Office of Rail Regulation proposes changes to the licence fee regime
31 August 2005
ORR/36/05
The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has today published a consultation document setting out its proposals for a change to the calculation of licence fees paid by the rail industry to fund economic regulation.
The document also outlines ORR’s proposed introduction of a levy to fund the cost of its new responsibilities for rail safety regulation, which are being transferred from the Health & Safety Commission/Executive.
ORR proposes that Network Rail, the infrastructure owner, should meet 100% of the costs of economic regulation, rather than this being apportioned between Network Rail and other licence holders as it is currently. It also proposes that the costs of safety regulation should be recovered via an industry levy based on turnover.
These changes will require the Department for Transport to enact secondary legislation and ORR is working in conjunction with the Department on this.
Chris Bolt, ORR Chairman, said:
“The new mechanisms we are proposing for recovering the costs of safety and economic regulation will be fair and transparent and broadly cost reflective, whilst at the same time enabling providers of railway services to plan the futures of their businesses with a reasonable degree of assurance.
“We are also aiming to streamline the process, minimising the administrative burden on the industry.”
Notes for editors
- The Railways Act 2005 transferred policy responsibility for health and safety regulation for railway activities from the Health and Safety Commission/Executive (HSC/E) to ORR. Regulations transferring enforcement responsibilities will be required before ORR can assume its full role as safety regulator.
- The deadline for responses to “Licence Fees/Safety Levy – a Consultation” is Monday 17 October. The document is available as a related link.
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