Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason York was not chosen as the location for the Great British Railways National Headquarters; and what weighting was given to the level of industrial skills among the local workforce in each candidate location in deciding the final location.

The decision was made by the Secretary of State for Transport based on the assessment of EOI applications against the six published selection criteria (alignment to levelling up principles; connected and easy to get to; opportunities for GBR; value for money; railway heritage and links to the network; and public support) and the result of the public vote. Derby’s application scored the highest in the critical assessment conducted by officials and attracted the most public votes.