Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tony Vaughan and Simon Lightwood

Thursday 27th March 2025 Commons Chamber

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

Improving access to local bus services throughout England is a priority for this Government. Our reforms through the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill, combined with the £23 million we have allocated to Kent county council in 2025-26, will empower local leaders to deliver better bus services for passengers across Kent.

[Tony Vaughan]

Conservative-run Kent county council recently confirmed that £9 million of the £10 million grant provided by central Government to improve bus services will go solely to propping up existing services. That is despite the decline in access to bus services over the past 14 years in Kent, as key routes have been abolished or restricted. My constituents in Broadmead have no weekend bus service into town, for example. Does the Minister agree that that is a shocking indictment of the services that the Tories have presided over and that change in May at the local elections is how we improve bus services for our constituents?

[Simon Lightwood]

I could not agree more with my hon. and learned Friend. I am absolutely clear that too often local bus services are not delivering for passengers right across the country. That is why our ambitious reforms to bus services, including through the buses Bill, will give local leaders the powers they desperately need to reform services to best meet the needs of passengers, including in Kent. I am proud that our reform to bus funding allocations has meant additional funds for buses across the country, unlike under the Conservatives, who presided over 4.7 million fewer bus miles in Kent alone between 2010 and 2023.