Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2020 to Question 52118 on Bus Services: Coronavirus, whether he plans to make additional support available to private coach companies over summer 2020 to help them during the covid-19 outbreak.

On 8 August the Government announced a new £40 million funding package for school transport. Local authorities have discretion as to which mode offers the best value for money when procuring vehicles from September, however it is expected some will procure coach support where group sizes are large enough and this is logistically possible.

The Department for Transport has been in regular contact with representatives of the coach industry and we continue to work closely with the coach sector to understand what the ongoing risks and issues are, and how these could be addressed.