Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential social benefits of reopening railways in the countryside.

As part of the levelling-up agenda,?the Government announced in January that it has pledged £500 million for the Restoring Your Railway fund to deliver its manifesto commitment and start reopening lines and stations, reconnecting smaller communities, regenerating local economies and improving access to jobs, homes and education.

We recognise that improved connectivity has social benefits that are hard to quantify and are therefore not explicitly reported in terms of social value.