Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much his Department spent on first class train travel for (a) ministers and (b) civil servants in (i) 2020, (i) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

The Department is not able to separate data for ministers and civil servants. Therefore, this data covers all Department and Departmental Arm’s Length Bodies colleagues.

The Department spent the following on first class rail travel:

• 2020 – £34,070.90
• 2021 – £13,344.25
• 2022 – £29,562.90.

First class travel can be booked in exceptional circumstances if one or more of the following applies:

• where disability or reasons mean that suitable facilities in standard class would not otherwise be secured
• where there are good grounds for security concerns. For example, significant risk of unwarranted attention from the press or the public
• when travelling with a Minister who is travelling first class, to carry out Government business in relative privacy
• where the overall cost of the first class ticket is less than the overall cheapest ticket for standard class. If applicable, evidence of the relevant price comparisons, such as a screen shot from the booking page, must be kept for audit purposes.