Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of c2c's transfer to public ownership on levels of senior management and specialist operational expertise; how many such staff have left since the transfer; and what steps her Department is taking to retain senior management and specialist operational expertise from c2c within the publicly owned rail network.

The Government is determined to retain the committed and talented staff who keep the railways running for passengers. As services are transferred into public ownership, including c2c’s services, staff employed by the privately-owned operator transfer to the public sector operator in accordance with Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) regulations. The potential impact of this is closely monitored throughout the transfer process by the Department and DFT Operator. The transfer of c2c’s services and staff to public sector operator, c2c Railway Limited, on 20 July 2025 was successful. c2c Railway Limited is responsible for recruitment and retention of its staff.

The Government’s reform of the railways, including the creation of Great British Railways (GBR), will continue to modernise the railway’s dedicated and skilled workforce. Through workforce reform and the simplification of industry processes, we aim to restore pride in the railway as an employer and empower every colleague to deliver better service and value. While details on exact roles are subject to further design work, GBR will continue to need colleagues from across the railway to continue the hard work that they do delivering for passengers. We will continue to engage with the industry on our plans for GBR.