Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to provide support for cross-channel rail passenger services during the COVID-19 pandemic; and if so, whether that support will be conditional on surplus rolling stock being retained for future use through the Channel Tunnel.

Ministers and officials, working with other Government Departments, have engaged very regularly with international rail operators since March 2020 to discuss the financial impacts of Covid-19 on their businesses. This has included supporting companies to access Government support schemes, where eligible and appropriate, as part of the unprecedented package of financial support for businesses that has been made available by the Chancellor.

Officials will continue to engage very closely with international rail operators, monitoring closely the ongoing impacts of Covid-19 on their businesses and discussing the commercial financing options available to them.