unlike the Official Report, which primarily records what is said, the Minutes of Proceedings, and in the longer term the Journal, provide the authoritative record of what was done. The Journal is required under Rule 16.3 of Standing Orders and contains, in addition to the Minutes of Proceedings themselves, notice of any Bill introduced*, notice of any instrument or draft instrument or any other document laid before the Parliament; notice of any report of a committee, and any other matter that the Parliament, on a motion of the Parliamentary Bureau, considers should be included. (* The requirement to include notice of Bills introduced was only added to Rule 16.3 in January 2003. However, such notices have in practice been recorded in the Annex to the Minutes of Proceedings from the outset.) Note: (DT), which appears throughout the Journal, signifies a decision taken at Decision Time.
    [Show full text]