Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Office of Rail and Road in (a) regulating unit costs and (b) delivering productivity improvements in the rail industry in each calendar year since 2014.

The Government reviewed the effectiveness of the economic regulatory functions of the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) in 2016.

Following this review my Rt Hon Friend, the Secretary of State, set out in revised guidance to the ORR - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/629698/guidance-to-the-office-of-rail-and-road.pdf – the Government’s priorities for rail regulation, which include that ORR takes a rigorous and robust approach to holding Network Rail to account for improving cost effectiveness, securing deliverability and reducing unit costs, during the remainder of Control Period 5 (2014-2019) and throughout Control Period 6 (2019-2024).

The Government continues to work closely with the ORR to improve the efficiency of the railway, including on unit cost regulation and delivering productivity improvements, whilst being mindful of the ORR’s important statutory independence from Government and its accountability to Parliament for the effective delivery of its functions.