This matter is reserved to the Secretary of State under the terms of the Partnership Agreement. Rail North Ltd has become part of Transport for the North.

This is a reserved matter for the Secretary of State. Transport for the North has no authority under the terms of the Partnership Agreement to agree to such a claim. Rail North Ltd has become part of Transport for the North. As stated in my answer of 21 June, UIN 152739, no payments have been made under the relevant Franchise Agreement provisions.

This matter is reserved to the Secretary of State under the terms of the Partnership Agreement. Rail North Ltd has become part of Transport for the North.

The Franchise Agreement with TransPennine Express does not outline a timetable for a response to TransPennine Express's consultation and report process on Boxing Day services. However, the Department and Rail North Partnerships are currently considering the contents of the report to determine whether Boxing Day services may be introduced from Dec-18, and if so, how it would be funded. A decision for this implementation date would be required by May/June 2018, and subject to identification of funding.

There is no proper direct comparison to be drawn between these organisations in relation to funding.

The Mayor of London is elected by the residents of London and exercises wide authority for transport strategy and operations across multiple modes, including strategic roads.

There is no single elected position with the same or similar mandate in the North of England. To create such a role would require taking powers from the Metro Mayors of Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region and the Tees Valley, as well as the various local authorities in the North. Transport for the North (TfN) and their constituent members have made clear that they do not intend this to happen. TfN's important role is to provide a strategic transport vision for the North.

The functions of Rail North, under a March 2015 partnership agreement with the Department for Transport, are to co-manage the Northern and TransPennine Express rail franchises, and to advise the Department for Transport on the development and delivery of its rail enhancement programme in the North of England.

There is no proper direct comparison to be drawn between these organisations in relation to staff numbers.

The function of Transport for London is to manage transport strategy and operations across multiple modes, including London Underground, London Overground, buses, the Docklands Light Railway and strategic roads in the capital.

Transport for the North has no responsibility for the operational delivery of transport services. Its important role is to provide a strategic transport vision for the North.

The functions of Rail North, under a March 2015 partnership agreement with the Department for Transport, are to co-manage the Northern and TransPennine Express rail franchises, and to advise the Department for Transport on the development and delivery of its rail enhancement programme in the North of England.

The Rail North Partnership Strategic Board currently meets on a monthly basis to oversee the work of the Partnership Management Team.

The Department’s representatives on this Board are the Markets Director, Passenger Services; the Deputy Director Midlands, North & Wales, Passenger Services; and the Programme Director, Network Services.

The Rail North Partnership brings together activities that were previously undertaken by DfT and Local Transport Authorities in the North. Accordingly the Government has agreed that £500,000 p.a. of existing annual grant funding provided by the Department to the North of England Passenger Transport Executives (PTEs) and Combined Authorities can be used to fund Rail North. In addition, the Department funds staffing costs that it would have otherwise incurred itself.

The funding arrangements for the Rail North Partnership are a combination of direct funding from DfT to cover the staffing cost that would have been incurred in the management of the two franchises at DfT as well as Rail North Limited membership fees and an allocation of Rail Administration Grant from Combined Authorities. This funding is fixed and indexed. This funding covers all activities undertaken by the Rail North Partnership, including the DfT/Rail North Strategic Board meetings.

Since the start of the new Northern and TPE franchises on 1st April 2016, the Rail North Partnership Director (who is responsible for the management of those franchises on behalf of Rail North and the Department) has had one meeting with the Board of Rail North Ltd at which he presented his monthly report.

Members of Rail North:

• Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council
• Blackpool Borough Council
• Cheshire East Council
• Cheshire West & Chester Council
• City of York Council
• Cumbria County Council
• Darlington Borough Council
• Derbyshire County Council
• East Riding of Yorkshire Council
• Greater Manchester Combined Authority
• Hartlepool Borough Council
• Hull City Council
• Lancashire County Council
• Lincolnshire County Council
• Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, St Helens, Sefton and Wirral)
• Middlesbrough Council
• North East Combined Authority (Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle Upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland)
• North East Lincolnshire Council
• North Lincolnshire Council
• North Yorkshire County Council
• Nottingham City Council
• Nottinghamshire County Council
• Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council
• Sheffield City Region Combined Authority (Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield)
• Staffordshire County Council
• Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council
• Stoke-on-Trent City Council
• Warrington Borough Council
• West Yorkshire Combined Authority

Rail North Ltd Board Directors are:

• Bill Dixon (Tees Valley)
• Chris Metcalf (North Yorkshire)
• David Brown (Cheshire and the Potteries)
• Dean Collins (East Midlands)
• John Fillis (Lancashire and Cumbria)
• Julie Dore (Sheffield City Region Combined Authority)
• Keith Wakefield (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
• Liam Robinson (Liverpool City Region Combined Authority)
• Liz Redfern (Humber Authorities)
• Nick Forbes (North East Combined Authority)
• Richard Leese (Greater Manchester Combined Authority)

Any Local transport Authority in the North of England area covered by Northern and TransPennine franchises is entitled to be a member of Rail North.

Rail North Board Directors are appointed by the constituent authorities of the sub-areas they represent.

Note that Tees Valley Authorities have recently formed a Combined Authority and will, on formal notification, be represented through that single body in the future.

Whilst the franchise agreements are between the franchisees and the Secretary of State who also retains statutory powers under the Railways Act 1993 in relation to the franchises, the management of the Franchise Agreements is undertaken by a devolved team based in Leeds which reports to a Joint Rail North/DfT Strategic Board.

In addition, Rail North Ltd has been ‎given certain specific powers, including the ability to vary the level of regulated fares for the Northern and TPE franchises, which would otherwise be determined by the Secretary of State as part of a national fares policy.

The Association of Rail North Partner Authorities was established as a local government association under section 143 of the Local Government Act 1972 to discuss and consult as to their common interests on rail matters.

The powers to establish and join Rail North Ltd are in the case of combined authorities their well-being power under section 102A (linked to section 99) of the Local Transport Act 2008 and/or their functional power of competence under section 113A of the Local Democracy, Economic Development Act 2009 (inserted by section 13 of the Localism Act 2011). In the case of county councils and unitary authorities the relevant power is their general power of competence under section 1 of the Localism Act 2011.

The Partnership agreement that I signed on 20th March 2015 with Rail North Ltd clearly signals our intention that Rail North takes greater devolved responsibility over time. It also sets out the process and criteria by which such decisions may be made. The new devolved management arrangements only started on 1st April 2016 and therefore no timescale or deadline has been set at this stage for full devolution to be achieved. A copy of the Partnership agreement can be found at http://www.railnorth.org/governance/rail-north-dft-partnership/.

On 21st December 2015, a meeting took place between Rail North Ltd Directors and the Department at which the two Project Directors presented the outcome of the Northern and TransPennine Express franchise competitions.

Whether Rail North holds its meetings in public is a matter for that organisation.

Rail North will not have a role in designating which routes are driver controlled operation in the Northern Franchise.

In March of this year the Department for Transport (DfT) signed a formal partnership agreement with Rail North. This agreement sets out the arrangements by which a locally-based team in Leeds, reporting to a joint Rail North/ DfT strategic board will manage the new Northern and TransPennine Express franchises from April 2016. The agreement includes important mechanisms to enable the Rail North authorities to make decisions on changes to their local rail service and fares and to make investments in these franchises to make improvements.

It also sets out the steps by which further devolution will be agreed by the parties during the life of the franchises.

In March of this year the Department for Transport (DfT) signed a formal partnership agreement with Rail North. This agreement sets out the arrangements by which a locally-based team in Leeds, reporting to a joint Rail North/DfT strategic board will manage the new Northern and TransPennine Express franchises from April 2016. The agreement includes important mechanisms to enable the Rail North authorities to make decisions on changes to their local rail service and fares and to make investments in these franchises to make improvements. The partnership agreement with Rail North signed in March 2015 sets out the steps by which further devolution will be agreed by the parties during the life of the franchises.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has been working with Rail North throughout the process to renew the Northern and TransPennine Express franchises. As well as their active involvement during the development of the franchise specifications and public consultation, Rail North staff have also been part of the DfT teams evaluating the bids and have commented on key parts of the draft Franchise Agreements.