§ Mr. AdleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list those services which British Rail may contract out to the private sector under existing legislation, the services which have been so contracted and the services which cannot be contracted out pending amendment to existing legislation.
§ Mr. FreemanUnder existing legislation, British Rail may contract out to the private sector any of its support services provided that, in so doing, it acts in a financially prudent manner and discharges adequately its statutory duties. BR has already made significant progress in contracting out of such activities, including: all manufacture and some heavy repair of locomotives and rolling stock; all train catering on Network SouthEast and regional railways; Red Star's road collection and delivery service for parcels; design and supply of signalling systems; track weedkilling and reballasting services; train cleaning and station maintenance; and station car park management. BR does not consider that it is empowered to contract out passenger train and track signalling operations under existing legislation, but I have asked BR to consider what further non-core activities might be contracted out.
§ Mr. SimsTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport to what extent he expects officials of British Rail to consult local authorities about the provision of rail services.
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§ Mr. FreemanBritish Rail regularly consults the transport users' consultative committees and, for the London area, the London regional passengers' committee which are the statutory bodies for representing consumer interests.
Where services are supported by a passenger transport executive the level of service is specified by the constituent local authorities of the passenger transport authority. Elsewhere, the extent of consultation between BR and local authorities is for them to agree. However, I understand that BR consults a wide range of interested parties, including local authorities.