Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of lowering the eligibility age for a free bus pass to 60.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those who have reached state pension age, currently aged sixty-six. ENCTS costs around £1 billion annually and any changes to the minimum statutory scheme, such as lowering the age of eligibility, would need to be carefully considered for their impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability.
Local authorities in England have the power to go beyond their statutory obligations and extend free bus travel to those not eligible for ENCTS, however, these additional concessions are not funded by central government but by local authorities from local resources, such as council tax. Since 2010/11 almost all of the travel concession authorities in England have offered some form of discretionary concession.
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the eligibility criteria are for projects to receive funding under the Local Transport Fund; and whether his Department has issued guidance to local authorities on how they should consult hon. Members throughout the process.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Department will very shortly publish advice for local transport authorities on the scope, process and accountability framework for the Local Transport Fund. It is my intention that locally elected representatives, working with their local MPs, decide how to spend this money to invest in the transport priorities that matter most to their area.
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the policy paper entitled Network North, published on 4 October 2023, whether the £150 million funding for improving bus services in (a) northern England and (b) the midlands (i) is ringfenced and (ii) can be used by local authorities to fund bus routes which were commercially viable before the covid-19 pandemic but are no longer.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The new £1 billion Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) funding for buses in the North and the Midlands, announced on 4 October, will continue and expand the improvements started by the £1.2 billion for BSIPs announced in 2022 and 2023. The first downpayment of £150 million has been indicatively allocated for 2024-25.
The new funding can be used in the same way as existing BSIP funding. LTAs may use the funding to deliver the interventions that they and local operators, where they have an Enhanced Partnership, expect will deliver the best outcomes for passengers. Further details on the terms of funding will follow in due course.
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the change in the amount of granite that will be mined as a result of the cancellation of the northern leg of HS2.
Answered by Huw Merriman
No granite would have been mined for the construction of the Phase 2 route from Birmingham to Manchester because granite does not occur naturally in the ground along the chosen route
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of when the full electrification of the Midland Mainline will be complete.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Integrated Rail Plan published in November 2021, set out the electrification of the Midland Mainline is planned to be completed around 2030 (subject to business case approvals).