Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Department for Transport

Oral Answers to Questions

Ruth Edwards Excerpts
Thursday 30th January 2020

(4 years, 2 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Chris Heaton-Harris Portrait The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Chris Heaton-Harris)
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I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. There is a huge amount of new rolling stock coming on to the Northern network, which will take off all the Pacers by the end of May. However, I would be delighted to meet him to talk about those issues, because there is a job of work to be done.

Ruth Edwards Portrait Ruth Edwards (Rushcliffe) (Con)
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T8. A number of my constituents in rural areas of Rushcliffe have difficulty getting buses to towns such as Melton and Loughborough. I am pleased that the Government announced a £20 million fund to trial on-demand bus services in rural areas last year. Can my hon. Friend update me on the timetable for making that funding available and how communities can apply?

Nusrat Ghani Portrait Ms Ghani
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Absolutely. We are investing £220 million to ensure that we have much better bus services in our urban and rural areas. Like my hon. Friend, I represent a rural constituency. We have set aside £20 million for demand-responsive buses. I believe that an announcement will be made next month, which is just a few days away. In the meantime, I suggest that she look at organisations such as Arriva, which is providing fantastic demand-responsive buses, so that her community knows what sort of pitch to put in.