Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to policy paper entitled Great British Railways: Williams-Shapps plan for rail, published by his Department on 20 May 2021, whether the (a) Scottish and (b) Welsh Governments will be able to opt to run their rail passenger services in the public sector without the need to appoint an operator of last resort.

As set out in The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, devolved authorities in Scotland and Wales will continue to exercise their current powers and to be democratically accountable for them. This includes the ability for both governments to use their operator of last resort when appropriate.

The Scottish Government currently has the ability to contract services to a public sector bidder. The Department will work with Transport Scotland to enable Scotland to benefit from reforms on the wider network of Great Britain.

Public sector operators are currently prohibited from bidding for rail services in England & Wales. The government is committed to maintaining a major role for private business in supporting Britain’s railways.

As we move to implementing The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail we will take the opportunity to review existing legislation, including the rules on who is able to bid to provide passenger services in England and Wales to ensure it is still up to date and appropriate.