Rural Bus Services

Neil Parish Excerpts

Tuesday 29th April 2014 Commons Chamber

[Richard Drax]

Again, I agree with my hon. Friend. I have some experiences in my constituency—I am wandering slightly off the point—where, as I understand it, school children cannot get to school because the school bus will not pick them up, as they are not quite in the catchment area, yet if the bus travelled another mile or so, they would be. Again, this goes back to—[Interruption.] My hon. Friend the Member for Hexham has disappeared.

[Neil Parish (Tiverton and Honiton) (Con)]

rose—

[Richard Drax]

I give way to my hon. Friend.

[Richard Drax]

I will give way to my hon. Friend next.

[Neil Parish]

I thank my hon. Friend for securing this debate on rural bus services. Does he agree that in some areas where there are very few people, a commercial operation, however much subsidy we give it, is not always likely to work? What we need is some support, even if just for fuel or whatever, for those who can create a transport system, whether charitable or not. At the moment, fuel is very expensive and we do not seem to have any means to help those people to help themselves. We need that help, too.

[Richard Drax]

I am going to be very naughty now. Perhaps my hon. Friend was not present at the beginning of my speech—

[Neil Parish]

I was, I was!

[Richard Drax]

He was, he was—in which case, I apologise profoundly. I mentioned the bus service operators grant, which is, in effect, a fuel rebate, and which is being gradually reduced. One bus company managing director has told me that if the Government continue to cut the grant, bus services will be even more seriously affected.