Q101 Mr Bacon: Not permanently appointed. Is that simply because you have not taken the civil service exam so to speak and so you have to be acting?
Mr Payne: I have to go through the recruitment process, yes.
Q102 Mr Bacon: How long have you been in post?
Mr Payne: Three months.
Q103 Mr Bacon: How long was your predecessor in post?
Dr Mitchell: Two and a half years.
Q104 Mr Bacon: How long was the person before your predecessor in post?
Dr Mitchell: If I recall he was the first appointment shortly after the transfer from the Strategic Rail Authority. Mr Payne's predecessor is still employed by the Department for Transport but he moved to a different job.
Q105 Mr Bacon: Mr Payne, are you expecting to become the permanent finance director?
Mr Payne: I could not possibly say, could I? I hope to.
Q106 Mr Bacon: Good. In paragraph 4.9 it talks about each train operator having to post a bond for the benefit of the Department. How does this work; do they actually give the Department some cash and it kind of sits there unless and until they go bust or fail to fulfil their franchise in which case you then take that money for termination costs?
Mr Payne: Yes, we call the bond from a bond provider which tends to be a bank.
Q107 Mr Bacon: Oh dear. Which bank-are they different ones for each franchise?
Mr Payne: Correct.
Q108 Mr Bacon: Do you know that they are all okay? It is something that is actually right now quite serious so it is probably worth checking, is it not?
Mr Payne: We do.
Mr Curry: None in Iceland.
Q109 Mr Bacon: There are none of them in Iceland.
Mr Payne: None are in Iceland.
Q110 Mr Bacon: Have you checked that they are all okay?
Mr Payne: We have checked and we continually check them.