Portrait of Robert Catherall

Robert Catherall Principal
He/Him

Rob is part of Oxera’s senior Transport team and specialises in public policy, impact assessment, economic regulation and commercial strategy. He joined Oxera in September 2022, following 15 years in the UK Civil Service, including eight years in the Government Economic Service. Rob has held a number of senior roles at the UK’s Department for Transport (DfT), working in rail, buses, aviation and roads. He has also worked at the UK’s Department for Work and Pensions and the UK’s Department for Communities and Local Government.

For his work at the DfT during the COVID-19 pandemic, Rob was nominated by Sir Peter Hendy (Chair of Network Rail and the Secretary of State’s COVID-19 Travel Tsar) and his team for the Civil Service Award for Inspirational Leadership.

Robert speaks English.

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7776 6647

Robert's specialisms include:

Selected
professional experience

  • Managing a £10bn portfolio of c. 200 projects and funding to Local Authorities for local roads and public transport (2019–22)

  • Leading the £4.8bn Levelling Up Fund for the DfT and working with HM Treasury and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to design and run the competition (2021–22)

  • Advising Birmingham City Council on the DfT’s requirements for the re-procurement of the Birmingham Highways Maintenance PFI (2021–22)

  • Securing agreement in the Levelling Up White Paper to a new approach to funding local transport (2021–22)

  • Leading the DfT’s Spending Review 2021 negotiations with HM Treasury for local and regional transport, delivering 24 business cases and securing a £4.2bn per annum investment over three years—a 42% increase on Spending Review 2015 (2021)

  • Leading the DfT’s COVID-19 response for buses, trams, taxis, local roads, cycling and walking, including negotiating with HM Treasury for over £1bn of emergency bus and tram grants and securing agreement from Number 10 to a £2bn cycling and walking programme (2020–21)

Qualifications

  • BA (Hons) Economics, University of Leeds, UK

  • MSc Economics, University College London, UK


Download Full CV

Latest Insights:  Robert Catherall

Agenda
12 minute read
Depiction of Can the private sector help to get the rail industry back on track?

Can the private sector help to get the rail industry back on track?

The GB rail industry is facing considerable challenges. Low passenger numbers mean that a massive increase in state subsidy has been necessary to keep services running, which is unsustainable. To…
Agenda
5 minute read
Depiction of Will the end of a golden age for UK transport infrastructure be a catalyst for a green era?

Will the end of a golden age for UK transport infrastructure be a catalyst for a green era?

Arguably, the UK has gone through a golden age of transport infrastructure planning and delivery in recent years. Since the turn of the millennium, transport capital budgets have grown and…
Events

Berlin Discussion Forum

Transition from Gas Markets to Hydrogen Markets Over the summer, the transition to hydrogen has gained further momentum. The direction of travel has become clearer with the approval of the European Commission’s €2bn government funding for thyssenkrupp Steel’s “tkH2Steel” decarbonization project, the EU Delegated Acts on Renewable Hydrogen approval in… Read More

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