Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department took to avoid conflicts of interest in the preparation of the Invitation to Tender for the Southeastern franchise.

DfT Passenger Services has in place well established Conflicts of Interest and Confidentiality (CoIC) Guidance and procedures which are designed to prevent conflicts of interests arising during all franchise competitions, including the Southeastern franchise. Both civil servants and the Department’s external advisors are obliged to comply with the procedures set out in the guidance. The Passenger Services CoIC procedures include a requirement for all individuals, before being party to any aspect of the competition, (including developing the ITT specification) to sign a conflicts of interest and confidentiality declaration confirming that they have no conflicts of interest relevant to that competition.

Both civil servants and the Department’s external advisors have an ongoing obligation to declare any conflict of interests that may arise during the franchise letting processes.