Bus Services: Finance

(asked on 18th November 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of providing bespoke sectorial financial support for the coach hire industry.


Answered by
Rachel Maclean Portrait
Rachel Maclean
This question was answered on 23rd November 2020

We have announced several financial support measures available to UK businesses, including the coach industry. This includes measures announced on 24 September as part of the Winter Economy Plan, further support on 22 October for businesses in local lockdown areas, changes to the Job Support Scheme (JSS), and increased business grants. With the introduction of new national restrictions on 5 November, the COVID-19 Job Retention Scheme has also been extended until March 2021.

The full return to education supports a key revenue source for the industry and this has been augmented by the additional vehicles needed compared to previous years. The Department of Education has announced over £70 million to local transport authorities to provide additional dedicated school and college capacity in our transport system, helping children and young people to get to and from their schools and colleges whilst social distancing reduces the capacity of existing public transport

We continue to work closely with representatives from the coach sector including the Confederation of Passenger Transport, and with other government departments, to understand the ongoing risks and issues the sector faces and how these could be addressed.

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