Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Rail Privatisation

Thursday 13 July 2023 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The private sector has doubled passenger journeys and expanded rail services since privatisation.
  • The UK Government aims for a revitalised public-private partnership to deliver customer-focused railway services.
  • Pre-pandemic, passenger numbers doubled, services increased by a third, and investment doubled, including 1 billion private sector funding.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Patricia Gibson SNP
Transport
Context

Railway services have seen significant changes over the past quarter-century, including nationalisation of twice as many lines by the UK Government compared to Scotland. There is a debate on whether privatisation has improved or hindered railway services.

Question

What recent assessment has been made of the effectiveness of rail privatisation? The UK Government have nationalised twice as many rail lines as the Scottish Government but still maintain that privatisation has not failed rail services, despite widespread recognition of its negative impact on passengers and taxpayers. Why continue clinging to this ideological stance?

Answer from Mark Harper

The private sector has played an integral role, doubling passenger journeys and expanding services since privatisation. However, the current industry structure needs simplification and reform. The UK Government aims for a revitalised public-private partnership to deliver customer-focused railway services with an enhanced private sector role alongside Great British Railways.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide a specific recent assessment or statistical evidence on the effectiveness of rail privatisation as requested.

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Q2 Patricia Gibson SNP
Transport
Context

Despite nationalising twice as many lines, the UK Government maintains that privatisation has not failed. This contradicts widespread recognition of privatisation's negative impact on passengers and taxpayers.

Question

Why does the UK Government refuse to admit what others have known for over 30 years—that rail privatisation is a disaster? Despite nationalising more lines, they still hold onto an ideological view that privatisation has not failed. Why?

Answer from Mark Harper

Facts do not support the contention that privatisation has failed. Pre-pandemic passenger numbers doubled, services increased by a third, investment doubled, including £1 billion private sector funding, with one of Europe's best safety records. Challenges due to the pandemic necessitate reform towards public-private partnership without ideological bias.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not explicitly admit failure in privatisation ideology as requested, instead defended its success based on pre-pandemic statistics and commitment to future reforms.

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