• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
  • Guest Content
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Avanti West Coast handed millions of pounds of taxpayer-funded bonuses

In light of the news, the Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh called the payments a ‘scandalous waste of taxpayers’ money’.

Joseph Connor by Joseph Connor
2022-12-17 08:45
in News, Politics
Credit:PA

Credit:PA

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

Avanti West Coast was handed millions of pounds of taxpayer-funded bonuses for a period in which it was Britain’s worst train operator for delays, Labour Party analysis shows.

Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh called the payments a “scandalous waste of taxpayers’ money” and a “symptom of a broken rail system”.

Labour analysis of Department for Transport (DfT) figures published on Thursday found Avanti West Coast was awarded the highest possible rating for “operational performance” and “customer satisfaction” between April 1 and September 18 last year.

That contributed to a bonus payout of £4.1 million.

Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh
Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh said the payments were ‘a symptom of a broken rail system where passengers come last’ (Gareth Fuller/PA)

This is despite Office of Rail and Road (ORR) figures showing just 60.1% of stops at stations by Avanti West Coast trains were within a minute of the schedule between April and June 2021 – the worst figure for all operators.

Separate ORR data also revealed that the company had a higher rate of complaints per passenger than every operator except Caledonian Sleeper during that period.

Ms Haigh said: “Ministers have rewarded abject failure, handing over millions of pounds in performance bonuses and fees to this failing operator.

“Rather than hold operators to account for shambolic performance, ministers are doling out taxpayer-funded bonuses.

“This is a symptom of a broken rail system where passengers come last.

RelatedPosts

Jeremy Vine caller bemoans Tories – but says she’ll vote for them ‘just to keep Labour out’

Raab fancied to exit cabinet before Zahawi

Unite secures 28% pay rise for hundreds of Luton airport workers

Spirit of Thatcherism can help level up the North, says Gove

“The next Labour Government will bring our railways back into public ownership as contracts expire, ending the Tories’ failing system, and putting passengers back at the heart of our rail network.”

Ministers came under fire last month for renewing Avanti West Coast’s contract despite it slashing services in August to reduce short-notice cancellations.

A new timetable introduced earlier this month featured a 40% uplift in services, according to the company, which is a joint venture between FirstGroup (70%) and Italian state operator Trenitalia (30%).

A DfT spokesperson said: “This performance fee is based on data from before the current period of disruption. Avanti need to improve services on their network to ensure passengers can get the reliable, timely service that they deserve.

“We have put Avanti on a short term, six-month contract, as they roll out vital improvements and service upgrades and continue to monitor the situation closely.”

Related: Our most viral videos of 2022

Tags: Avanti

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

Want a plumped up pout like Kylie’s? Here’s how to get the best results – safely.

Rees-Mogg can’t imagine a ‘better functioning’ Govt than one led by Johnson

Two held after woman stabbed to death in Surrey village

Welcome to pirate island? Extend freeports to whole UK coastline says Tory MP -10 reasons why they are bad news

Piazza Aperol pops up in central London

England beat Wales at the death

600,000 fewer registered voters leads to accusation Tories are “rigging the system”

Tory MP paid £1k an hour by firm that benefited from NHS Covid contracts

A mother gave birth to an eye watering 12lb baby

Wine of the Week: Lanson Green Label Organic Champagne

JOBS

FIND MORE JOBS

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Commercial enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.