Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department in its monitoring of the performance of (a) Arriva Rail North and (b) Govia Thameslink Railway; and whether he has plans to improve mechanisms for that monitoring.

At the request of the Secretary of State for Transport, a full independent inquiry is being undertaken by the Office of Rail and Road, chaired by Professor Stephen Glaister and a final report is due by the end of 2018. The Department will take account of any recommendations the review makes to improve the functions and effectiveness all the key rail bodies, including the Department for Transport. In parallel with this inquiry, the Department will assess whether its franchisees have met their contractual obligations in respect of planning and delivering timetable change. Where franchisees are found to be materially in breach of their contractual obligations the Department will take the appropriate enforcement action against them.