Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to combat further railway strikes across England.

The Government regrets that the trade unions have chosen to go ahead with the strikes which are impacting local businesses and the ability of the general public to get to school, hospital and work. Ministers encourage the unions to keep negotiating with the railway companies as the employers, to resolve this dispute. The Secretary of State outlined this clearly in his letter dated 16 June 2022 to the RMT General Secretary.

The Government and rail industry, including Network Rail, have worked together and continue to work together to ensure plans are in place to minimise disruption allowing for freight and passenger services to remain operational where possible. We are working with the Civil Contingencies Secretariat, the Government’s emergency planning team, to improve readiness across Government, including mitigations for impact on critical supply chains.

The Government is taking immediate steps to support train services. A Statutory Instrument was laid on 27 June 2022, under the terms of which employment businesses will be able supply workers to replace striking workers. This will also allow trained staff with transferrable skills to move around the industry to cover for striking staff to keep the railways running. We are also looking to speed up the introduction of minimum service level legislation to ensure that when strikes take place, they are mindful of the rights of others, affected by their strikes. This would mean a certain level of train service would need to be provided.