Wera Hobhouse
Main Page: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)Department Debates - View all Wera Hobhouse's debates with the Department for Transport
(2 days, 6 hours ago)
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Simon Lightwood
As I have already mentioned, the Government have provided over £3 billion of funding across the country. Importantly, we are giving local leaders the power to take back control of their buses and decide how they operate, because they are closer to their communities and understand their needs better than someone here in Parliament.
Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)
The bus grant announced for the west was portrayed by the Government as a win, but in reality it was a real-terms cut. The three-year bus grant settlement announced by the Labour mayor last month is down 35% on the previous three-year allocation, and will result in real-terms cuts. How can the Government call that a win?
Simon Lightwood
The local authority bus grant allocations have been calculated using a fair and transparent approach that considers population size, levels of deprivation, the extent of existing bus services and, importantly, rurality. We are continuing to work to end the unfairness of the competitive “Hunger Games” style allocations of the previous Government.