Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that responses to the consultation on ticket office closures are given appropriate weight in line with the Equality Act 2010 and the Transport Act 2000.

Following the end of the consultations, the independent passenger bodies now play a vital role in assessing and shaping proposals. Train operators have entered into discussions with the passenger bodies to take account of feedback from the consultation responses. We expect train operators to work collaboratively with the passenger bodies in the coming weeks, to listen to the concerns raised and to refine their proposals accordingly.

The Department has no role in the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement (TSA) process unless objections cannot be resolved between the train operator and passenger body and are referred to the Secretary of State for a decision. If called upon to make a determination on a specific ticket office proposal, the Secretary of State will follow the TSA process alongside the relevant guidance and will take into account the equality implications of the proposal in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) under the Equality Act 2010.