Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to maintain (a) dialogue with open-access rail operators, (b) support for those operators and (c) protection of the jobs and conditions for staff employed by those operators as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

Department for Transport officials have maintained an extensive and regular dialogue with the management teams of Hull Trains and Grand Central, as well as their parent companies First Group and Arriva Trains, throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. For example In my capacity as Rail Minister, I met with representatives of First Group and with MPs from Yorkshire and the Humber on 1 July to discuss Hull Trains. The outcomes of those discussions included highlighting the significant, general support measures Government has made available across the economy.

Unlike franchised passenger services, Open Access Operators run services without a contractual relationship with Government and there is no obligation on the Secretary of State under Section 30 of the Railways Act to run those services. Open access operators were therefore not offered Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements (ERMAs). However, during the COVID-19 outbreak, Open Access Operators have drawn upon business support measures such as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Government also provided support for more bespoke measures, such as applications for extensions to track access contracts and deferrals of payments to the British Transport Police. We will continue to engage closely with Open Access Operators as they respond to the current situation, including highlighting the support available through the recently announced Job Support Scheme.