Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the resources of British Transport Police to maintain a permanent policing presence at major rail interchange stations.

The British Transport Police (BTP) is operationally independent from Government. It is therefore for the BTP Chief Constable to determine the optimal number of officers required at major rail interchange stations, using the budget allocated by the British Transport Police Authority (BTPA). The BTPA recently agreed a three-year budget settlement for BTP which will see BTP’s budget increase from £418.5m in 2025/26 to £481.5m in 2028/29.