Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ian Lavery and Simon Lightwood

Thursday 10th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Ian Lavery (Blyth and Ashington) (Lab)]

19. If she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to ensure the provision of ringfenced funding for local authorities to deliver publicly-controlled bus services.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Simon Lightwood)]

As part of our plan to deliver better bus services, the Government have committed to reforming bus funding by giving local authorities the tools they need to ensure services reflect the needs of the communities they serve. We want to give local leaders more control and flexibility over bus funding, and allow them to plan ahead to deliver their local transport priorities. We are considering how best to support buses in the longer term as part of the spending review.

[Ian Lavery]

The Government’s better buses Bill is a fantastic example of what a Labour Government can achieve and do. For the Bill to be successful, if funding is made available, we must ensure bus drivers are paid adequately and local residents have an input into the design, regularity and quality of routes. Will the Minister confirm that that will form part of the Bill and that this Labour Government will end the Tories’ 14-year ideological war on municipal transport?

[Simon Lightwood]

I agree with my hon. Friend. I reassure him that we are committed to delivering better bus services and that we will always put passengers first. Our forthcoming bus Bill is a crucial part of our reforms. When it is introduced later in this Session, it will increase powers available to local leaders, because those local leaders are best placed to make decisions on their bus networks, and remove the Conservatives’ ideological ban on municipal bus companies.