On Tuesday 4th October, the Department for Transport wrote to our lawyers and revealed the first in our list of requested documents: the breach notice under s.55 of the Railways Act, issued by the Secretary of State on 7 July 2015, and under which the remedial plan was prepared.
They have declined to provide other essential documents regarding the franchise and remedial plan citing ‘commercial interest’, and have insisted on a further 20 working days to consider our request. We expect their final response on November 4th.
With so much of the story still hidden from the public, we need to start asking some vital questions: Did Govia give a satisfactory remedial plan at the time of their 6th September 2015 deadline? The public has access only to the the heavily redacted remedial plan of 12th February 2016 – so, what happened in all the gaps inbetween?
The above questions are what our lawyer Matthew Garbutt and barristers Rhodri Thompson QC and Jamas Hodivala will be asking as they continue to communicate with the DfT, insisting that the full disclosure of all documents is in the public interest.
For the full copy of the breach notice served on Govia on 7th July 2015, see the PDF below.
150707-gtr-remedial-plan-notice-signed_redacted
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