Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 30 October (HL1684), whether they are considering centralised procurement for buses as part of their bus services improvement strategy.

There are currently no plans to centralise the procurement of bus service contracts. The government believes that local leaders are best placed to make decisions about funding and bus services in their communities.

As announced in the King’s Speech on 17 July 2024, the government will introduce a Buses Bill later this session. The Bill will increase powers available to local leaders to choose the model that works best in their area, whether that be franchising, high-quality partnerships with private operators or local authority ownership.