Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department plans to provide Transport for London (TfL) with Bus Service Operators Grant funding when the general grant paid to TfL is removed from 2018.

The Department has no intention of doing this. In addition to the grants provided by the Department for Transport, TfL receives around £800 million a year of funding through the Business Rate Retention Scheme, in which the Greater London Authority passes TfL an agreed share of locally retained business rates. This funding stream has, since 2013, included an amount to reflect the changes to the payment of Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) that were introduced in that year. TfL will continue to receive this funding from 2018 onwards, alongside the investment grant provided by the Department.