Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of rolling stock leasing costs.

Since privatisation rolling stock owning companies (ROSCOs) have invested billions of pounds of capital into improving the national train fleet, including procurement of over 14,000 new vehicles since 1997.

The investments made by the ROSCOs are reflected in lease costs by the operators which will have been tested in competition for new rolling stock. It passes risk from the Government to the private sector and also means that such capital does not need to be spent by the Government on rolling stock but can be invested elsewhere in infrastructure such as schools, hospitals and roads.