Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 7 July (HL Deb, col 93–4), whether they consider that local government is capable of assessing the financial and associated risks that go with entering into leasing deals concerning new rolling stock.
Some local authorities already have such expertise and have successfully procured rolling stock in the past. If an authority were looking to do so for the first time then there are a number of expert advisors it could look to, and the Department for Transport would be happy to engage with local authorities to discuss rolling stock leasing.