Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what long-term plans they have to support the viability of the bus industry.

Buses will continue to have a significant role to play in connecting people, supporting the economy and decarbonising the transport network. The Government will account for all of this in the long-term National Bus Strategy. We are currently considering our approach to this.

The Government will also be working closely with stakeholders in 2020 to produce the Transport Decarbonisation Plan, which will set out how we intend to tackle transport emissions, and get all road vehicles, including buses to transition to zero-emission.

In terms of financial support, the Prime Minister announced in February £5 billion of funding for buses and cycling and committed to getting 4,000 new zero-emission buses on the roads. The details of the programmes, including how funding will be distributed, will be announced in due course. The Government recognises the importance of this funding, not just for decarbonisation, but for supporting the UK bus industry.