HL Deb 27 April 1999 vol 600 cc31-2WA
Lord Berkeley

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What conclusions and recommendations of the Hesketh report on signalling, produced for British Rail before privatisation, have not been implemented in full or in part; and whether they will place a copy of this report in the Library of the House. [HL2084]

Lord Whitty

The Hesketh report was produced internally for the British Railways Board in 1992. It has never been published, although a BR summary of it was published on 19 July 1995 by the House of Commons Transport Select Committee. It is now out of date.

Responsibility for the signalling infrastructure passed to Railtrack in April 1994, which adopted its own system for assessing the conditions of signalling. All signalling equipment is monitored regularly by Railtrack to ensure operational safety. The Health and Safety Executive monitors Railtrack's signalling maintenance procedures as part of its routine inspection programme and is satisfied with Railtrack's strategies for achieving the safety of its signalling systems, including the management of any problems.