Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what account his Department took of the potential merits of including in Government contracts for the procurement of new rolling stock provisions to support UK engineering capability.

Public sector procurement of new rolling stock is undertaken in accordance with the Utilities Contracts Regulations (UCR) 2016 as railways fall within the definition of a Utility under these regulations. The UCR 2016 requires treatment of all economic operators equally and without discrimination and to act in a transparent and proportionate manner.

However, my department is exploring the scope within these Regulations for encouraging greater value to the UK economy from rolling stock procurement and wider investment in the rail sector. For example, the recently announced prior indicative notice for HS2 rolling stock procurement requires applicants to make clear how their proposals will add value to the UK economy in terms of skills, growth and employment opportunities.