I will be working with the industry over the next year to identify stations for inclusion in the Access for All programme in Control Period 5. To ensure value for money, stations will be selected based on annual footfall, weighted by the incidence of disability in the area and taking into account the views of the train operators and local authorities. The availability of any match funding for a project will also be taken into account.

Whilst I cannot guarantee that Mossley railway station will be included in the programme it will be considered along with other currently inaccessible stations across the country.

Compliance with the Equality Act 2010 is the responsibility of individual train operating companies. However, the Act does not necessarily require changes to physical infrastructure, only that operators make reasonable adjustments to allow disabled passengers to

access their services. Legally this can be achieved by providing a free accessible taxi to the next station that the passenger can use, but that is not an ideal arrangement and the Department is keen, through its Access for All programme, to make as many stations fully accessible as possible.

The Department for Transport has not assessed the cost of providing every station in the country with step free access.

In developing the strategic case for Tram Train, the Department for Transport and Network Rail considered a number of sites for the pilot and locations on the network where the lessons of the pilot might sensibly be rolled out, including possible applications in Greater Manchester.

I understand that Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is currently considering possible Tram Train, Metrolink and other rapid transit developments on a number of corridors in their area. The pilot will share best practice with TfGM but it is for them to develop their own priorities.

Funding for major local transport schemes is being devolved to Local Transport Bodies. The level of funding that they receive will be determined in the spending review period.

On 23 January 2013 the Department provided all areas with indicative funding figures to use as planning assumptions when developing their investment priorities. In doing so it asked all areas to make contingency plans for the funding being up to one third higher or lower than the indicative figure. We provided an indicative figure of £65.4 million for Greater Manchester and £37.3 million for Sheffield City Region/South Yorkshire for the period from 2015 to 2019. Full details are available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/69185/devolution-lmts-funding.pdf

This Government has made no specific assessment of the contribution improved transport links between Manchester and Sheffield could make to economic growth. However, we recognise the importance of the links between Sheffield and Manchester, and that is why we have agreed to provide Network Rail with up to £130 million to fund line speed and capacity improvements on the Hope Valley rail line between Manchester and Sheffield, along with improvements further north between Manchester and Bradford.

We have had a large response to this consultation and are currently analysing the replies from this public consultation, and I will announce the outcome and way forward later this year.