Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the performance of the Office of Rail and Road in its oversight of rail safety and incidents during industrial action on the railways.

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is an independent statutory body, with powers vested by Parliament in its governing board. As such, the ORR is an independent regulator and operates within the framework set by UK legislation and is accountable through Parliament and the courts, rather than through the Department.

It is through this that the assessment of the ORR’s oversight is conducted, and the ORR is held accountable for its performance.