Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on (a) tourism in Brighton and (b) travel via Gatwick Airport of levels of reliability of the Gatwick Express from London Victoria to Brighton.

I recognise the impact reliability has on commuters and leisure travellers. From a tourism perspective, we have seen a strong recovery on the Brighton route, and at Gatwick Airport. Performance in recent weeks has unfortunately been impacted by a number of incidents including flooding, infrastructure issues and trespass incidents, as well as industrial action. Improving performance is a key area of focus for Govia Thameslink Railway, Network Rail and the Department.