Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 4 March (HL5190), whether any official or minister of the Department for Transport, acting as part of the Manchester Task Force, formally agreed to the decisions that caused the direct train service between Sheffield and Manchester Airport to be withdrawn from service.

The Manchester Task Force was made up of Department for Transport (DfT) officials and representatives from Network Rail, train operators, Rail North Partnership (RNP), Transport for the North (TfN) and Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM). The task force also had the benefit from expert industry analysis and insight.

After gathering evidence, developing options and consulting with stakeholders and passengers, it identified a range of short and long-term actions to improve the performance of the railway in Manchester and thereby across the North and to support future growth in passengers.

The Task Force formulated a series of recommendations with input from DfT officials and officers from TfN, TfGM and RNP on which Ministers and Northern leaders made a decision on a new timetable.