Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the response by the Prime Minister on 5 September (HC Deb, col 157), whether they will contribute (1) funding, and (2) any other support towards extending the Borders rail route to Carlisle.

The UK Government is committed to working with the Scottish Government to drive forward the innovative, cross-border Borderlands Deal. We will be working with local partners to agree a deal which will see significant investment to transform the local economies within the Borderlands area.

We can confirm that the Borderlands have sought funding for feasibility work on the extension of the Borders Railway as part of their Borderlands Growth Deal submission to both governments on Friday 28 September.