Lord Adonis facing new franchise woe

Jul 9 2009 by William Green, The Journal

Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Norman Baker said he would be raising the matter with Lord Adonis. “We have not been given the full picture on the discussions between National Express and the Government – and in the interests of good Government we should be. This is a matter of public finances as well as services for passengers.

“On the face of it, it appears the Government should have made a statement to the Commons rather earlier than it did,” he said.

North East Tory Lord Bates said the revelations cast doubt on whether the DfT negotiated in “good faith” with NXEC.

“What the letter suggests is that at least two weeks earlier a decision had been made by the DfT to terminate the franchise and take it back into public hands.

“If that is the case that certainly wasn’t mentioned in the statement and I do think that Lord Adonis needs to come back to the House and answer those questions,” said Lord Bates.

A DfT spokesman said: “The department had no formal notice of NXEC’s intention to default on its franchise before NXEC’s 1 July trading statement.

“However, in light of NXEC’s approaches to the department, suggesting it would find it hard to continue with the franchise, it presented a risk and therefore the department acted to protect its interest in a franchise.”

National Express confirmed it received a letter setting out a “process” – detailed in the franchise agreement – giving the Government more “visibility” over some East Coast business decisions over the next 12 months. “It is not a countdown to the end of the franchise and the letter could be withdrawn at any time,” added a spokeswoman.