Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the rail to refuge initiative.

The ‘Rail to Refuge’ initiative is a scheme that complements our wider safeguarding activity to protect vulnerable children and adults at risk.

Since the start of the lock down on 23 March 2020, 40 bookings for travel have been made using the system. This has resulted in more than 50 adults and children in a vulnerable position being helped. Critically these are individuals who would not have been able to travel to a place of safety without the assistance of the scheme.