Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to report by the East of England APPG and East of England Local Government Association entitled Levelling Up The East of England: 2023-2030, published in December 2022, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of future rail revenue investment in the East of England.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Ministers are rightly taking the proper time to review the rail enhancements portfolio and ensure that the schemes within it reflect the priorities of the government. Ministers are reviewing the RNEP update which will be published shortly.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish his Department's spending per head of population broken down by each region in England for each of the last five years.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Figures on public sector expenditure at national and regional levels are published as part of HM Treasury’s Country and Regional Analysis (CRA) statistics (Available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/country-and-regional-analysis-2022/country-and-regional-analysis-november-2022). Applying regional population estimates to these figures allows for a view of per capita spend by region.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Levelling Up in the East of England report from the East of England APPG and East of England Local Government Association, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing longer-term funding mechanisms for local authorities to support bus services in that region.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Department for Transport has provided nearly £2 billion in emergency and recovery funding since March 2020 to bus operators and local transport authorities (LTAs) in England outside London to support services and mitigate the impacts of the pandemic. The Department for Transport is actively considering its support for the bus sector from April 2023.
In addition to this recovery funding, we provide £42 million annually through the Bus Service Operator Grant (BSOG) directly to LTAs to subsidise socially necessary bus services. We also provide over £200 million directly to bus operators every year through BSOG to help keep fares down and maintain a larger network than would otherwise be possible.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of disparities in bus funding between neighbouring authorities on the East of England region's ability to create an integrated cross-boundary bus network.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Government provides over £200 million directly to bus operators every year through the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) to keep fares down and assist with maintaining an extensive network. A further £42 million in BSOG funding is provided directly to local transport authorities (LTAs) every year to subsidise socially necessary bus services.
We were unable to offer dedicated Bus Service Improvement Pan (BSIP) funding to all LTAs. However, capacity funding has been provided to those LTAs who were not awarded funding, to support development and delivery of their BSIPs and Enhanced Partnerships. The Department’s BSIP Guidance states that we expect LTAs to collaborate on cross-boundary issues.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Department plans to give detailed feedback to local authorities which were not successful in securing Bus Service Improvement Plan Funding (BSIP); and when the next tranche of BSIP funding will be available.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Department has provided written feedback to local authorities which were unsuccessful in securing BSIP Funding and has also offered one-to-one surgeries with these authorities to discuss this further.
Following the Autumn Statement, it is clear we all need to work to live within our budgets, and the £1.2billion made available at the 2021 Spending Review is now fully allocated. When future bus funding is announced, the updated Bus Service Improvement Plans may be assessed to ensure they are relevant and that the plans are working as intended.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many stations in the South-East of England have been given access to pay-as-you-go fares since December 2019.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Pay-As-You-Go has been extended to sixteen stations and options for further stations in the South-East are under consideration.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many passenger service contracts were in place with rail operators as of 14 November 2022.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
As of November 2022 no Passenger Service Contracts (as defined in the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail) were in place.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his timeline is for completing the (a) order and (b) delivery of 4,000 new buses under the Bus Back Better scheme.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Across the country this Parliament, we have committed to funding 4,000 zero emission buses (ZEBs) this Parliament and the Spending Reviews in 2020 and 2021 provided over £525 million dedicated funding for ZEBs, through a number of funding schemes:
Funding from other funding schemes, such as the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS), can also be used by local areas to support the introduction of ZEBs. In addition, the rate at which the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) can be claimed for ZEBs was increased from 6p to 22p per km in April 2022. This supports operators to introduce ZEBs by reducing the overall cost of ownership.
Table 1 below presents the estimated number of zero emission buses that have been funded in England since February 2020. Where available, information has been provided on the status of the buses and the name of the bus manufacturer has been included. The numbers in Table 1 are not official statistics: they are based on the latest information available and are therefore subject to change.
Funding scheme | Funding awarded to | No. Buses | Status | Bus manufacturer |
ZEBRA | Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority | 30 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
ZEBRA | Kent County Council | 33 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
ZEBRA | Leicester City Council | 96 | 6 buses on the road 68 buses ordered 22 buses funded | 6 buses on the road supplied by Pelican & Coach UK and manufactured by Yutong 68 buses ordered from Wrightbus Bus manufacturer for 22 buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
ZEBRA | Milton Keynes City Council | 56 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
ZEBRA | Warrington Borough Council | 120 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
ZEBRA | South Yorkshire Combined Authority | 27 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
ZEBRA | Norfolk County Council | 15 | Ordered | Wrightbus |
ZEBRA | North Yorkshire County Council | 39 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
ZEBRA | Portsmouth City Council & Hampshire County Council | 34 | Ordered | Wrightbus |
ZEBRA | Blackpool Council | 115 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
ZEBRA | Nottingham City Council | 78 | 12 ordered. 66 funded. | 12 buses supplied by Pelican & Coach UK and manufactured by Yutong. Bus manufacturer for 66 buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
ZEBRA | Greater Manchester Combined Authority | 170 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
ZEBRA | Hertfordshire County Council | 27 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
ZEBRA | West Midlands Combined Authority | 124 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
ZEBRA | City of York Council | 44 | Ordered | Wrightbus |
ZEBRA | West Yorkshire Combined Authority | 111 | 32 buses ordered 79 buses funded. | 32 buses ordered from Wrightbus Bus manufacturer for 79 buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
ZEBRA | Oxfordshire County Council | 159 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
All Electric Bus Town or City Scheme | West Midlands Combined Authority | Up to 300 | 130 buses ordered | 130 buses ordered from Alexander Dennis Ltd |
Transforming Cities Fund | Leicester City Council | 18 | 18 buses on the road | Supplied by Pelican & Coach UK and manufactured by Yutong |
Transforming Cities Fund | Liverpool City Region Combined Authority | 20 | Ordered | 20 buses ordered from Alexander Dennis Ltd |
Transforming Cities Fund | West Yorkshire Combined Authority | 8 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement | Greater Manchester Combined Authority | 50 | Ordered | Alexander Dennis Ltd |
Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme | Brighton & Hove Buses | 20 | Ordered | Wrightbus |
Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme | First West Yorkshire | 9 | On the road | Supplied by Pelican & Coach UK and manufactured by Yutong |
Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme | Go North East | 9 | On the road | Supplied by Pelican & Coach UK and manufactured by Yutong |
Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme | Nottinghamshire County Council | 4 | On the road | Alexander Dennis Ltd |
Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme | Stagecoach Manchester | 32 | On the road | Alexander Dennis Ltd |
Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme | The Big Lemon | 3 | On the road | Supplied by Harris Group and manufactured by Higer |
Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme | West Yorkshire Combined Authority | 5 | On the road | Alexander Dennis Ltd |
Local transport authority funding | Surrey County Council | 34 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Local transport authority funding | Hertfordshire County Council | 1 | On the road | Switch Mobility |
Local transport authority funding | Transport for London | 600 |
|
|
Total |
| 2,391 |
|
|
Table 2 below presents information on the estimated number of zero emission buses that have been funded in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland since February 2020. The numbers in Table 2 are not official statistics: they are based on the latest information available and are therefore subject to change.
Funding Scheme | Number of Buses |
UK Government funding for Wales through the Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme | 68 |
Welsh Government funding | 16 |
Scottish Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme | 272 |
Scottish Zero Emission Bus challenge fund | 276 |
Northern Ireland Executive Funding FY 2020-21 | 100 |
Northern Ireland Executive Funding FY 2021-22 | 38 |
Northern Ireland Executive Funding FY 2022-23 | 100 |
Total | 870 |
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will publish a consultation on the introduction of a cleaner vehicle subsidy scheme for people who live outside the London Ultra Low Emission Zone but are required to travel into it for work.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Transport in London is devolved, and it is the Mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL) who are responsible for implementing measures and developing any associated vehicle subsidy scheme to improve air quality in the capital and reduce harmful emissions.
The Ultra-Low Emission Zone has been shown to be an effective way of delivering immediate air quality improvements in the capital. On 4 March 2022, the Mayor announced plans to expand the ULEZ London-wide in 2023 to make London a healthier and less congested city. Following consultation the Mayor will consider the views of a wide range of stakeholders before making any decision on road charging.
While the Department for Transport (DfT) works closely with TfL on a range of issues, the operation of the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) and Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is entirely a matter for them. Questions or concerns about any of the measures that have been taken to improve London’s air quality should be directed to TfL.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in the context of rail fares being set by her Department, if she will take steps to ensure that the cost of off-peak single fares for Thameslink rail journeys (a) starting and (b) terminating at St Albans City station aligns with the lower contactless fares administered by Transport for London.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Contactless ticketing is convenient for many passengers and provides the best value for journeys between St Albans and London.
As part of our Plan for Rail, we are working with industry to consider how we can provide passengers with a better customer experience of the railway, including improvements to rail fares, ticketing and retailing.