Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 April 2019 to Question 243471 on Abellio Group, what weighting his Department gives to competition considerations and the wider impact on competition across the rail and wider transport industry in the (a) development, (b) design and (c) award of rail franchises.

Issues relating to market competition arising from franchise awards are a matter for the winning bidder and the Competition and Markets Authority. As a result, the Department does not weight competition considerations in the development, design or award of rail franchises – the Department focuses on initiatives which will deliver real benefits to passengers, such as additional services, greater capacity and improvements in the customer experience.