§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport who is selecting the initial non-executive board members of Network Rail; and who has selected the member organisations of Network Rail. [66053]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe appointments of directors and members are for Network Rail to determine.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reason the bridging loan to Network Rail is shown on the balance sheet of the Strategic Rail206W Authority; what assets the Strategic Rail Authority has to back the loan; what consultations took place with the European Commission about whether this loan should be included in Government accounts; and to whom the loss is charged if there is default on the loan. [65486]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe Comptroller and Auditor General. in his capacity as statutory auditor of the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA), has concluded that Network Rail should be accounted for as a subsidiary of the SRA. At the same time, the Office for National Statistics has confirmed that Network Rail—once its board has been confirmed by its members—would not be classified as a public sector organisation. The ONS classification is based upon the European System of Accounts 1995.
The contingent credit facility has been notified as a potential state aid to the European Commission, and it set out in the statutory contingent liability minute laid before Parliament on 27 June. As a contingent liability, the credit facility would only score as public expenditure in the extremely unlikely event of it being drawn.
The assets of the SRA were outlined in its 2000–01 annual report and will be updated in its 2001–02 annual report to be published shortly.