Written questions by Fenton-Glynn.

When she plans to publish the initial assessment of options and timings for Bradford-Manchester rail improvements as part of Northern Powerhouse Rail, and whether this assessment will include specific proposals for the Calder Valley line.

Government is part way through a long term investment plan for the Calder Valley line that provides more capacity, improved reliability and better connections to opportunities in Manchester, Bradford and Leeds. From May 27, the government expect to see longer trains and performance improvements resulting from the simplification of operations around Manchester Victoria. Northern will start to introduce new trains from the early 2030s. As announced in January phase three of the Northern Powerhouse Rail programme will deliver improved connections between Manchester and Bradford. To support upcoming decisions on a new Bradford station, we will assess initial options for Bradford–Manchester connectivity as part of the station business case. This assessment will include consideration of the Calder Valley line.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of upgrading the Calder Valley line on economic growth.

Government is part way through a long term investment plan for the Calder Valley line that provides more capacity, improved reliability and better connections to opportunities in Manchester, Bradford and Leeds. From May 27, the government expect to see longer trains and performance improvements resulting from the simplification of operations around Manchester Victoria. Northern will start to introduce new trains from the early 2030s. As announced in January phase three of the Northern Powerhouse Rail programme will deliver improved connections between Manchester and Bradford. To support upcoming decisions on a new Bradford station, we will assess initial options for Bradford–Manchester connectivity as part of the station business case. This assessment will include consideration of the Calder Valley line.

What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of levels of capacity and reliability on the Calder Valley line; and what plans she has to address performance issues.

Government is part way through a long term investment plan for the Calder Valley line that provides more capacity, improved reliability and better connections to opportunities in Manchester, Bradford and Leeds. From May 27, the government expect to see longer trains and performance improvements resulting from the simplification of operations around Manchester Victoria. Northern will start to introduce new trains from the early 2030s. As announced in January phase three of the Northern Powerhouse Rail programme will deliver improved connections between Manchester and Bradford. To support upcoming decisions on a new Bradford station, we will assess initial options for Bradford–Manchester connectivity as part of the station business case. This assessment will include consideration of the Calder Valley line.

How many social media accounts her Department operates; and how much her Department spent on social media (a) subscriptions and (b) advertisements on each social media platform in each of the last three years.

The Government communicates across a range of media channels in order to reach its target audience effectively. Channels are selected based on whether they will reach the intended audience on a specific issue to have the most impact. Social media is an essential part of government communications and is used to inform the public directly about matters which may affect their lives or interests. DfT operates 23 separate social media accounts, and in the last three years it has spent £201.60 on social media subscriptions. The table below shows how much DfT have spent advertising on social media platforms for each of the last 3 calendar years for public behaviour change campaigns predominantly on road safety and accessibility. YearMETA PLATFORMS IRELAND LIMITEDPINTEREST EUROPE LTDREDDIT INCSNAP GROUP LIMITEDTWITTER UK LTDTotal2021£661,232£46,481£15,927£149,184£195,613£1,068,4372022£485,431£4,642£54,707£311,344£200,741£1,056,8652023£311,333£2,101£101,775£215,300£41,448£671,9572024£276,223 £158,849£207,426£0£642,498Total£1,734,219£53,224£331,258£883,254£437,802£3,439,757