Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing a Neighbourhood Transport Grant to provide ringfenced, long-term funding for community transport organisations, allocated through strategic or local transport authorities, to support the reopening of bus routes.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has made no assessment of establishing such a grant. However, the Government is investing in bus services long-term and has confirmed over £3 billion from 2026/27 to support local leaders and bus operators to improve bus services for millions of passengers over the remainder of the spending review period.
This includes multi-year allocations for local authorities under the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) totalling nearly £700 million per year, ending the short-term approach to bus funding and giving councils the certainty they need to plan ahead to improve services for local communities.
Hampshire County Council will be allocated £45 million under the LABG from 2026/27 to 2028/29, in addition to the £14.1 million they are already receiving this year. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services can be used in whichever way they wish to deliver better services for passengers, including expanding services and improving reliability or investing in community transport schemes.
Furthermore, community transport operators are eligible to claim the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG), the Department makes available up to £3.8 million each year through the BSOG to community transport operators. The BSOG is a grant paid to operators of eligible commercial bus services and community transport organisations to help them recover some of their operating costs.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of transport accessibility on attendance at antenatal appointments and the take-up of routine vaccinations for babies; and what steps he is taking to reduce access barriers for families in underserved areas.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises that there are transport accessibility issues for families in underserved areas. That is why we are delivering on the vision for neighbourhood health set out in the 10-Year Health Plan to bring care closer to babies, children, and young people.
NHS England is already taking steps to improve access barriers for families in underserved areas. This includes:
- hyperlocal projects in areas of high deprivation and low uptake to improve access to routine childhood vaccinations for underserved communities, offering walk-in appointments and extended evening and weekend hours;
- Equity and Equality Guidance which asks local services to establish community hubs in the areas with the greatest maternal and perinatal health needs, including areas where transport infrastructure impacts uptake of services; and
- rolling out the enhanced Midwifery Continuity of Carer model to provide targeted support for women most likely to experience poor outcomes.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to update the Cash Access Policy Statement issued on 18 August 2023, in the context of the role of Banking Hubs and the provision of in-person services linked to current accounts.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Banking is changing, with many customers benefitting from the convenience and flexibility of managing their finances remotely. However, Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking to communities and is committed to supporting sufficient access for customers.
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 provides the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) with responsibility and powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of cash withdrawal and deposit facilities, including free facilities for personal current accounts. It also requires HMT to produce a Cash Access Policy Statement concerning cash deposit and withdrawal services, which the FCA must have regard to when designing its rules for access to cash. In line with its legal obligation to do so, HMT keeps the Cash Access policy statement under review.
Under the FCA’s rules, an assessment is triggered upon the closure or material alteration of a cash access facility or upon a community request. When carrying out a cash access assessment, LINK, the operator of the UK’s largest ATM network and designated operator of cash access co-ordination arrangements, takes into consideration a wide range of criteria, including those unique to each location. These include whether a bank branch remains, existing cash access points, population size and vulnerability, the number of shops in the area, and the practicality of travelling to nearby facilities, including public transport links, travel times, and local demographics. Where LINK determines that a community requires additional cash services, Cash Access UK (CAUK) will provide the appropriate shared solution, such as a deposit service or a banking hub, for cash users in that community.
In addition to traditional bank branches, the financial services industry is committed to rolling out 350 banking hubs across the UK by the end of this Parliament. Over 240 hubs have been announced so far, and more than 200 are already open. Government is working closely with industry on this commitment, including through regular ministerial engagement.
Banking hubs offer everyday counter services provided by Post Office staff, enabling people and businesses to withdraw and deposit cash, deposit cheques, pay bills and make balance enquiries. They also contain dedicated rooms where customers can see community bankers from their own bank to carry out wider banking services.
The Government continues to work with the banking industry to improve the breadth and availability of services available in banking hubs and I recently chaired a roundtable with banks, CAUK and UK Finance to discuss services provided in banking hubs. CAUK member banks have already made significant progress in bringing the services offered by community bankers in hubs closer to those available in a traditional bank branch. For example, over the past year, all original CAUK member banks have ensured that customers can use hub services even if they do not have access to a personal digital device, such as a mobile phone or tablet. A full list of services provided by each bank for both personal and business customers is publicly available to view via CAUK’s website.
The Government keeps the effectiveness of these arrangements under review through regular engagement with industry, LINK and the FCA to ensure they meet the needs of local communities.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of services provided within Banking Hubs; and what steps she is taking to develop minimum standards for those Hubs.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Banking is changing, with many customers benefitting from the convenience and flexibility of managing their finances remotely. However, Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking to communities and is committed to supporting sufficient access for customers.
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 provides the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) with responsibility and powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of cash withdrawal and deposit facilities, including free facilities for personal current accounts. It also requires HMT to produce a Cash Access Policy Statement concerning cash deposit and withdrawal services, which the FCA must have regard to when designing its rules for access to cash. In line with its legal obligation to do so, HMT keeps the Cash Access policy statement under review.
Under the FCA’s rules, an assessment is triggered upon the closure or material alteration of a cash access facility or upon a community request. When carrying out a cash access assessment, LINK, the operator of the UK’s largest ATM network and designated operator of cash access co-ordination arrangements, takes into consideration a wide range of criteria, including those unique to each location. These include whether a bank branch remains, existing cash access points, population size and vulnerability, the number of shops in the area, and the practicality of travelling to nearby facilities, including public transport links, travel times, and local demographics. Where LINK determines that a community requires additional cash services, Cash Access UK (CAUK) will provide the appropriate shared solution, such as a deposit service or a banking hub, for cash users in that community.
In addition to traditional bank branches, the financial services industry is committed to rolling out 350 banking hubs across the UK by the end of this Parliament. Over 240 hubs have been announced so far, and more than 200 are already open. Government is working closely with industry on this commitment, including through regular ministerial engagement.
Banking hubs offer everyday counter services provided by Post Office staff, enabling people and businesses to withdraw and deposit cash, deposit cheques, pay bills and make balance enquiries. They also contain dedicated rooms where customers can see community bankers from their own bank to carry out wider banking services.
The Government continues to work with the banking industry to improve the breadth and availability of services available in banking hubs and I recently chaired a roundtable with banks, CAUK and UK Finance to discuss services provided in banking hubs. CAUK member banks have already made significant progress in bringing the services offered by community bankers in hubs closer to those available in a traditional bank branch. For example, over the past year, all original CAUK member banks have ensured that customers can use hub services even if they do not have access to a personal digital device, such as a mobile phone or tablet. A full list of services provided by each bank for both personal and business customers is publicly available to view via CAUK’s website.
The Government keeps the effectiveness of these arrangements under review through regular engagement with industry, LINK and the FCA to ensure they meet the needs of local communities.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the criteria applied by LINK when recommending Banking Hub locations on towns where a single provider remains; and whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of those criteria for community need, business cash usage and consumer choice.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Banking is changing, with many customers benefitting from the convenience and flexibility of managing their finances remotely. However, Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking to communities and is committed to supporting sufficient access for customers.
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 provides the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) with responsibility and powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of cash withdrawal and deposit facilities, including free facilities for personal current accounts. It also requires HMT to produce a Cash Access Policy Statement concerning cash deposit and withdrawal services, which the FCA must have regard to when designing its rules for access to cash. In line with its legal obligation to do so, HMT keeps the Cash Access policy statement under review.
Under the FCA’s rules, an assessment is triggered upon the closure or material alteration of a cash access facility or upon a community request. When carrying out a cash access assessment, LINK, the operator of the UK’s largest ATM network and designated operator of cash access co-ordination arrangements, takes into consideration a wide range of criteria, including those unique to each location. These include whether a bank branch remains, existing cash access points, population size and vulnerability, the number of shops in the area, and the practicality of travelling to nearby facilities, including public transport links, travel times, and local demographics. Where LINK determines that a community requires additional cash services, Cash Access UK (CAUK) will provide the appropriate shared solution, such as a deposit service or a banking hub, for cash users in that community.
In addition to traditional bank branches, the financial services industry is committed to rolling out 350 banking hubs across the UK by the end of this Parliament. Over 240 hubs have been announced so far, and more than 200 are already open. Government is working closely with industry on this commitment, including through regular ministerial engagement.
Banking hubs offer everyday counter services provided by Post Office staff, enabling people and businesses to withdraw and deposit cash, deposit cheques, pay bills and make balance enquiries. They also contain dedicated rooms where customers can see community bankers from their own bank to carry out wider banking services.
The Government continues to work with the banking industry to improve the breadth and availability of services available in banking hubs and I recently chaired a roundtable with banks, CAUK and UK Finance to discuss services provided in banking hubs. CAUK member banks have already made significant progress in bringing the services offered by community bankers in hubs closer to those available in a traditional bank branch. For example, over the past year, all original CAUK member banks have ensured that customers can use hub services even if they do not have access to a personal digital device, such as a mobile phone or tablet. A full list of services provided by each bank for both personal and business customers is publicly available to view via CAUK’s website.
The Government keeps the effectiveness of these arrangements under review through regular engagement with industry, LINK and the FCA to ensure they meet the needs of local communities.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she is taking steps to change the licensing of taxis in the context of the Casey Review.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government response to Baroness Casey’s report committed to legislate to tackle the inconsistent standards of taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) licensing. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill seeks a power for the Secretary of State to set national minimum standards for taxi and PHV licensing. The power was approved by the House of Commons, and the Bill is now being considered by the House of Lords.
If passed, national minimum standards would enable government to set robust standards for licensing right across England, to keep vulnerable children and, indeed, all members of the public safe, wherever they live or travel. This is an important first step and the Department continues to consider further options for reform. The Government is consulting on making all local transport authorities responsible for taxi and PHV licensing. Administering licensing across larger areas would further increase consistency in licensing and enable better resourced authorities to make better use of their enforcement powers.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the investigation by London Centric into Lime Bike accidents.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Road safety is a top priority for this Government. That is why the licensing regime for shared cycle schemes which we are bringing forward through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill will include minimum standard conditions to ensure a national baseline of safety.
We will consult in depth before implementing licensing, with safety being a core consideration. Licence conditions could include reporting and maintenance requirements.
Ministers and officials engage regularly with shared cycle operators, local authorities, and other groups to understand the challenges and opportunities these schemes can present.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to monitor the maintenance of Lime Bikes by rental companies.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Road safety is a top priority for this Government. That is why the licensing regime for shared cycle schemes which we are bringing forward through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill will include minimum standard conditions to ensure a national baseline of safety.
We will consult in depth before implementing licensing, with safety being a core consideration. Licence conditions could include reporting and maintenance requirements.
Ministers and officials engage regularly with shared cycle operators, local authorities, and other groups to understand the challenges and opportunities these schemes can present.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of safe evening transport for women in (a) rural areas and (b) Langley Vale.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department for Transport is committed to making the transport network safer for everyone, including women and girls, whenever and wherever they are travelling. As part of the Government’s aims to reduce Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) by half over the next decade, the Department has an ambitious, evidence-based programme of work to help tackle VAWG on transport. This includes measures in the Bus Services Act 2025 such as training on how to recognise and respond to incidents of criminal and antisocial behaviour (ASB).
We know that women and girls are more likely than men to avoid travelling alone when it’s dark. The Department’s ‘Protected characteristics and public transport perceptions and safety’ research, published in 2023, also found that women were more concerned than men about the risk of violence regardless of the time of day. People living in rural areas were more likely to say they felt safe, albeit by a relatively small margin.
We are continuing to build our evidence base to better understand the prevalence of VAWG and ASB across the transport network so we can better target interventions. In the meantime, the Department will continue to work across government and with partners, including the British Transport Police (BTP), the transport industry and local authorities to ensure that everyone feels and is safe when travelling.
In relation to taxis and private hire vehicles (PHVs), the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill is seeking a power to set in regulations national minimum standards for taxi and PHV licensing. The power was approved by the House of Commons at Report Stage, and the Bill is now being considered by the House of Lords. If passed, this would enable government to set robust standards for licensing right across England, to keep women and girls and, indeed, all members of the public safe, wherever they live or travel.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help ensure the provision of safe transport for women and girls in rural areas in Surrey.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department for Transport is committed to ensuring everyone, including women and girls, is safe on the transport network, including those in rural areas. As part of the Government’s aims to reduce Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) by half over the next decade, the Department has an ambitious, evidence-based programme of work to help tackle VAWG on transport. This includes measures in the Bus Services Act 2025 such as training on how to recognise and respond to incidents of criminal and anti-social behaviour (ASB).
The Department is working across government and with partners, including the British Transport Police (BTP), the transport industry and local authorities to ensure that everyone feels safe and is safe when travelling.
BTP work closely with Govia Thameslink Railway and South Western Railway to ensure a joined-up approach to safe transport for women and girls in Surrey. They work with Train Operating Companies (TOCs) to promote their discreet 61016 text service, encouraging anyone feeling unsafe or vulnerable on the rail network to contact them directly and discreetly. Every report received builds a bigger picture which informs patrols and policing presence, and every day across the network, officers are present in uniform and plain clothes, looking out for offenders and acting as a visible deterrent.
BTP also works with community organisations, private sector organisations and industry partners to raise awareness of VAWG, encourage reporting and receive feedback to improve our response.