Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps he has taken to increase job security across the rail network.

The railways employ around 100,000 people directly. During the pandemic, the Government provided unprecedented support meaning no staff at DfT contracted train operators and Network Rail were furloughed. The Government earmarked £16 billion of emergency funding to assist in balancing the books - equivalent to £600 for every family in the UK £160,000 for every rail worker.

Change is vital to put the rail industry back on a sustainable footing and to create a rail system fit for the future. That’s why we’re overhauling the industry with Great British Railways and building new hi-tech trains and high-speed lines to create a railway for the 21st Century, all while creating thousands of jobs.