New guide to help build partnerships between GB Railways and mayoral strategic authorities.
A practitioners’ guide to help build locally led partnerships between mayoral strategic authorities and the railway has been launched, as the journey to GBR progresses.
The guide, Delivering local partnerships on England’s railways, has been developed in close partnership with Shadow Great British Railways (GBR) partners and the members of the Urban Transport Group (UTG), the UK’s network of transport authorities.
The creation of the guide has been steered by the UTG-GBR Partnership Liaison Group, which comprises senior officers from Mayoral transport authorities, the English devolution lead from the Department for Transport’s rail reform function and the mayoral partnerships team (a small transitionary function working across the railway as part of reform).
A central feature of the Railways Bill is the creation of statutory roles for mayoral strategic authorities as the basis for effective local partnership. This guide builds on and updates the partnership framework set out in the government’s consultation A Railway Fit for Britain’s Future and describes practical ways in which partnerships can empower places and the railway to work together effectively but without prescribing the detail. Partnerships should be locally led and respond to the unique needs and priorities of places.
The guide is not a set of instructions or formal guidance. It aims to support organisations by offering the tools to reach alignment and a mutual understanding to enable partnership to flourish based on the emerging statutory landscape.
It has been developed following an extensive consultation and listening exercise, including workshops and interviews. This is the first issue of the guide, which will continue to be developed in collaboration between the railway and mayoral strategic authorities as practice and learning evolves.
Click here to download the new guide, A Railway Fit for Britain’s Future.
