Oral Answers to Questions

Neil Hudson Excerpts

Thursday 11th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Simon Lightwood]

We recognise how important affordable bus fares are, which is why we have extended the £3 bus fare cap in England until March 2027. We are evaluating the impact of the scheme, including on passengers and value for money, to inform decisions on the future bus fare policy. Alongside the cap, this August we are giving every child free bus travel, building on the Kids Go Free scheme pioneered by Mayor Kim McGuinness in the north-east.

[Dr Neil Hudson (Epping Forest) (Con)]

14. What steps her Department is taking to improve transport services in Epping Forest constituency.

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

London’s Labour mayor is using part of the £2.2 billion settlement provided by the Government in the spending review to make Central line upgrades and refurbishments that will benefit the hon. Member’s constituents. Essex county council and London boroughs will also receive over £500 million to maintain and improve local roads by 2030. In addition, Essex will receive over £377 million of funding over the next three years to support its transport priorities.

[Dr Hudson]

My constituents face many transport issues. We Central line users endure delays, overcrowding and graffiti. Meanwhile, residents in Waltham Abbey have no access to the tube at all and have been left with a limited bus network since Transport for London withdrew services. Young people are unable to get to the next stage in their education, and residents are struggling to get into London. I pay tribute to the campaign to bring back red buses to Waltham Abbey. Please can the Government press the Mayor of London, TfL and Essex county council to work together to give the people of Waltham Abbey and beyond the transport services they desperately need?

[Simon Lightwood]

The Government are investing over £2 billion in London’s transport network, which is the largest Government investment in London’s existing transport network for over a decade. That means that London can invest £500 million in the Central line improvement programme to upgrade signalling and refurbish those 30-year-old trains. Some refurbished trains are already in operation, and the programme will complete by 2029. The hon. Member also referenced the issue with graffiti. I know that the mayor is concerned about that and has deployed a dedicated team of over 120 people to remove graffiti as quickly as possible; over 3,000 tags were removed from Central line trains in April.