Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment. he has made of the merits of supply chain audits of Network Rail to ensure that procurement practices provide value for money.

Network Rail has an established governance regime for their procurement practices. These are subject to independent scrutiny by the Department, the National Audit Office and the Rail Regulator.

Network Rail’s procurement process contains a number of initiatives to support a diverse and sustainable supply base, which includes SMEs. This includes requiring its Tier 1 organisations to obtain 3 independent quotations in the procurement of their key Tier 2 suppliers, thereby promoting competition and value for money.