Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the Demand Responsive Transport schemes; and whether his Department is taking steps to support the expansion of Demand Responsive Transport scheme trials such as Fox Connect and its extension to Bosworth.

Our £20m Rural Mobility Fund is supporting 17 innovative, demand-led minibus trials in rural and suburban areas. A monitoring and evaluation process is in place. We expect to publish interim findings in the first half of 2023, further findings in late 2023/early 2024, and the final findings in 2025 in the form of written reports. However, the exact timings and dissemination approach will be determined closer to the time.

There are no current plans for further bespoke DRT funding from the Department for Transport. Expansion of the ‘Fox Connect’ pilot scheme to include Bosworth would be a matter for Leicestershire County Council.