Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential cost of (a) refunding or (b) extending the expiration date of railcards which have expired during the period of national covid-19 restrictions.

The Department recognises that railcard holders have been unable to use their railcards whilst travel restrictions have been in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and railcard holders have not been able to benefit to the fullest extent over recent months. Changing the refund policy or extending the validity for over 5.1 million railcard customers could come at an additional cost to taxpayers.

Passenger demand has fallen dramatically over the last year and my Department recognises that recovery is uncertain. We will continue to work closely with industry on initiatives to encourage passengers back to the railway when the time is right.