Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answers to Questions 193235 and 194771 on Railways: Tickets, on which date the meeting where Ministers met stakeholders to discuss closing the majority of ticket offices in England took place; who attended that meeting; and whether the proposal to close the majority of ticket offices was first raised by (a) Ministers or (b) stakeholders.

I held roundtables with industry and accessibility stakeholders and passenger representative groups on 6 June 2023 and 18 July 2023 to discuss potential reforms. Over 20 different organisations were represented at the different roundtables including accessibility groups.

Through the industry-led Ticketing and Settlement Agreement process Train Operating Companies have put forward proposals to change the opening hours or closure of station ticket offices and consulted on these. This consultation closed on 1 September and the independent passenger bodies, Transport Focus and London TravelWatch, are currently assessing the proposals and consultation responses.

We expect train operators to work collaboratively with the passenger bodies in the coming weeks, to listen to the concerns raised and to refine their proposals accordingly.