Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential extra cost to projects in Control Period 6 and beyond in the event that the railway supply chain receives an insufficient volume of orders to be able to maintain its skilled workers.

In formulating plans for the next Control Period, the Transport Secretary has looked to balance a wide range of factors, including affordability and supply chain capability.

We are acutely aware of the reliance of the railway on specialist resource held within the supply chain, and wish to ensure that funding is distributed appropriately to support the efficient delivery of CP6.

As set out in the High Level Output Specification the Transport Secretary expects Network Rail to increase its efficiency and delivery capability across its portfolio of work during the Control Period and expects a strong and robust challenge from the independent economic Regulator (ORR), in its calculation of the efficiency of spend as part of the wider Periodic Review (PR18) process.