Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many officials in the Department for Transport were working as part of the team dealing with rail franchising in 2014–15 and 2015–16.

The information is not held in the format requested. Staff working in franchising sit in Passenger Services, with other staff carrying out much wider roles.

The number of people (permanent and temporary) working in Passenger Services as at 31st March 2015 was 221.

The number as of 1st December 2015 is 235.

Our forecast requirements for future years are as follows:

2016/17 246.25 Full-Time Equivalents

2017/18 246.25 Full-Time Equivalents

2018/19 234.25 Full-Time Equivalents