Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support she is providing to mayoral combined authorities for bus franchising schemes.

The Government have committed to giving mayoral combined authorities long term devolved funding settlements.

We recognise that success in delivering franchising will be dependent on the delivery capacity and capability of local authorities. The Department is working with mayoral combined authorities who are in the process of franchising their bus networks to understand how the process could be improved and to provide a tailored programme of support that reflects their needs and priorities.