Network Rail: Funding and Reliability Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Transport
Lord Browne of Ladyton
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Network Rail: Funding and Reliability
Lord Browne of Ladyton Excerpts(1 year ago)
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Lord Browne of Ladyton (Lab)
The Minister cautions me not to believe everything I read in the paper. Recently, I read in the paper that Avanti West Coast was rewarded with over £4 million in taxpayer-funded bonuses and that the payout was awarded for a
“period in which Avanti was UK’s worst train operator for delays”.
Should I believe that?
Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)
Funnily enough, I do not wholly recognise those figures, but all the contracts and the rationale behind them are set out and published. All the performance information that goes into the award of any financial returns is assessed by an independent evaluator, and discussions are made on that basis. The contracts are prepared well in advance, and we must abide by them.