Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which franchised train operator has paid the highest level of corporation tax in the financial year 2014-15 to date.

The Department does not hold the actual payment data for each franchised operator. However the statutory accounts for each franchised operator can be used to provide a proxy for this payment with reference to the “Tax on profit on ordinary activities” in each Income statement and making the assumption that the tax is paid in that year.

On this basis, so far we do not have a complete picture for the financial year 2014-15, as we have received only one set of statutory accounts for a financial year ending in this period.