Oral Answers to Questions

Theresa Villiers Excerpts

Thursday 13th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Anna Firth (Southend West) (Con)]

6. What steps her Department is taking to help maintain the provision of bus services in all parts of the UK.

[Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet) (Con)]

8. What steps her Department is taking to help maintain the provision of bus services in all parts of the UK

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Lucy Frazer)]

The Government have provided nearly £2 billion of support since March 2020 through emergency and recovery grants to ensure that our bus sector survived throughout the pandemic. That is on top of the £1 billion of transformation funding that will make our bus services faster, more reliable and cheaper across much of England.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

We’ll miss the bus at this rate.

[Theresa Villiers]

Will the Minister acknowledge that there are sometimes problems with important transport links that run between destinations in different transport authority areas? Will she seek to address that, and will she talk to Hertfordshire County Council and Transport for London about restoring the 84 bus route between Chipping Barnet, Hadley and Potters Bar?

[Lucy Frazer]

My right hon. Friend has made an important point, because, of course, transport crosses corridors. As she will know, transport in London is devolved to the Mayor of London, and the Government have agreed with Transport for London a £1.2 billion multi-year settlement to secure the long-term future of London’s transport network, including bus services. Where bus-tender routes operate across transport authority boundaries, we expect the local transport authorities involved to work closely with bus operators.