Just been asked to find out from those who know for certain,   bet
Tony Polson will.    When and if the British Railways Board was ever
wound up after privatisation.    It was not immediately I am iformed
as it was the one with the power of the *acts*, can anyone enlarge
upon this for my friend please?

Martin WY wrote:

> Just been asked to find out from those who know for certain,   bet
> Tony Polson will.    When and if the British Railways Board was ever
> wound up after privatisation.    It was not immediately I am iformed
> as it was the one with the power of the *acts*, can anyone enlarge
> upon this for my friend please?


Try here http://www.brb.gov.uk/home

Brimstone wrote:

> Martin WY wrote:
> 
>>Just been asked to find out from those who know for certain,   bet
>>Tony Polson will.    When and if the British Railways Board was ever
>>wound up after privatisation.    It was not immediately I am iformed
>>as it was the one with the power of the *acts*, can anyone enlarge
>>upon this for my friend please?
> 
> Try here http://www.brb.gov.uk/home


That doesn't really answer the question though:

"The remaining functions of the British Railways Board are now 
discharged by BRB (Residuary) Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the 
Strategic Rail Authority."

Which to me could suggest that the remaining functions of the old BRB 
were transferred to the SRA who just happened to call their subsidiary 
BRB (Residuary) Ltd.  Nothing about the British Railway Board existing 
or otherwise there.

However, schedule 12 of the new 2005 Railways Act 
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2005/50014-ac.htm amends the Transport 
Act 2000 - see point 17 - and those amendments talk about "the board' - 
which suggests to me that the British Railways Board is still an legal 
organisation.

Martin WY  wrote:

>Just been asked to find out from those who know for certain,   bet
>Tony Polson will.    When and if the British Railways Board was ever
>wound up after privatisation.    It was not immediately I am iformed
>as it was the one with the power of the *acts*, can anyone enlarge
>upon this for my friend please?



I think it has been fudged, in typical Sir Humphrey style.

The British Railways Board continued after privatisation.  There was
also an entity set up called the BR Residuary Body, or something
similar, to look after the ongoing liabilities that had not
specifically been privatised.  

I believe the Board was still in existence as late as about 2003,
because there was a suggestion that it could be revived to take over
failing franchises, particularly SouthEast Trains.

The DfT would like you to believe that the Board has been subsumed
into the SRA, and thence into DfT Railways, however I am not aware of
any legislation that has been enacted to transfer the Board's
remaining powers.  My guess is that it still exists, but that its
powers, assets and liabilities have for all practical purposed been
assumed by the SRA - and now DfT - without passage of the (strictly)
necessary legislation.

In other words, a fudge.

;-)

On Fri, 22 Jul 2005 20:48:14 GMT, Martin WY  wrote:


>Just been asked to find out from those who know for certain,   bet
>Tony Polson will.    When and if the British Railways Board was ever
>wound up after privatisation.    It was not immediately I am iformed
>as it was the one with the power of the *acts*, can anyone enlarge
>upon this for my friend please?


The National Archives website refers to the BRB being "wound up in
2003" but no other "official" references seem to support that
assertion. The Transport _Bill_ 2000 says the board will be abolished
by the Act, but s.241 of the Act itself only provides for the
Secretary of State to abolish the board via a Statutory Instrument
with no date specified. Although an order has been issued to reduce
the membership of the BRB in 2001 it looks like it is not dead but
merely sleeping as no later S.I. seems to have been issued to abolish
the board unless the abolition has been hidden within something not
obviously labelled as doing so.

Charles Ellson wrote:

> The National Archives website refers to the BRB being "wound up in
> 2003" but no other "official" references seem to support that
> assertion. The Transport _Bill_ 2000 says the board will be abolished
> by the Act, but s.241 of the Act itself only provides for the
> Secretary of State to abolish the board via a Statutory Instrument
> with no date specified. Although an order has been issued to reduce
> the membership of the BRB in 2001 it looks like it is not dead but
> merely sleeping as no later S.I. seems to have been issued to abolish
> the board unless the abolition has been hidden within something not
> obviously labelled as doing so.


Two links of interest:

http://www.nrm.org.uk/html/pressoffice/presspack/br.asp
A 2002 NRM press release when the Board sponsored an exhibition:

"Under the Conservative Governments 1993 Railways Act, the majority of 
the activities of the British Railways Board were privatised. However, 
the British Railways Board still exists to discharge the obligations of 
the Channel Tunnel Usage Agreement. Most of the remaining property 
rights and liabilities of the BRB are vested in British Railways Board 
(Residuary) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Strategic Rail Authority."

and

http://www.dca.gov.uk/foi/coverage.htm#B6
which shows that the Board is in the list of bodies covered by the 
Freedom of Information Act, but with a note to say "Repealed by the 
Transport Act 2000. Not yet in force. Date in force to be appointed" 
which agrees with Charles' posting saying that it the 2000 Act provides 
the mechanism to abolish the board but it hasn't been done yet.

Mark Morton wrote:

> Brimstone wrote:
>> Martin WY wrote:
>>
>>> Just been asked to find out from those who know for certain,   bet
>>> Tony Polson will.    When and if the British Railways Board was ever
>>> wound up after privatisation.    It was not immediately I am iformed
>>> as it was the one with the power of the *acts*, can anyone enlarge
>>> upon this for my friend please?
>>
>> Try here http://www.brb.gov.uk/home
>
> That doesn't really answer the question though:
>
> "The remaining functions of the British Railways Board are now
> discharged by BRB (Residuary) Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the
> Strategic Rail Authority."
>
> Which to me could suggest that the remaining functions of the old BRB
> were transferred to the SRA who just happened to call their subsidiary
> BRB (Residuary) Ltd.  Nothing about the British Railway Board existing
> or otherwise there.
>
> However, schedule 12 of the new 2005 Railways Act
> http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2005/50014-ac.htm amends the Transport
> Act 2000 - see point 17 - and those amendments talk about "the board'
> - which suggests to me that the British Railways Board is still an
> legal organisation.


Did some part of "try here" escape your attention?

Mark Morton wrote:

> 
> Charles Ellson wrote:
> > The National Archives website refers to the BRB being "wound up in
> > 2003" but no other "official" references seem to support that
> > assertion.

> Two links of interest:


And another link:
<http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/5ebe7ac5adb902cae43835570dc34a8f//compdetails>.

Which tells us this:

Name and Registered Office:
BRITISH RAILWAYS BOARD LIMITED
55 VICTORIA STREET
LONDON
SW1H 0EU
Company No. 03159054

Status: Active
Date of Incorporation: 09/02/1996
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Company Type: Private Limited Company
Nature of Business (SIC(03)):
6010 - Transport via railways
Accounting Reference Date: 31/03
Last Accounts Made Up To: 31/03/2004  (DORMANT)
Next Accounts Due: 31/01/2006
Last Return Made Up To: 09/02/2005
Next Return Due: 09/03/2006 

I have a vague recollection of getting a little drunk at a recent
gathering of railway chums - well, that bit's a fairly definite memory,
the vague bit is someone telling me that their mate was still on the BRB
Board as a director and doing very nicely out of it. Even more vaguely,
I remember the reason for the BRB's life extension, something to do with
awkward contractual conditions in land deals. (Or something. I really
must master the art of total recall while under the influence.)
-- 
Joyce Whitchurch, Stalybridge, UK
=================================
Do something amazing. Give blood.
<http://www.blood.co.uk/>

On Sat, 23 Jul 2005 13:31:57 +0000 (UTC), Joyce Whitchurch
 wrote:


>I have a vague recollection of getting a little drunk at a recent
>gathering of railway chums - well, that bit's a fairly definite memory,
>the vague bit is someone telling me that their mate was still on the BRB
>Board as a director and doing very nicely out of it. Even more vaguely,
>I remember the reason for the BRB's life extension, something to do with
>awkward contractual conditions in land deals. (Or something. I really
>must master the art of total recall while under the influence.)


So they meet once a year, conduct minimal business and award
themselves with a good lunch?
-- 
Peter Lawrence

Peter Lawrence wrote:

> 
> So they meet once a year, conduct minimal business and award
> themselves with a good lunch?


The impresssion I was left with was that they met once a year or so,
tried to wind the whole thing up, but kept finding that there was some
technicality that stopped them.

I have a feeling that the Minimum Usage Contract with Eurotunnel is one
of those technicalities. IIRC it's written into the Treaty of
Canterbury, and you can't go renegotiating international treaties every
five minutes. But the MUC will finally peter out at the end of 2006, so
perhaps that's when BRB will finally disappear.
-- 
Joyce Whitchurch, Stalybridge, UK
=================================
Do something amazing. Give blood.
<http://www.blood.co.uk/>

The functions of the BRB after 1997, additional to the above, were also
:-

Dealing with property not transfered to Railtrack - some valuable, some
liability. This activity continues today managed by Lambert Smith
Hampton reporting to Rail Property Ltd, Whittles House, Pentonville
Road, London. owned by BRBR (answer that telephone - Brrr Brr: response
- Brr Brr!)

Dealing with residual legal matters and claims.

Operating the B T Police - I'm not sure if this has now passed to the
SRA

Being an operator of last resort - now discontinued.

The number of direct employees is now tiny, and diminishing slowly -
but its a good number for those still aboard!

"Peter Lawrence"  wrote >

> So they meet once a year, conduct minimal business and award
> themselves with a good lunch?


That sounds like the London & Greenwich, which leased its undertaking to the
South Eastern in 1845, and from then until it was wound up in 1923 as a
result of the Grouping just met annually to collect the rent, declare a
dividend, and enjoy a nosh-up.

Peter

Joyce Whitchurch wrote:

> Mark Morton wrote:
> 
>>Charles Ellson wrote:
>>
>>>The National Archives website refers to the BRB being "wound up in
>>>2003" but no other "official" references seem to support that
>>>assertion.
> 
> 
>>Two links of interest:
> 
> 
> And another link:
> <http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/5ebe7ac5adb902cae43835570dc34a8f//compdetails>.
> 
> Which tells us this:
> 
> Name and Registered Office:
> BRITISH RAILWAYS BOARD LIMITED
> 55 VICTORIA STREET
> LONDON
> SW1H 0EU
> Company No. 03159054
> 
> Status: Active
> Date of Incorporation: 09/02/1996
> Country of Origin: United Kingdom
> Company Type: Private Limited Company
> Nature of Business (SIC(03)):
> 6010 - Transport via railways
> Accounting Reference Date: 31/03
> Last Accounts Made Up To: 31/03/2004  (DORMANT)
> Next Accounts Due: 31/01/2006
> Last Return Made Up To: 09/02/2005
> Next Return Due: 09/03/2006 
> 
> I have a vague recollection of getting a little drunk at a recent
> gathering of railway chums - well, that bit's a fairly definite memory,
> the vague bit is someone telling me that their mate was still on the BRB
> Board as a director and doing very nicely out of it. Even more vaguely,
> I remember the reason for the BRB's life extension, something to do with
> awkward contractual conditions in land deals. (Or something. I really
> must master the art of total recall while under the influence.)


Nice work if you can get it.