Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential differences in terms and conditions between outsourced and directly employed staff within train operating companies, including pay, sick pay, pensions and travel facilities; and whether the Railways Bill will include measures to address employment practices and contractual arrangements affecting outsourced rail workers.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has not made an assessment of the potential differences in terms and conditions between outsourced and directly employed staff within train operating companies. These matters are managed directly by the operators and employers themselves. In the future, workforce issues, including employment practices and contractual arrangements, will be a matter for Great British Railways. The Railways Bill does not cover matters relating to employment.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions her Department has had with the British Transport Police Authority regarding the adequacy of current levels of funding to meet recent trends in levels of violent crime and antisocial behaviour on the rail network.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The British Transport Police (BTP) play a vital role in keeping passengers and staff safe across the rail network. Their budget is set by the British Transport Police Authority (BTPA) following proposals from the Force and engagement with industry and railway operators. The Department for Transport has no statutory powers to intervene in these decisions.
The BTPA agreed a three-year budget settlement for BTP on 10 December which will see BTP’s budget increase by 6.2% for FY 2026/27, 5.6% for FY 2027/28 and 2.5% for FY 2028/29.
BTP’s budget will increase by £63m from £418.5m in 25/26 to £481.5m in 28/29. This will see over 180 additional officer roles created in highly visible Network Policing, as well as a new dedicated Violence and Intimidation Against Women and Girls capability with 36 further officers by the end of 2027/28.
The British Transport Police Authority and rail industry will now need to work through the full implications of this settlement.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she will publish a monitoring and evaluation framework on disability equality training in order to establish a baseline level of training to meet requirements under Section 36 of the Bus Services Act 2025.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are clear that high‑quality staff training is essential to providing bus services that are accessible for all passengers. That is why the Bus Services Act 2025 will mandate that both bus drivers and passenger-assisting staff undertake disability awareness and assistance training.
Section 36 of the Bus Services Act 2025 provides powers for the Secretary of State for Transport to require carriers and terminal managing bodies to record and publish training statistics in order to ensure that compliance can be monitored. Once commenced, we will expect all relevant operators and terminal managing bodies to comply with their reporting duties. We will engage with relevant stakeholders when developing such requirements, and will provide the industry with more information in due course.
The approach to evaluating the impact of the requirements under Section 36 will be considered as part of a wider monitoring and evaluation plan for the Bus Services Act 2025. In particular, and as stated in our Impact Assessment on the new measures on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), we intend to undertake process evaluation, for example evaluating the mechanisms for developing, delivering and reporting on the new disability training requirements, as part of the process evaluation for the Act’s wider training requirements on VAWG and anti-social behaviour.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has had discussions with Northern on ticket office staffing levels at Brinnington station.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Rail North Partnership, through which the Department and Transport for the North jointly manage Northern’s contract, has regular conversations about Northern services, including ticket office staffing and opening hours. Operators must comply with their obligations under the ticketing and settlement agreement between the Secretary of State and the operator.