Oral Answers to Questions

James Wild Excerpts

Thursday 11th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Simon Lightwood]

We are doing a number of pilots to demonstrate the potential effectiveness of bus franchising in rural areas. That is on top of ensuring that, for the first time, rurality is considered in bus funding.

[James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

Passengers on Great Northern services to and from King’s Lynn are fed up with repeated weekend closures. Given that the Secretary of State now oversees the track and those trains, does she agree that discounts should be offered when rail replacement buses are in operation?

[Heidi Alexander]

It is sometimes essential to do maintenance work over the weekends, and I appreciate that that can cause disruption to the travelling public. We try to keep that at a minimum and properly communicate with passengers in advance so they can plan their journeys accordingly. We would not be financially able to provide direct compensation at the current time, but I want to minimise the disruption that the hon. Gentleman’s constituents and the travelling public across the country experience on those occasions.