Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any minimum allocation guarantees have been provided to regional authorities; whether combined authorities or mayors will have any formal consent or veto role in decisions relating to the permanent reassignment of trains; and what assessment she has made of the potential economic impact on the West Midlands should rolling stock procured for that region be reassigned elsewhere.

There are no minimum allocation guarantees in place. Mayors currently have varying roles in rail matters affecting their areas, and the detail of future arrangements has not yet been decided.

No assessment of the potential economic impact of moving trains away from the West Midlands has been made because the Department for Transport, and the Department’s Rail Operator (DFTO Ltd), currently have no plans to reallocate rolling stock in use by West Midlands Trains and, as part of the recent transfer into public ownership, all leases have been extended until at least 2028.