§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if the public service obligation payments made by the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising to the train operating companies includes payments to cover the costs of staff redundancies. [18156]
§ Mr. WattsThe franchising director makes payments under the franchise agreement to private operators, which purchase the rail services in the franchise agreement. It is for the operators to manage the services and the costs, including any redundancy costs.
The franchising director also makes payments under section 52 of the Railways Act 1993 to British Railways Board-owned operators for the provision of services prior to franchising. The calculation of grants to the BRB is based on the operator's projected costs after deducting forecast revenue and includes any redundancy costs.