Network Rail: Making a Fresh Start

Network Rail: Making a Fresh Start
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 44
Release: 2005-07-07
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780215025166

The Committee took evidence from the Department for Transport, and the Strategic Rail Authority on the establishment of Network Rail in place of Railtrack and the subsequent review of the rail industry. The report considers the issues raised in the NAO report (HC 532, Session 2003-04) and how they have been addressed by the subsequent White Paper. There are five main conclusions: the Department will need to set strategy more effectively than was done by the SRA; the Department needs to recruit staff capable of dealing with the highest levels of the railway industry; Network Rail should develop long term financial indicators to show it is meeting objectives in a cost effective way; the Department should establish effective oversight of the risks associated with Network Rail's financial liabilities; the Government should justify the extra cost of private finance rather than conventional public funding for Network Rail.

The Privatisation of British Rail

The Privatisation of British Rail
Author: Sean McCartney
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2023-05-23
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1000880966

The privatisation of the British railway industry was a unique political and economic event. An integrated industry was broken-up into numerous component parts and sold off to private sector interests. The result was a highly fragmented industry that was structurally unsound and operationally dysfunctional. This authoritative volume presents an enlightening portrait of an industry that is less efficient, more costly and still more dependent on state subsidy today than its nationalised predecessor. The nine chapters in this work present a comprehensive and rigorous evaluation of how and why the industry has become so dysfunctional and costly, supported by detailed financial analysis and industry examples. Seven chapters comprise a series of peer-reviewed academic papers by Professor McCartney and Dr Stittle and published in leading international journals over the period 2004–2017 which analyse selected key segments of the privatised industry: where appropriate, updates are provided at the end of these chapters outlining developments since initial publication relevant to the analysis therein. Two chapters are published here for the first time: Chapter 7 reviews the performance of the freight sector, while Chapter 1 ‘bookends’ the volume by providing first, an account of how rail privatisation was conceived and implemented in the 1980s/90s, and then reviews the impact of the pandemic and the proposals of the Williams-Shapps White Paper of 2021 which, if enacted, will effectively end the Major government’s experiment. Going far beyond the usual superficial analysis of the topic, this volume will be of significant interest to researchers and advanced students of accounting, economics, business history, transport studies, as well as industry and specialised business interests in transport and privatisation.

Budget 2012

Budget 2012
Author: Great Britain. Treasury
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 124
Release: 2012-03-21
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780102976045

The 2012 budget, divided into two chapters and four annexes, sets out the Government's action to reform the tax system and also announces the next stages in their plans for the supply side of the economy alongside the strategy of further action in the three key areas for: (i) a stable economy; (ii) a fairer, more efficient and simpler tax system; (iii) further reforms to growth. Chapter 1, sets out the measures to realise these goals. Chapter 2, provides budget policy decisions. Announcements include: the state pension age will increase in the future to take account of increases in longevity; the economy will experience subdued but positive growth, with recovery likely to be particularly uneven this year; the Government will increase the personal allowance by a further £1,100 in April 2013, making the first £10,000 for those on low and middle income tax free; Child Benefit will be withdrawn through an income tax charge, and that the charge will only apply to households where someone has an income over £50,000 a year; the State Pension will be reformed into a single tier pension for future pensioners; that the top rate tax of income tax will be reduced from 50% to 45% from April 2012 and corporation tax by 1% from April 2012; there will be an introduction of a new Stamp Duty Land Tax rate of 7% for residential properties over £2 million and 15% to be applied to non-natural persons, such as companies taking effect from 21 March 2012, with consultation on the introduction of an annual charge; the capital gains tax regime will extend to the disposal of UK residential property by non-residents; around 20 million taxpayers from 2014-15 will be provided with a new Personal Tax Statement, detailing income tax and national insurance payments. The Government is to invest £60 million to establish a UK centre for aerodynamics and further support Network Rail to invest £130 million in the Northern Hub rail scheme. There will be consultation on simplifying Carbon Reduction Commitment energy efficiency scheme to support business. The measures outlined cover the areas of personal tax; corporate taxes; tax measures affecting property, pensions, charities; indirect taxes; tax reliefs; anti-avoidance; tax administration and supply side reform.

Improving Emergency Care in England

Improving Emergency Care in England
Author: Great Britain. National Audit Office
Publisher:
Total Pages: 76
Release: 2004
Genre: Emergency medical services
ISBN:

There were about 12.7 million visits to accident and emergency (AandE) services in the last year, and in around a fifth of these, patients were admitted to hospital. AandE departments are only one in a variety of NHS emergency care providers, which include ambulance services, GPs, primary care trusts, out-of-hours services; NHS Direct; and open access minor injury centres. This NAO report examines the extent of progress made towards achieving the key target for maximum total time spent waiting for AandE services, as well as with the wider modernisation of emergency care. The report's conclusions include that, given the high level of demand, there has been a significant and sustained progress towards reducing waiting times in AandE departments and improving the patient's experience, largely due to improved working practices and increased local investment. However, there is further room for improvement in the case of patients with more complex needs, such as older people and those with mental health needs; and regional variations still exist with the performance of the worst performing trusts still some way behind. Further major improvements will depend on tackling the remaining bottlenecks and barriers to modernisation within wider emergency care services. The establishment of local emergency care networks is highlighted as a promising development, as a means to secure greater emergency care service integration and joint-working.

Britain's Railways 1997-2005

Britain's Railways 1997-2005
Author: Terence Richard Gourvish
Publisher:
Total Pages: 344
Release: 2008
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

Britain's leading railway historian provides a critical examination of the Blair governments' involvement in the rail industry from 1997 as they attempted to deal with the UK's fragmented, privatized railways. The book focuses particularly on the work of the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA), and considers the role of individuals --John Prescott, Stephen Byers, Alistair Darling, Sir Alastair Morton, and Richard Bowker--and events--the Hatfield accident (2000), the demise of Railtrack (2001-2), and the funding crisis of 2003-4--in the shaping of emerging policy. The book was commissioned by the SRA, and written with access to government files. Dr. Gourvish argues that the establishment of the SRA as a Non-Departmental Public Board proved largely unsuccessful. It produced tensions with the industry's existing institutions--Railtrack/Network Rail, the operating companies and the economic regulator. There were some gains from the experiment, notably the rescue of the West Coast Main Line project. However, it remains to be seen whether by winding up the SRA and taking responsibility for strategy and funding back into its own hands the Department for Transport has resolved the problem of managing a fragmented industry. This important book is essential reading for those concerned with, and interested in, railway policy, both in the UK and elsewhere in the world.

A Fresh Start for New Starts

A Fresh Start for New Starts
Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development
Publisher:
Total Pages: 64
Release: 2009
Genre: Law
ISBN: