Date of agreement for Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to monitor all Great British Railways activities: FOI release

Information requested

On what date did the Scottish Government/Scottish Ministers agree that ORR should have a broader monitoring remit encompassing all Great British Railways activities?

Response

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

As such, I hereby provide you with formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

It might be helpful to clarify that neither the Scottish Government nor Scottish Ministers have issued any statement or made any communication supporting the statement that “the ORR should adopt a broader monitoring remit covering all Great British Railways activities”.

In addition, the statutory role of the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) in relation to Great British Railways (GBR), or any other rail related issue, is not within the Executive Competence of the Scottish Ministers. It is a matter for the UK Government. The statement issued by the ORR on its activities relating to GBR is a matter for ORR and the Scottish Ministers have no locus in this.

We are currently scrutinising the provisions within the final version of the Railways Bill and their impact on rail in Scotland. This includes those which relate to regulation, which is a reserved matter. We have not, as yet, had discussions with the ORR on its future role under the draft Bill.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.