Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what financial support his Department offers local authorities which wish to develop business cases and proposals for submission through the Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline process.

For schemes to be able to enter the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline (RNEP) promoters will need to present a business case of the appropriate level (Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC), Outline Business Case (OBC) or Full Business Case (FBC)- with an SOBC as a minimum. Due to the challenging fiscal environment Government funding is not available to assist with funding these business cases.