To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the level of annual payments (a) to Virgin West Coast from the Government and (b) from Virgin West Coast to the Government in respect of the West Coast franchise in 2013-14 and in each year of that extended contract.

The contract to continue Virgin Rail's tenure on West Coast began on 9 December 2012. This included an annual budget setting process that agreed a contracted premium of £92 million for the period 2013-14.

Information on the annual payments between the Government and Virgin Rail is published annually in arrears by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) on their data portal. This is available on the ORR's website at

http://dataportal.orr.gov.uk

Figures available on the ORR website include up to 2011-12; the figures for 2012-13 are still being finalised before release.