Baroness Blake of Leeds
Main Page: Baroness Blake of Leeds (Labour - Life peer)Rail Safety Recommendations: Backlog
Baroness Blake of Leeds Excerpts(1 day, 13 hours ago)
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Baroness in Waiting/Government Whip (Baroness Blake of Leeds) (Lab)
My Lords, it is for the Rail Accident Investigation Branch and the Office of Rail and Road to monitor recommendations. We are aware of 117 outstanding recommendations of the more than 1,800 made since RAIB was formed. The vast majority of RAIB recommendations are closed within five years. However, some will require a significant programme of work to be completed across multiple organisations and therefore will be open for longer.
Lord Pack (LD)
I thank the Minister. The latest published list of safety recommendations from RAIB shows outstanding items dating all the way back to 2008 which have not yet been implemented. The Department for Transport told me that ensuring action on this list is the responsibility of the regulator, the Office of Rail and Road, but the regulator told me otherwise and disclaimed responsibility for managing some of that list. Can the Minister please set out the Government’s plans to resolve what is clearly an unhelpful, and perhaps even worrying, discrepancy between what the department and the regulator think about who is responsible for what?
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
We can certainly look into the response that the noble Lord has received. Obviously, we all know, sadly, that accidents happen on the railways, despite Great Britain having one of the safest railways in Europe. It is down to RAIB to identify what happened and issue recommendations that aim to avoid similar incidents happening again. As he quite rightly says, the Office of Rail and Road then assesses the action taken by those to whom RAIB has directed recommendations, using clear criteria and experts, before deciding when or whether they can be closed. Clearly, as I think the noble Lord is highlighting, some of the responses and recommendations that come out of accidents are very complicated and involve different actors to pull them together, but I am very happy to find out, if he can give me the specific detail of the cases he is referring to.
Lord Berkeley (Lab)
My Lords, given RAIB’s success in detecting what went wrong with various different accidents and making the recommendations—some are late but some of the recommendations are responded to very quickly—have the Government thought of extending its remit to the roads? Some 1,600 people die on the roads each year, compared with 14 on the railways. Maybe a similar arrangement for roads would save a great many lives.
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
My noble friend touches on a subject very dear to my heart. I find it quite extraordinary how we are prepared somehow to tolerate the excessive numbers of deaths and serious injuries on our roads. He makes an interesting proposition and I will endeavour to look into it on his behalf.
Baroness Pidgeon (LD)
My Lords, in the latest data published from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch, there are 13 different railway incidents that occurred over a decade ago that still have outstanding safety recommendations. When will these safety issues finally be resolved?
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
My information tells me that only 11 remain overall. Of course, I say “only”, but that is still a number. Five of the recommendations that are open are the responsibility of the DfT, and three are in the process of being closed. Two are of a complex nature and are taking time to resolve. It would be wrong of me to pre-empt the necessary work that needs to happen to make sure that there are no unintended consequences from the actions recommended.
Lord Moylan (Con)
My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Pack, uses the word “backlog” to describe the situation with the implementation of these recommendations. Does the Minister agree that there is a backlog in implementing these recommendations and will she say unambiguously whose responsibility it is for clearing the backlog? Is it not the department’s?
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
As I have clearly explained—I assume by his question that the noble Lord believes that we should describe it as a “backlog”—the complexity of these accidents and incidents undoubtedly means that they need to go through the process. The process was set up because previous accidents were not dealt with effectively, and we had more and more of them. It would be wrong to interrupt that process, as we are seeing good results because of it. We need to make sure that everything is done appropriately and that we reach conclusions as soon as practically possible.
Baroness Kingsmill (Lab)
My Lords, I draw attention to the role of the trade unions in improving safety on the railways. I have acted on behalf of ASLEF on a number of occasions, and I commend the trade unions for all their efforts to improve safety not only in the railways but in other industries.
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
I thank my noble friend for those comments. Throughout tragic incidents, we need to remember the roles of the people who work on the railways, supported by their trade unions. Their actions are nothing short of heroic in many cases. We need to pay tribute to them and to make sure that safety remains at the heart of everything that we do to progress the railways in this country.
Baroness O’Grady of Upper Holloway (Lab)
My Lords, does my noble friend the Minister agree that both the department and the regulator need to focus sharply on the root causes of accidents? They include the fragmentation of safety-critical work on the track.
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
Interestingly, we can see the main causes of accidents highlighted in this. We know, for example, that level crossings are a critical point and that the weather is becoming an increasing risk. The work that has been done following different accidents when track workers have been injured and, unfortunately, sometimes killed has led to a focus on trackside safety. I am delighted that the statistics are going in the right direction in that area.
Lord Glenarthur (Con)
My Lords, the noble Baroness described what has been done by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch. Over the years, I have had some experience of the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, which publishes detailed commentary on some incidents almost monthly. Is the Rail Accident Investigation Branch also able to publish documentary evidence when its reports are complete, so that we can all read it?
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
My understanding is that the reports are published and that it should be possible to look through them in great detail. Otherwise, what is the point? We need to learn from these tragic cases and make sure that, wherever possible, we bring in these recommendations and adhere to them to make sure that they never happen again.
Baroness Kramer (LD)
My Lords, I will just pick up the Minister’s point about level crossings. They are a real point of vulnerability in the rail system, especially when those level crossings are on private land. I understand that, in 2024, statutory instruments were brought in to update the legal requirements on signage and barriers, particularly for those private lands. Does the Minister have any assessment of the follow-up to those statutory instruments and whether they have made a difference?
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
I will endeavour to write to the noble Baroness about the detail of that, but there is a particular focus on private land and how we can make sure that safety notices are put up and maintained. There is nothing worse than having a safety notice but with trees growing across it, for example. This is absolutely critical and, as she rightly highlights, it is a real weakness. We need to be very vigilant and address it where we can.
Lord Tunnicliffe (Lab)
My Lords, does the Minister accept that the key people in the creation of safety in the railways must be the operators? The operators must own safety on their railways, which has been very difficult under the privatised structure that we, fortunately, are bringing to an end. It is crucial that Great British Railways has safety at the top of it and that we do not simply look at all these recommendations and implement them. They can become infinitely expensive. The key objective for the operator must be to reduce risk to as low as reasonably practicable.
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
My noble friend, with his particular experience, brings a very important point to this discussion. With the creation of Great British Railways, it is essential that we allow the robust legal framework to continue. Safety is absolutely at the heart of that work. Great British Railways is working with the operators and with everyone in the system for the benefit of the passengers who use the railways.