Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on small and medium sized businesses of Network Rail’s decision to sell its commercial property business.

Network Rail is one of Britain’s largest providers of commercial business space for small to medium sized businesses. Arches are increasingly popular for a range of uses and the majority of tenants are small independent businesses.

Once the business is sold, all current leases will transfer to the new buyer and all lease arrangements and protections will be unchanged.