CALL FOR SOUTH EAST TRAINS TO REMAIN IN PUBLIC HANDS

2.00.00pm GMT Wed 24th Mar 2004

Simon has called for South East Trains to be kept in Public hands

Liberal Democrat London Spokesman, Simon Hughes and Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary, John Thurso MP, have today tabled a Commons motion calling for South East Trains to be kept in public hands to see how well it performs over time compared to privatised parts of the network.

The Early Day Motion highlights that the management of South East Trains has only been in the public hands for four months yet is likely to be put back in the hands of private managers before a proper review of cost savings and improved performance has been undertaken.

This is especially important as there has been a five-fold increase in regulatory staff since privatisation and costs in the industry have escalated out of control.

Simon Hughes said:-

"London commuters have suffered with massive rises in the cost of their rail fares, increasing delays, constant disruption and uncertainty. Dogmatically working to place the company firm that was created in the public sector just four months ago back into the hands of the private sector when it may be beginning to show the first signs of improvement appears bloody minded.

"It is time Ministers worried about getting the best performance and the best value for money from our rail network rather than taking a knee jerk decision to putting South East trains back into private hands."

Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary John Thurso MP added:

"Since privatisation, staffing in the rail industry has sky rocketed, with the number of people involved in regulation increasing four-fold. At the same time, the SRA has poured money into external contracts, with costs reaching £20m over nine months in 2002.

"But the Government may just as well have burned that money. Under Labour, delays have doubled, one in five trains are late, and there's no sign of improvement. Things can't go on like this. We need a safe, reliable and affordable railway.

"With the Railway Review, the Government has finally admitted there is a problem and action is needed immediately. Simply placing South Eastern Trains back into the private sector would mean we lose a golden opportunity to fully understand how we should make the best use of passenger and taxpayers money for our railways."

ENDS

Notes to editor

1. The Early Day Motion published later today says

EARLY DAY MOTION

South Eastern Trains as a public sector comparator

That this House is concerned that costs in the railway industry have escalated massively since privatisation, with a five-fold increase in regulatory staff and massive rises in the cost of maintenance and renewals; welcomes, with some qualification, the current review of the structure of the railway industry as a great opportunity to tackle these problems which have seen; notes however that the review process has been badly handled and calls on the Secretary of State for Transport to set out clearly the terms of reference of this review and what he would like to emerge from the process; welcomes the decision to terminate the contract for the South Eastern franchise contract from Connex; notes that management of South Eastern Trains has only been within the public sector for four months and that it is too early yet to judge what changes have taken place; and urges the Government to retain the South Eastern franchise as a public sector comparator from which to assess costs and performance within the railways so as long that it is proven to provide the best value for money for the taxpayer.

2.Number of Staff in Rail Bodies

1992 Present Public Bodies

British Railways Board HQ 340 n/a

Strategic Rail Authority n/a 568

Health and Safety Executive (HMRI) 31 186

Office of the Rail Regulator n/a 133

Department for Transport: Railways Staff 70 84

Private Bodies

Network Rail HQ 0 739

Railway Safety n/a 161

ATOC Headquarters n/a 200(apx)

Total Regulatory Staff 451 2071

Not included in these figures is the number of management staff working in each of the headquarters of Train Operating Companies. For example, one southern-based Train Operating Company has a headquarters of around 60 staff.

Also not included in these figures are the outside management, financial and technical consultants employed by the Strategic Rail Authority and the Office of the Rail Regulator. Prior to privatisation any such work was done "in house" by British Railways Headquarters.

Sources:

(1) British Railways Board HQ from Official Records; (2) Strategic Rail Authority from PQ; (3) HSE/HMRI from HSE Annual Report for 1992 and DTLR for 2002; (4) Office of Rail Regulator from DTLR Annual Report 2002; (5) Department for Transport from PQ (993222); (6) Network Rail HQ from Network Rail; (7) Railway Safety from Railway Safety.

3. Research by the Liberal Democrats reveals that rail regulators spent over £50 million on consultants last year - three times more than in 2001.

The figures, revealed to the Liberal Democrats by the Government, also show a staggering 5-fold increase in the amount of consultancy fees paid out by the Strategic Rail Authority, from £4.8m in 2001 to £25.9m in 2003.

Regulatory Body Consultancy Fees (Annual Equivalent) 2001 2003 Increase

Department for Transport (Rail Directorate) £10.5m (1) £23.7m(2) 2.3 times

Strategic Rail Authority £4.8m (3) £25.9m(4) 5.4 times

Office of the Rail Regulator £1.1m (5) £3.4m (6) 3.1 times

Total £16.4m £53m 3.2 times

(1) Based on average figures for 2000-01 and 2001-02 3 (PQ 93231 - 13 Feb 2003 : Column 893W )

(2) Based on figures for 7 months 1st April 2003 to 31st October 2003 of £13.6m from PQ answer to John Thurso MP (20 November 200: (139729) and £24m in 2002-3 (PQ 93231 - 13 Feb 2003 : Column 893W )

(3) Based on average figure OF £1.95m spent in the 5 months from when SRA established on 1st February 2001 (PQ 1025 - 3 Jul 2001 : Column:114W)

(4) Based on figure for period 8th Jan to 30th Nov 2003 = £23.3m - from Letter to John Thurso MP 19/1/04 from Tony McNulty MP, Transport Minister (in response to PQ answer 13972320 Nov 2003 : Column 1461W

(5) Based on figure for 2000-01 (PQ 93227 - 24 Feb 2003 : Column 290W)

(6) Based on figure for the 8 month period 1st April 2003 to 30th Nov 2003 = £2.8m - from Letter to John Thurso MP 19/1/04 from Tony McNulty MP, Transport Minister (in response to PQ answer 139723 - 20 Nov 2003 : Column 1461W )

Relevant Parliamentary Questions available on request.