HC Deb 13 December 2001 vol 376 cc1014-6W
Chris Grayling

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) what payments have been made to Railtrack in administration since 7 October by(a) the Treasury, (b) his Department, (c) the SRA and (d) the Rail Regulator; [18944]

(2) if he will make a statement on the payment of £162 million by the SRA to Railtrack in administration subsequent to the abandoning of Renewco. [18952]

Mr. Jamieson

Since 7 October 2001, no payments have been made to Railtrack in administration by the Treasury or the Rail Regulator. Up to 7 December 2001, the SRA had paid £162 million of network grant and some £5 million for project development. My Department had made repayable cash advances of £1,228 million to Railtrack in administration under the Loan Agreement, copies of which were placed in the House Library on 17 October. Those advances, most of which are being used to repay existing Railtrack debt, are to be recouped from the realisation of assets of the company (or new debt) when it is brought out of administration.

Mr. Redwood

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how much Government money was paid to Railtrack plc(a) directly and (b) via the Strategic Rail Authority in 2001–02 before the Administration Order; and how much was planned for the rest of the financial year. [19427]

Mr. Spellar

Between 1 April and 5 October 2001, the SRA paid £360.2 million to Railtrack. Between 5 October 2001 and 31 March 2002, the SRA is scheduled to pay £162 million to Railtrack. Apart from repayable cash advances made since 7 October to Railtrack in administration under the loan agreement, no payments have been made, or are planned to be made, direct to Railtrack in 2001–02 by my Department. Details of those cash advances were set out in the reply given by the Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Devonport (Mr. Jamieson), to the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling) on 13 December 2001,Official Report, column 1014W

Chris Grayling

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions on what dates requests for advances were received from the Railtrack administrator under section 5 of the commercial loan agreement; and if these were(a) trust and (b) working capital advances. [21480]

Mr. Jamieson

Requests for advances are received on a weekly basis. All such requests to date have been in respect of the trust accounts.

Chris Grayling

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what variations in budget have been recorded in management accounts provided by the Railtrack administrator under section 8.1.6(a) of the commercial loan agreement. [21486]

Mr. Jamieson

The management accounts are produced by Railtrack and not the administrator, who has no involvement in their computation.

Chris Grayling

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what limitations will restrict the amount the Railtrack Administrator may borrow. [21497]

Mr. Jamieson

The amount that the Administrator may borrow is restricted by the terms of the commercial loan agreement.

Mr. Wray

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the future of the railways; what operations are under consideration for changes to their structure; and what funds will be allocated to Railtrack(a) during the period of its administration and (b) in the event that it is bought by a private company. [22080]

Mr. Jamieson

[holding answer 12 December 2001]: The Government want Railtrack plc' s role as Network Operator transferred to a robust successor company capable of delivering the quality of service its customers deserve as soon as possible. The structure of the successor company will depend on which bid is approved by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State.

As far as the Government's proposal for a private sector company limited by guarantee is concerned, the broad structure was outlined in the answer given by my right hon. Friend to my hon. Friend the Member for Preston (Mr. Hendrick) on 23 October 2001, Official Report, columns 195–97W. But it will be for the bid team, under the leadership of Ian McAllister, to present a detailed proposal to the Administrators.

All potential bidders will need to take account of the guidelines published by my right hon. Friend in reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Gedling (Vernon Coaker) on 31 October 2001, Official Report, columns 669–71W. The guidelines require them to address very clearly the basis, extent and nature of support that will be required from the Government.

The amount the Administrator needs to borrow to support the company will depend on how long administration lasts. All borrowing from the Department will be repaid at the point the network transfers to a successful company, if not before. The rail regulator's October 2000 periodic review and the April 2001 agreement on the timing of direct grants from the SRA set the level of Railtrack's income for the current control period (2001–06).