Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what comparative assessment he has made of the (a) cost, (b) efficacy and (b) value of the (i) Operator of Last Resort and (ii) private sector operators.

The Operator of Last Resort (OLR) function exists to discharge the Secretary of State’s Duties under Section 30 of the Railways Act 1993. In deciding whether to transfer an operator to the OLR, the Secretary of State has regard to the Statement of policy on the exercise of the Secretary of State's power under section 26(1) of the Railways Act 1993.

If an operator is transferred into the OLR, that operator is managed under contract by the Department for Transport in much the same way as private sector operators are. These contracts deal with issues of cost, efficacy and value on an operator by operator basis.