HC Deb 25 February 2002 vol 380 cc792-3W
Chris Grayling

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps has he taken to prevent a conflict of interest between officials in(a) his Department and (b) the SRA working on the company limited by guarantee and decision making about the future of the industry in order to satisfy the requirements of the administrator. [35798]

Mr. Jamieson

Steps have been taken to ensure appropriate demarcation between officials involved with policy relating to a CLG bid and those who will advise my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on the appraisal of a transfer scheme put forward by the administrator. In addition, my Department has appointed an independent Compliance Officer to establish and administer ground rules for the flow of information between Government and the CLG team and other bidders. This is to ensure that the CLG bid is not unfairly advantaged and that commercially confidential information provided to Government by any bidder is handled correctly. The Compliance Officer will report directly to my right hon. Friend on this. The SRA is putting in place similar arrangements to ensure fairness between bidders.

Chris Grayling

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions from what budget additional financial support to Railtrack and the administrator will be provided to cover costs from 15 April to 30 September. [35800]

Mr. Jamieson

It is anticipated that the administrator will shortly repay the current loan facility provided by the Government and that by 15 April the finance required by him will come from commercial banking facilities. Railtrack plc will continue to receive income from grant and other sources as set out in the regulator's October 2000 periodic review and in the 2 April 2001 agreement between Government and Railtrack.