To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the vacancy level within certain functions at Network Rail at which a safety risk begins to be presented to passengers and staff using the rail network.
Answered on
27 May 2021
Network Rail is under a statutory duty to ensure the safe operation of the rail network in Great Britain. Under the Framework Agreement between Network Rail and DfT, Network Rail is required to manage its workforce to ensure that it is adequately staffed in order to fulfil its legal obligations. Where Network Rail identifies a post as safety critical it must be occupied either by a substantive post holder, by secondment or be the subject of active recruitment. All key safety posts must have nominated deputies.