We take our role as custodians of the industry’s standards committees seriously. The standards committees have an essential job to do for the whole industry, not just parts of it. Robust governance is in place to ensure that their members genuinely reflect the whole industry.

Equally, it is essential that processes and supporting documents help standards committees perform their role. They must assist the committees in making informed decisions and must provide a means of escalation to avoid intractable issues that cannot be resolved.

Review process

We keep a close eye on the governance of the standards process, and we listen carefully to industry feedback. If changes are needed, these may involve amendments to the Railway Standards Code. Amendments require agreement by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) annual general meeting (AGM) and approval by the regulator, the Office of Rail and Road. Members, government, industry stakeholders, and others can all be assured that we take the issue of standards governance very seriously.

Recently, we undertook a comprehensive review of the operation of RSSB’s standards committees to find out what’s working well and what needs improvement. This is particularly important given the forthcoming rail reform. Industry needs to be confident that the standards committees are able to make effective decisions, especially at times of change.

The review assessed meetings, meeting documentation, and records of meetings. Interviews were conducted with standards committee members, chairs, and other interested parties. These interviews covered a broad cross-section of the industry, including government, the regulator, and RSSB Board members. We are grateful for the good engagement from all who contributed.

Findings

Overall, we found that the way the standards committees operate is broadly effective, but some areas of improvement were identified. 

For instance, we found that it was sometimes difficult to make effective decisions on standards. This could be due to insufficient top-down direction or ineffective escalation. The standards committees need to be informed by greater industry leadership.

Therefore, improved processes and governance are recommended to help standard committees deal with future changes more effectively. 

During the review, some stakeholders expressed views about the suitability of consensus as the basis for decision-making. They were concerned about the time it may take and the potential for sub-optimal outcomes. We found some confusion over the different roles of lead and supporting standards committees. And while good practice was seen at standards committees, it wasn’t consistent across all of them.

Decisions could be improved by widening the membership of standards committees to include people from non-specialist backgrounds. We are also recommending providing better information in the meeting packs.

Actions to improve governance

We launched a dedicated project to address all recommendations for enhanced governance. The project is moving at pace because this work required changes to the Railway Standards Code and the Standards Manual. These changes need approval at the RSSB AGM, usually held in November.

Addressing the greater industry leadership and type of decision-making actions is significant. We worked closely with the RSSB Board to develop options and recommendations. Now we are consulting widely on these proposals. 

Consultation

Our recommendations will enhance:

  • decision-making
  • industry leadership
  • committee membership.

It is vital that we hear the views of our members about this. We are consulting on the proposals and ask that you answer the questions in this form.

We are also consulting on the proposed revisions to the Code and Manual. The consultation pack can be found here. 

The consultation will be open from 18 June to 30 July 2025. The active involvement and support of our members will be crucial in realising the governance improvements we recommend.