Consultation on a draft Rail Ombudsman operating model

Consultation outcome

In June 2022 we launched a consultation on proposals for an operating model for the future Rail Ombudsman, which specified:

• the functions it will perform and to what standard,
• the way it will be constituted, governed and held to account; and
• proposed licence modifications required as part of the ORR sponsorship process. 

We have now published our decision document which sets out: 

• a high-level summary of the views submitted by respondents,
• ORR's response,
• any changes we have made to the final operating model and our decisions on its requirements,
• proposals for licence modification, and
• our updated equality impact assessment.

Alongside this we have also published the responses to our June 2022 consultation. Stakeholders were broadly supportive of the proposals and the feedback we received has been used to inform and further refine our Ombudsman operating model and licence modification proposals.   

On 20 October 2022 we began a statutory consultation to seek licence holders’ consent to amend their relevant station and passenger licences and Statement of National Regulatory provisions (SNRP) to facilitate the transition to an ORR procured ombudsman scheme. 

This consultation closed on 21 November 2022 with all relevant licence/SNRP holders giving their written consent to the amended licence condition being incorporated into their respective licences/SNRPs. 

Broad stakeholder support for our operating model also enabled us to proceed to a competitive tender process in early 2023 to procure a provider of the Rail Ombudsman service.

We concluded the tender process in May 2023 which resulted in the appointment of Dispute Resolution Ombudsman as the provider of the ORR-sponsored Rail Ombudsman scheme. 

We have also reviewed our equality impact assessment to ensure it remains fit for purpose and finalised our regulatory impact assessment having completed the procurement process.

In July 2023 we issued a Notice of modification to notify relevant ORR licence holders of the change to their licence requiring them to transition to the ORR-sponsored Rail Ombudsman scheme. The licence change takes effect from 20 September 2023.

Alongside this, we also published a letter to industry setting out the various activities they are required to participate in as part of these arrangements.

Next Steps 

The ORR-sponsored Rail Ombudsman scheme will commence passenger-facing operations from 26 November 2023. This aligns with the expiry of the RDG-sponsored scheme on 25 November 2023. 

To minimise the impact of this change on industry and passengers, ORR is working closely with industry colleagues and other key stakeholders to plan and coordinate this transition.