Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to supporting care leavers aged 18 to 25 with their access to public transport, including reviewing whether to extend the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme to those individuals.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

This government recognises the importance of supporting care leavers, and is keeping public transport affordable having announced a new £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London throughout the entirety of 2025.

Local authorities in England can and have implemented a wide range of their own local fares initiatives, including some discount schemes for care leavers, utilising alternative funding, such as Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) funding. In the Autumn Budget, the government confirmed £640 million in new BSIP funding for local authorities in England outside London in 2025/26.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, what plans they have to review the Compulsory Basic Training programme for motorcycles to improve road safety, given that in 2021, motorcycles comprised less than one per cent of traffic but accounted for 20 per cent of people killed or seriously injured on UK roads.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Government takes road safety very seriously and reducing those killed and injured on our roads is a key priority. The Department for Transport (DfT) and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) are currently considering policy options in this area.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to introduce a new road safety plan; and if so, what is their timescale for doing so.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

This Government takes road safety seriously, and we are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. My Department is developing our road safety strategy and will set out more details in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to address grid capacity in order to support the electrification of bus depots and garages; and if so, what is their timescale for doing so.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Government works closely with local areas and bus operators to ensure issues and concerns with bus electrification are fully understood, and best practice is shared.

More widely, the Government is committed to expanding the electricity network to support the Clean Energy Superpower mission and is working closely with Ofgem and industry to mobilise the required investment at the scale and pace required. Price controls set by Ofgem ensure network companies are investing in infrastructure build, as well as smart management of network assets, to ensure the network has sufficient capacity.

Under the current distribution (low voltage) price control covering 2023-2028, Ofgem has allowed £22.2bn for upfront network investment, including £3.1bn for network upgrades which will help the grid to be ready for changing infrastructure needs.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has also announced that the newly formed National Energy System Operator has been asked to produce the first strategic spatial plan for energy, and it is also looking at reforming the connection process. Both those actions will help bus operators.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following their consultation Ending the sale of new, non-zero emission buses, coaches and minibuses, which ran from 26 March to 21 May 2022, what is the end sale date for diesel buses.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

In spring 2022, the Department consulted on setting an end of sales date for new non-zero emission buses. At the same time calls for evidence on the decarbonisation of coaches and minibuses were conducted. The Government is considering options and will provide an update in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to carry out a further round of zero emission bus funding.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Zero Emission Bus budget for this financial year has already been allocated against ZEBRA 2 projects. The Department’s spending envelope for Financial Year 2025/2026 was announced at the Budget. Allocations for individual funding lines will be agreed as part of the regular departmental business planning process and will be set out in due course.