Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to transfer services operated by Govia Thameslink Railway to Transport for London.

As announced on 21 January, (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/transport-secretary-and-mayor-set-out-vision-for-rail-travel-across-london-and-the-south-east) we launched a prospectus with regard to the future of rail passenger services in London and the South East. The prospectus included a number of proposals, one of which is the transfer of responsibility for inner suburban services that operate mostly or wholly within Greater London to Transport for London when the current franchises are due for renewal. This could include inner suburban rail services currently operated by Govia Thameslink Railway.

These are still proposals and no decisions have been made nor plans drawn up. Our key focus now is to seek the views of stakeholders including Local Enterprise Partnerships, local authorities and other local bodies before plans are drawn up. The deadline for our consultation is 18 March.