Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will revise the Access for All criteria to include community need as a key factor in future funding rounds.

As with all taxpayer funded programmes Access for All needs to demonstrate value for money and to benefit the maximum number of passengers. In addition to station footfall, we carefully consider local factors such as the incidence of disability or proximity to a school or hospital, geographical location, industry priority and the availability of third party funding are all taken into account when selecting stations.