Network Rail publishes more spending data in response to supply chain concerns

Network Rail (NR) has published more information about its capital frameworks spend after suppliers raised concerns about communication.

The Railway Industry Association (RIA) has welcomed the move, which includes the publication of anticipated forecasts for the next 12 months on NR’s procurement page.

At the RIA annual conference earlier this month, representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises had voiced concerns about communication. Some said a lack of information from NR or larger contractors made it difficult to budget for work, while others said they didn’t know where the £9 billion earmarked for the supply chain was as they ‘weren’t seeing any of it’.

While the procurement webpage already existed, a new section entitled ‘Control Period 7 capital frameworks spend’ was added to the page on November 21.

In it, NR says: “We are committed to improving the visibility of our pipeline information for our suppliers and those wishing to work with us. Here we share our control period 7 capital frameworks spend, with upcoming anticipated spend forecasts. We will refine and hone this document to address feedback on it.”

The document, along with the national pipeline and national contracts database, will be updated quarterly.

Following the publication of the data, statement from RIA said: “This is an important step forward in transparency and RIA will continue to work with other trade associations and Network Rail to support further improvements in visibility for suppliers.”

Steve Whitmore, Managing Director of enGauged Ltd, added: “I’m feeling more buoyant from the amount of work coming through to tender. It’s definitely picked up.”