Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the merits of including wider social and wider economic considerations in the placing of orders for trains.

Rolling stock procurement, generally by Train Operating Companies, delivers significant economic and social benefit in the UK.

The recent announcement from Bombardier confirmed that they have secured an order from First MTR South Western Trains Limited for 750 new carriages. This is just the latest in a series of orders for Bombardier, following on from a recent large order from Abellio Greater Anglia. Since 2010 Bombardier have secured orders for over 2,800 new carriages, all of which have been and are being built in Derby where over 1600 people are employed. Furthermore, since Hitachi opened their manufacturing facility in Newton Aycliffe, over 700 jobs have been created including apprenticeships and graduate roles.

I am determined that our investment in the rail network continues to benefit the UK economy. Where appropriate we do exploit the scope we have to use our procurement to add value. For example, the recent Periodic Indicative Notice issued by HS2 Limited in relation to their forthcoming rolling stock procurement asks applicants to make clear how their proposal would create employment and develop capability.