Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received on the potential safety implications of reducing Network Rail's Control Period 5 maintenance and renewals delivery volumes.

Network Rail is responsible for planning and delivering maintenance and renewals volumes in order to ensure a safe, reliable and efficient railway. In doing so it is monitored by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), the health and safety regulator for the railway, which in its latest Health and Safety Report (published 21 July 2015) highlighted that Britain’s railways are now the safest in Europe, but warned that the industry cannot become complacent. In June 2015, ORR, reviewing Network Rail’s plans for the remainder of 2015-16, noted to the Department for Transport that whilst the current safety performance of the network is good, Network Rail had not been successful in delivering all of its maintenance and renewals volumes so far in Control Period 5 (CP5). Network Rail is currently in the process of updating its Delivery Plan for CP5 and ORR will feed into that process its comments on the safety, sustainability and efficiency of the revised plan.