Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many directly awarded rail franchise agreements have been made by his Department in each year since 2004-05.

Direct Awards were not used prior to 2012. Since then, the following awards have been made:

Direct Awards have been used primarily to smooth the franchising schedule and allow us to deliver the best possible value and benefits to passengers including to help minimise disruption through periods of major improvements or change.

Direct Awards may be used, for example, when significant operational change makes mounting a competition challenging.

Each Direct Award delivers new passenger benefits and service improvements in exchange for the contract extension before the new long-term franchise is competed.