§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the level of acceptable risk for the carriage of passengers by rail has changed as a result of privatisation. [HL4575]
§ The Minister of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Lord Macdonald of Tradeston)The duty of the railway industry, under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, continues to be to reduce risks to a level that is as low as is reasonably practicable. Several new sets of regulations, intended to ensure the maintenance and, 169WA where necessary, improvement of existing safety standards, have been introduced since privatisation and are enforced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). These include the Railways Safety Regulations 1999, which require the installation of train protection systems and the withdrawal of Mark 1 rolling stock. Neither the Government nor HSE regard any increase in risk to railway passengers as acceptable.
Railway accident statistics are published in annual reports of HM Railway Inspectorate, copies of which are placed in the Library.