Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with Great Western Rail on increasing the number of apprenticeships at their St Philip's Marsh depot.

Great Western Railway’s (GWR) Franchise Agreement includes targets to ensure opportunities for apprentices. Despite the pandemic, GWR recruited thirty apprentices in September 2020 which is a significant increase from the nineteen taken on in 2019. GWR plans to recruit the same number of apprentices again in 2021, with six of the thirty apprenticeships available in the engineering profession. Currently, GWR’s intention is that two apprentices will be placed in St Philip’s Marsh depot.