§ Mr. StunellTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list(a) each meeting held between his Department's Ministers or civil servants and the Strategic Rail Authority since 1 September, (b) those meetings at which the subject of current franchise performance was discussed and (c) those meetings at which the subject of specialist manpower shortages in the railway industry was discussed; and if he will make a statement. [21767]
§ Mr. JamiesonThere are frequent contacts between my Department, both Ministers and officials, and the Strategic Rail Authority. Franchise performance and specialist manpower shortages have been among the matters discussed.
§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) if he will provide details of changes in the responsibilities of(a) himself, (b) other departmental ministers and (c) the Department in terms of day to day (i) direction and (ii) control of the activities of the Strategic Rail Authority; what plans he has further to change the nature of these relationships; and if he will make a statement; [23514]
(2) what (a) directions and (b) guidance was given to the Strategic Rail Authority in July; and if he will make a statement. [23516]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe Strategic Rail Authority is subject to directions and guidance issued to it by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State under sections 206(3) and 207(5) of the Transport Act 2000. Draft directions and guidance were issued for consultation on 29 June and a final version will be issued early in the new year. Interim directions and guidance were issued on 31 January 2001 and a copy was placed in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will provide details of the conclusions of research his Department has(a) carried out, (b) commissioned and (c) consulted upon, into rail passenger (i) demands and (ii) requirements for information on (A) reliability and frequency of services, (B) fares and (C) real-time 533W information; if he will place copies of the research reports published as a result of such research conducted in the Library; and if he will make a statement. [23522]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe SRA are working on a number of initiatives to improve information for passengers. These include a feasibility study into a proposed national real-time information database, a proposal for a National Rail Enquiry Service (NRES) on the internet and encouraging NRES to develop closer links with telesales.
§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what(a)representations his Department has received from and (b)discussions his Department has had with (i) train operating companies, (ii) Railtrack, (iii) the Rail Passenger Council, (iv) rail passenger committees and (v) others in relation to the update of directions and guidance given by his Department to the Strategic Rail Authority in September 1999 (A) between September 1999 and July 2001 and (B) since July; if he will outline what plans he has further to update his Department's directions and guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority; and if he will make a statement. [23515]
§ Mr. JamiesonDraft directions and guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority were published for consultation on 29 June. We intend to publish a final version, together with a summary of comments received during consultation and the Government's response to them, early in the new year.
§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what targets the Strategic Rail Authority has set for the regulation of fare levels on passenger rail services; what progress has been made towards meeting the targets; what steps are planned to meet the targets; and if he will make a statement. [23499]
§ Mr. JamiesonSince January 1999, increases in regulated fares have been limited to RPI-1 per cent., with performance-related arrangements also applying to London commuter operators. The Strategic Rail Authority monitor fares increases to ensure that the train operating companies keep within the permitted level. The authority has recently commissioned an independent evaluation of the success of Fares Regulation since it commenced in 1995. The study will consider how regulation has performed in practice compared to the expectations of the policy at the time. The results to this study are expected to be published in spring 2002.
§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what targets the Strategic Rail Authority has set for improving the reliability of passenger rail services; what progress has been made towards meeting the targets; what steps are planned to meet the targets; and if he will make a statement. [23500]
§ Mr. JamiesonAll train operating companies have performance targets in their franchise agreements which can lead to enforcement action being taken if not met. There are also targets for performance in train operating companies' Passenger's Charters which, if not met, trigger discounts to passengers renewing season tickets. In his draft franchising policy statement of 16 July the Secretary of State asked the Strategic Rail Authority to look at what could be done within existing franchise agreements, or by534W negotiating short extensions, to drive up the reliability and punctuality of services. The authority have revised their franchise replacement programme and will make an announcement shortly.
§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps his Department(a) has taken and (b) plans to take to ensure that the needs of disabled passengers are taken into account in the awarding of train operating company franchises; and if he will make a statement. [23512]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe draft Directions and Guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority, issued for consultation on 29 June, address this issue. The SRA will publish a revised code of practice early next year. Train operating companies will be required to revise their Disabled Peoples Protection Policies to take account of it.
§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will provide details of research his Department has(a) carried out, (b) commissioned and (c) consulted upon on (i) the reliability of and (ii) regulation of fare levels on passenger rail services as measured by the Strategic Rail Authority; if he will place copies of reports published as a result of such research in the Library; and if he will make a statement. [23498]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe Strategic Rail Authority has recently commissioned an independent study to evaluate fares regulation since it commenced in 1995. The study will consider how regulation has performed in practice compared to the expectations of the policy at the time, and will involve formal consultation with train operators, passenger groups and other interested parties. The results are expected to be published in spring 2002, and will help to determine future fares strategy.
§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what deadline was imposed on the Strategic Rail Authority for delivery of its strategic plan within his Department's direction and guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority of(a) September 1999, and (b) July 2001; if he will outline what action (i) has been and (ii) is planned to be taken, as a consequence of the failure to meet a deadline; and if he will make a statement. [23513]
§ Mr. JamiesonCurrent Directions and Guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority do not impose any deadline for completion of its strategic plan. The draft Directions and Guidance published on 29 June proposed a deadline of November but this has been extended by agreement with the new Chairman of the Authority, who took up office on 1 December. The strategic plan will now be published on 14 January.
§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what role(a) the Rail Passenger Council, (b) rail passenger committees and (c) other rail passenger interest groups play within (i) the Strategic Rail Authority and (ii) the Rail Regulator; what plans he has to alter the nature of the relationship between these groups; and if he will make a statement. [23510]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe Rail Passenger Council and rail passenger committees are funded through the Strategic Rail Authority, which also appoints members to the 535W committees. They are otherwise independent of the authority and of the Rail Regulator, as are other passenger interest groups. We have no plans to make any change.
§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what discussions his Department has had with and what representations his Department has received from(a)Railtrack Group, (b) the Railway Administrator and (c) First Group, with regard to the operation of totaljourney.com; and if he will make a statement. [23509]
§ Mr. JamiesonTotaljourney.com was a private commercial initiative implemented by Railtrack and FirstGroup. The decision to cease operation of the site was taken by those parties.
§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what research his Department has(a) carried out,(b)commissioned and (c) consulted upon into timetable information provided by Railtrack; what plans he has to assist in the improvement of timetable information systems in the railway industry; if he will place copies of reports published as a result of such research in the Library; and if he will make a statement. [23508]
§ Mr. JamiesonStandards of provision of timetable information by Railtrack, Train Operators and the National Rail Enquiry Service are monitored constantly by the Strategic Rail Authority. The National Passenger Survey monitors passengers satisfaction with the provision of information. Improvement in customer satisfaction ratings will be required in new franchise agreements.