What steps his Department is taking to improve rail connections in the north of England.

We announced nearly £600 million of investment in the rail network across the north in July alone. This is part of the £48 billion being spent on rail between 2019 and 2024.

Leyland has some exciting plans for development with the Government’s towns fund, and an important part of that is the reopening of Midge Hall station, but at the moment we have the nonsense of trains stopping there but passengers not being allowed to get on or off. Will my hon. Friend give every consideration to that as part of the restoring your railway fund?

That was an excellent Lancastrian question, from an excellent Member of Parliament. For the second round of applications to the restoring your railway ideas fund 51 proposals have been submitted to the expert panel. The recommendations have now been made and we are considering them for funding. We will be announcing the outcome of the second round in the coming weeks.