Network Rail’s sale of railway arches

Before disposing of assets, HM Treasury and the selling department should consider the potential impact of the disposal on wider government policy delivery. Where the impact could be significant, the Department should engage with policy leads in other departments to consider broadening the sale’s objectives.

The selling department should engage early with stakeholders that are likely to be (or perceive to be) affected by an asset sale – even in cases where this is unrelated to the objectives of a sale – to reduce the risk of the transaction and allow their views to be considered by other parts of government.

The selling department should consider and document on a timely basis whether contracting with the new owners in areas such as future investment plans and explicit customer protections provides value for money.

Network Rail, and any department selling assets, should monitor whether future owners comply fully with the commitments they made in their final bid to hold them to account irrespective of whether these commitments form part of the final sales contract.