Rail Safety Recommendations: Backlog

Lord Moylan Excerpts

Tuesday 28th April 2026 Lords Chamber

[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.