Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions her Department has had with relevant stakeholders on improving step- free access at train stations in Hexham constituency.

Several stations in the Hexham constituency have a degree of step free access, but this often involves use of level crossings, steep ramps or long walking routes between platforms and this is far from ideal.

No stations in the constituency were put forward for accessibility upgrades during the latest round of Access for All funding nominations in 2022, meaning they were not considered by the previous Government.

Nominations for future rounds of Access for All funding will benefit from strong industry support and a proportion of third-party match funding, helping to ensure that investment delivers the greatest benefit to passengers. In the meantime, if any passengers are unable to use a particular station train operators are obliged to provide alternative accessible transport at no additional cost.