HC Deb 02 June 1997 vol 295 cc58-9W
Mrs. Dunwoody

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the total amount spent on lawyers, accountants, consultants and other professionals for the purposes of privatising the railways. [1127]

Ms Glenda Jackson

Expenditure by the Department of Transport, the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising, and the Office of the Rail Regulator since 1992–93 is as follows:

£ million
1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97
Lawyers 1.4 4.7 10.7 17.5 10.6
Accountants 1.7 2.0 5.0 8.8 8.7
Other Consultants and Professionals 2.4 5.8 11.7 25.4 21.1

Expenditure by British Rail and Railtrack is a matter for the organisations themselves, but we understand that their total privatisation costs to the end of 1996–97 were as follows:

£ million
1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97
British Rail — 92 85 101 54
Railtrack — — 46 32 1—
1 Railtrack was privatized in May 1996.

Any breakdown of the figures for BR and Railtrack would be for the organisations themselves to provide.

Mrs. Dunwoody

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions which aspects of the rail franchising and privatisation process he plans to refer to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission. [1135]

Ms Glenda Jackson

As part of our current review of railway regulation, we will form a view on whether any of the privatised rail businesses should be referred to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission. On 22 May 1997, the President of the Board of Trade announced that, under the Fair Trading Act 1973, she had decided to refer to the MMC the acquisition by National Express Group plc of the ScotRail and Central Trains rail franchises.

Sir George Young

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the regulatory framework for the privatised railways. [1503]

Ms Jackson

Regulation of the rail industry, and the sanctions available to the regulators, need to be strengthened. We have started thorough review of rail regulation to identify exactly what improvements need to be made.