Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to provide sustainable funding to the British Transport Police.

The British Transport Police’s (BTP) budget is set independently by the British Transport Police Authority (BTPA) and the Department of Transport has no powers to intervene in this process. BTPA sets the BTP’s budget annually following proposals from the Force and views from industry. Set against a backdrop of wider public sector efficiencies and affordability by the rail industry it has agreed a budget increase for the financial year 2025/26 of 5.9%. This is comparable with the budget settlements of Home Office police forces.

The cost of policing the rail network in Great Britain is primarily covered through the funding agreements that the British Transport Police Authority holds with Network Rail, the rail operators and Transport for London.