Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the (a) value for money for the public purse of rolling stock procured since 2015 and (b) trajectory of leasing costs over the 30 to 35-year asset life of those trains.

Rolling stock is procured by the private sector to meet the needs of train operators as part of their bids in respect of the former franchise process and value-for-money will have been taken into account overall.

The costs of leasing rolling stock over its life is a matter for the owners and will take into account potential factors such as market competition, maintenance, refurbishment and other such costs. All factors will be considered when awarding contracts to make sure that the value-for-money is achieved for the taxpayer.