Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the role of the National Bus Strategy in the creation of stronger communities.

My Department has been engaging and coordinating with the Department for Transport on the implementation and delivery of the National Bus Strategy as an integral part of helping to build stronger local communities.

The strategy will focus on the needs of passengers and encourage more people to use the bus network. It will set out how national and local government, as well as the private sector, will come together to meet the needs of local communities. Local authorities have a vital role to play in ensuring local bus services meet local communities’ specific needs, with buses that can get closer to where people live, at a time convenient for them. Both Departments have also been working to help guide delivery to support better connected communities.