Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the nationalisation of Northern Rail on punctuality, reliability, and frequency of service; and whether any improvements have been identified that can be used to improve wider nationalisation of the rail industry.

My Department has regular discussions with Northern Trains, as with all publicly owned operators, to ensure it remains focused on reducing train service cancellations and providing a reliable, predictable train service for customers. As part of this, we share success between operators so each one can assess how it could build on others’ good practice to improve its services.