Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 2 May (HL7047), what evidence there is that local authorities have used the Bus Operators' Grant to fund supported bus services, which they had previously supported from their own funds.

The Bus Services Operators grant (BSOG) devolved to Local Authorities is ring-fenced and may only be used for the purposes of supporting bus services. At year-end the Chief Executive and Chief Internal Auditor of each recipient authority must return a declaration to the Department for Transport that the grant conditions have been complied with. It is up to individual local authorities to choose how they spend un-ringfenced funding, however local authorities are required to report annually on their spend.