Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2026 to Question 123167 on British Transport Police: Finance, whether the cost of the British Transport Police has been included in the Government’s cost estimates for rail nationalisation; and what estimate her Department has made of the annual cost of funding the British Transport Police under a fully nationalised rail system.

The British Transport Police’s budget is set by the British Transport Police Authority, who are the executive non-departmental public body that oversees the Force and is their employer. They have already agreed a budget settlement with the Force up to 2028/29, increasing by 15% from £418.5m in 2025/26 to £481.5m in 2028/29.

We anticipate that the level of funding following this will similarly balance the needs of the industry and the force against public sector affordability.