Written questions by Wrigley.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding levels for the British Transport Police in Devon.

The British Transport Police’s (BTP) budget is set by the British Transport Police Authority (BTPA) which is the executive non-departmental public body that oversees the Force and is their employer. BTPA sets the BTP’s budget annually following proposals from the Force and views from industry. Like other police forces the BTP have operational independence, so the BTP Chief Constable and Chief Officers use a variety of data to inform the deployment of officers and other resources, including demand for their presence in Devon. This capacity planning process ensures that BTP has the best information to ensure officers across the network, including in Devon, are in the right place at the right time.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 July 2025 to Question 66340 on the South West Rail Resilience Programme, whether her Department has received the assessments completed by Network Rail in 2024 on the outline design options for Phase 5 of the Programme; and what her Department’s criteria are for determining whether to proceed to the next stage of development.

Following receipt of the Outline Business Case for Phase 5 of the Resilience Programme from Network Rail in 2024, the Department is funding further cliff monitoring and drainage works on this section of route. The project will be kept under review at future funding events once these works are complete.

What consultations were undertaken with regional stakeholders prior to the decision not to fund Phase 5 of the South West Rail Resilience Programme.

The Spending Review considered and prioritised investment across all government spending, taking account of business cases and affordability, including economic and social impacts. The Government does not undertake formal consultation with regional stakeholders as part of Spending Reviews.

Under what circumstances Phase 5 of the South West Rail Resilience Programme would receive funding.

We are continuing to fund drainage and ground investigations that will provide Network Rail with detailed data on the stability of the cliffs above that section of route and will inform their consideration of a proposal for a long-term solution in due course. The project will be kept under active review as part of our longer-term pipeline of schemes, for further consideration when funding discussions are being held and we have a clear proposal for a long-term solution.

If she will publish her Department's analysis of phase 5 of the South West Rail Resilience Programme.

The Department does not publish analysis of rail enhancement projects whilst they remain in development.

Whether her Department has set a deadline for Network Rail to produce a revised proposal for Phase 5 of the South West Rail Resilience Programme.

We are continuing to fund drainage and ground investigations that will provide Network Rail with detailed data on the stability of the cliffs above that section of route and will inform their consideration of a proposal for a long-term solution in due course. The project will be kept under active review as part of our longer-term pipeline of schemes, for further consideration when funding discussions are being held and we have a clear proposal for a long-term solution.

Whether alternative (a) funding models and (b) timelines are under consideration for delivering the final stage of the South West Rail Resilience Programme.

We are continuing to fund drainage and ground investigations that will provide Network Rail with detailed data on the stability of the cliffs above that section of route and will inform their consideration of a proposal for a long-term solution in due course. The project will be kept under active review as part of our longer-term pipeline of schemes, for further consideration when funding discussions are being held and we have a clear proposal for a long-term solution.

If she will allocate funding to Phase 5 of the South West Rail Resilience Programme in the next spending review.

We have set out our plans for this Spending Review period and will consider the next Spending Review at the appropriate time.

What steps her Department plans to take to improve resilience along the stretch between Parsons Tunnel and Teignmouth pending the completion of Phase 5.

We are continuing to fund drainage and ground investigations that will provide Network Rail with detailed data on the stability of the cliffs above that section of route and will inform their consideration of a proposal for a long-term solution in due course. The project will be kept under active review as part of our longer-term pipeline of schemes, for further consideration when funding discussions are being held and we have a clear proposal for a long-term solution.

Whether her Department has taken steps with Network Rail to develop a proposal for the Teignmouth to Parsons Tunnel section of the South West Rail Resilience Programme since the Spending Review 2025.

We are continuing to fund drainage and ground investigations that will provide Network Rail with detailed data on the stability of the cliffs above that section of route and will inform their consideration of a proposal for a long-term solution in due course. The project will be kept under active review as part of our longer-term pipeline of schemes, for further consideration when funding discussions are being held and we have a clear proposal for a long-term solution.

Whether her Department commissioned an independent assessment of the viability of proposed engineering solutions for Phase 5 of the South West Rail Resilience Programme (a) during and (b) since the Spending Review 2025.

We are continuing to fund drainage and ground investigations that will provide Network Rail with detailed data on the stability of the cliffs above that section of route and will inform their consideration of a proposal for a long-term solution in due course. The project will be kept under active review as part of our longer-term pipeline of schemes, for further consideration when funding discussions are being held and we have a clear proposal for a long-term solution.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of delaying Phase 5 of the South West Rail Resilience Programme on (a) the local economy and (b) transport resilience.

The Spending Review considered and prioritised investment across all government spending, taking account of business cases and affordability, including economic and social impacts. The Government does not undertake formal consultation with regional stakeholders as part of Spending Reviews.

If she will take steps to help tackle pavement parking in Devon.

Local authorities can already make use of existing powers to restrict and enforce pavement parking. The Department for Transport has also been carefully considering the responses to the previous government’s pavement parking consultation, including working through the policy options and the appropriate means of delivering them. As soon as the Government has decided its preferred way forward, we will announce the next steps and publish our formal response.

Pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2025 to Question 61272 on South West Main Line: Dawlish, which rail enhancement projects will be funded by the Spending Review 2025.

The Spending Review settlement represents an increase in funding on what has been spent on rail enhancements in recent years. This demonstrates the Government’s commitment to investment in rail and in schemes that support economic growth. The Secretary of State will be setting out more details of the specific road and rail investments funded by the Spending Review in the coming weeks.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of ending cross-country train contracts early.

Officials monitor all operators against the train service performance benchmarks in their contracts. CrossCountry performance in 2024 was not good enough so enforcement action was taken. Cancellations have reduced since January 2025 but remain high, particularly at weekends. The operator knows it has much work to do to reduce cancellations and improve services. If CrossCountry does not meet performance obligations, the Department will not hesitate to take appropriate action in line with their contract.

What discussions she has had with Crosscountry trains on the performance of its services.

The Rail Minister met with the interim CrossCountry Managing Directors on 8 August 2024 and 28 March 2025 and the new Managing Director on 25 June 2025. It has been made clear that CrossCountry need to deliver material improvements to their train services and for passengers. The operator is required to submit plans setting out how they will reduce the number of cancellations for which it is responsible.

What information her Department holds on the proportion of Crosscountry rail services that were overcrowded in each of the last 12 months.

The Department receives regular information on how busy CrossCountry train services are, but not in the format requested. However, since the May timetable change, average loadings across the CrossCountry network have been broadly similar to those seen in 2019 and 2024.The Department has funded 12 additional Voyager trains (60 carriages) for the CrossCountry network. The last of these entered service from May enabling the operator to offer thousands more seats each day.

Pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2025 to Question 59834 on South West Main Line: Dawlish, if she will set out a timescale for when a decision on whether Stage Five of the rail resilience programme for Dawlish will receive funding will be reached.

We are currently working to determine which rail enhancement projects will be taken forward following the conclusion of the Spending Review on 11 June. More information will be made public shortly.

Whether she plans to provide funding for the final phase of the South West Rail Resilience Programme.

Following the Chancellor’s Spending Review statement on 11 June we are now working to confirm our portfolio of rail enhancements, which will be announced shortly.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2025 on Question 21418 on South West Mainline: Dawlish, whether she plans to provide funding for phase 5 of the Dawlish south west rail resilience fund.

Following the Chancellors’s statement on 11 June we are now working to confirm our wider portfolio of rail enhancements, which will be published as part of the government’s commitment to set out its overall infrastructure pipeline.