Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of disparities in bus funding between neighbouring authorities on the East of England region's ability to create an integrated cross-boundary bus network.

The Government provides over £200 million directly to bus operators every year through the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) to keep fares down and assist with maintaining an extensive network. A further £42 million in BSOG funding is provided directly to local transport authorities (LTAs) every year to subsidise socially necessary bus services.

We were unable to offer dedicated Bus Service Improvement Pan (BSIP) funding to all LTAs. However, capacity funding has been provided to those LTAs who were not awarded funding, to support development and delivery of their BSIPs and Enhanced Partnerships. The Department’s BSIP Guidance states that we expect LTAs to collaborate on cross-boundary issues.