3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: December 2021 3.2 The government will write to the Committee in December 2021. The government’s financial support for the railway has increased sharply since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it now bears direct and immediate financial risk on most costs and revenues of train operators. As a consequence, these operators have been reclassified to the public sector in the National Accounts.3.3 In these circumstances, the government recognises the value that greater financial transparency can bring to the industry. Steps have already been taken in this direction. In July 2020, the government began publishing data on the operational support payments made to operators under the COVID-19 emergency agreements. 3.4 This material has been updated on several occasions since initial publication and extended to include data on management and performance fees payable to operators. There was no equivalent publication under the pre-COVID-19 commercial arrangements. 3.5 Initial work has already begun to develop ‘whole-system’ financial reporting and analysis capability, as part of the implementation of the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail reforms. In the first instance, this information will be used within the sector to improve decision-making. Government will consider options for publishing a version of this material once complete, albeit noting that some commercial and regulatory constraints may apply. Specifically, in certain contexts the release of specific financial information may adversely affect the government’s commercial position in negotiations with suppliers. Furthermore, some train operators are subsidiaries of publicly listed companies. As such, certain information about their finances may be market sensitive and thereby subject to constraints on the timing and manner of its release.