Community Transport Services: Minibus Drivers

Manuela Perteghella Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Freddie van Mierlo]

The hon. Gentleman mentions D1 licences and a wider range of issues that face community transport organisations, and I am sure that the Minister will have heard his points.

[Manuela Perteghella (Stratford-on-Avon) (LD)]

Recently I hosted a roundtable of community transport organisations that was chaired by VASA, which operates in my constituency and is supported by Stratford-on-Avon district council. They are a lifeline for residents, often elderly residents, who otherwise struggle to reach medical appointments and other services. Does my hon. Friend agree that community transport should be recognised as a core part of our transport network and as essential infrastructure, especially in rural areas, and should be embedded in future national and local transport policies?

[Freddie van Mierlo]

I thank my hon. Friend for her very sensible intervention. My own local authority in Oxfordshire also heavily supports community transport organisations. I am sure that her proposals were heard by the Minister.

Over the next five years, more than 3 million D1 licences are likely to be lost as drivers reach 70—equivalent to one in five of all D1 licences. We are therefore facing a ticking time bomb as qualified drivers age out at the top and are not replenished enough from below.

Without decisive action from the Government, there will be serious concerns for the future viability of community transport.