Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the value for money for the public purse of the cost of membership of the new Rail Partners organisation for train operating companies.

Most of Rail Partners’ funding is paid directly by industry to cover the organisation’s advocacy activities, none of which are funded via the public purse. A small amount of other industry activity has been transferred from Rail Delivery Group to Rail Partners - this will continue to be funded by train operators through their business plans, with no additional costs to the taxpayer as a result of this transfer.