Asked by Baroness Randerson To ask Her Majesty’s Government
what action they have taken to improve rural bus services. The
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport
(Baroness Sugg) (Con) My Lords, buses are a vital part of our
public transport system and the Government are committed to
supporting them. They can be...Request free trial
Asked by
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To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken
to improve rural bus services.
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Transport (Baroness Sugg) (Con)
My Lords, buses are a vital part of our public transport
system and the Government are committed to supporting them.
They can be particularly important in rural areas, where
many people depend on their local bus service, but no
single solution will work for all rural areas. The
Government are providing funding and powers, most recently
through the Bus Services Act 2017, so that local
authorities can work in partnership with local bus
operators to identify and support services that best fit
the needs of individual communities.
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(LD)
My Lords, the rural bus network has been cut by 40% in the
last 10 years, with further cuts planned, for example in
Norfolk and Kent. Councils blame a £200 million shortfall
when the Government reimburses them through the
concessionary fares scheme. Many older people, as the
Minister said, rely on this in isolated communities. Will
the Minister agree to review funding for concessionary
fares and to look at funding for community transport to
replace bus services where they are no longer provided?
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My Lords, last year the Government renewed our commitment
to supporting older and disabled people. We recognise the
importance of accessible and affordable transport and are
therefore entirely committed to the concessionary fares.
Through the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local
Government, local authorities are provided with the funding
to meet their statutory obligations over concessionary
travel. Bus operators are reimbursed on the basis that they
are no worse off for carrying concessionary pass holders.
We issue guidance to help local authorities administer that
concession, consistent with that principle.
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(CB)
My Lords, does the Minister agree that the statistics given
by the noble Baroness opposite show that the Government’s
efforts simply have not produced results? Does she accept
that it is not just about the disabled and whoever, but
also about social and financial exclusion? We do everything
within urban areas—we have bus lanes and walking places for
shopping, and we have Uber—but rural areas are becoming the
vulnerable community through lack of government support for
all services.
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My Lords, of course bus services are incredibly important
in rural areas; we absolutely want to ensure that those
communities are as well connected as they can be. I
recognise the extra pressure placed on local authorities in
more isolated areas. Where there is not enough demand for a
bus route to be commercially viable in its own right, all
local authorities have the power to subsidise bus services.
Since 2014, we have devolved the bus service operators
grant so we can pay up to £40 million directly to local
authorities to help them support the services that their
communities need.
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(Lab)
My Lords, does the Minister accept that the cutbacks of
nearly 50% in local government finance from central
government since 2010 have had some impact here? Has she
any figures about the cutbacks in rural services in, for
example, Conservative-controlled Surrey, which has already
announced impending bankruptcy? Or even in
Conservative-controlled Northamptonshire, which is in
similar difficulties? Do the Government not accept any
responsibility for these matters, or are they “devolved”,
to quote the noble Lord opposite?
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My Lords I fully appreciate the pressure that local
authorities are under in making difficult choices as a
result of ongoing financial pressures. I commend them for
providing the services they do, but we think local
authorities are best placed to provide supported bus
services, reflecting local needs within available budgets.
As I said, we have devolved the £40 million of the bus
service operators grant, but there are obviously extra
costs in providing services for rural areas, so we are
giving an extra £81 million to the most sparsely populated
areas in the rural services delivery grant.
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(CB)
My Lords, does the Minister recognise that rural bus
services, which in our part of Herefordshire are wholly
inadequate, can be the lifeblood of isolated, small rural
communities? Does she further recognise that sustaining
communities of that sort can avoid spending—possibly
considerable spending—in other areas of public expenditure?
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My Lords, I certainly agree with the noble Lord that buses
can be a lifeline in rural areas. The Bus Services Act, which
I mentioned earlier, provides extra powers for local
authorities to work with bus operators to improve the bus
services in rural areas. We are also encouraging local
authorities to deliver better rural services through efforts
such as our Total Transport pilot schemes, which have
explored ways of commissioning publicly funded transport so
that services and funding are able to go further.
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(Con)
My Lords, does my noble friend agree that one issue that has
a perverse result is concessionary fares in rural bus areas?
People travel out of towns into rural areas and the
concessionary fares camouflage much of the subsidy that goes
to rural bus fares. We support concessionary fares but, when
they were set up, the local councils were not given the
funding to run the level of service that has come into
effect.
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My Lords, as I said, we fully support the concessionary fare
programme and we want to continue the £1 billion a year we
spend through local authorities to guarantee that service. It
certainly supports bus services and that is something we want
to carry on with.
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Lord (Lab)
My Lords, I declare a former interest as the former chairman
of London Buses. I agree with the noble Baroness that buses
are a vital part of our community. They carry the poor, the
old, the young and the sick. Labour would introduce
regulations to designate and protect routes of critical
community value, including those that serve local schools,
hospitals and isolated settlements in rural areas. Why do the
Government not copy those policies now?
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My Lords, decisions on providing bus services are devolved to
local authorities and, as I have said, we think that is
right. We support local authorities with the bus service
operators grant, and will absolutely continue to do so. As
well as the devolution of the £40 million, we are reviewing
the rest of that money to see whether we can spend it better
and allow local authorities to use it better. However, local
authorities are best placed to understand what their
communities need and deliver their services. They are also
democratically accountable to the people they serve.
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