Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an estimate of the potential level of subsidy that may be required for non-profitable bus services in the West of England Combined Authority area.

The Department for Transport has provided over £2 billion in emergency and recovery funding since March 2020 to support bus services and mitigate the impacts of the pandemic. The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) have received over £8 million of this funding. This support is set to continue until 30 June, and Department is actively working on plans to support the sector from July onwards and will make a further announcement on this in due course. The Department continues to discuss the scale of the challenge with representatives from local authorities and from bus operators.

The Government also provides WECA with £1.1 million annually through the Bus Service Operator Grant (BSOG), which is provided directly to Local Authorities to subsidise socially necessary bus services.