Railways: Redundancy

(asked on 9th October 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the potential job losses in open access rail operators due to the covid-19 outbreak.


Answered by
Chris Heaton-Harris Portrait
Chris Heaton-Harris
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
This question was answered on 19th October 2020

Unlike franchised passenger services, Open Access Operators run services without a contractual relationship with Government and there is no obligation on the Secretary of State under Section 30 of the Railways Act to run those services. Open access operators were therefore not offered Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements (ERMAs). However, during the COVID-19 outbreak, Open Access Operators have drawn upon business support measures such as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Other substantial measures, including the Covid Corporate Financing Facility, have also been put in place. Government also provided support for more bespoke measures, such as applications for extensions to track access contracts and deferrals of payments to the British Transport Police. We will continue to engage closely with Open Access Operators as they respond to the current situation, including highlighting the support available through the recently announced Job Support Scheme.

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