Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much the Government spent on the Bus Service Operators Grant in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15; and how much it intends to spend in 2015-16.

The figures for Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) in England for those three years (rounded to the nearest £m) are as follows:

· 2013-14 - £298 million;

· 2014-15 - £251 million (estimated);

· 2015-16 - £240 million (projected).

Since 1 October 2013, the BSOG which was previously paid to bus operators for running bus services under franchise to Transport for London (TfL) in London has been incorporated into the general grant paid to TfL and the Greater London Authority. The figures given above exclude some £47 million paid to TfL/GLA in this way for 2013/14 and some £93 million paid to them for each of 2014/15 and 2015/16.

So, the figures given for the three years above are made up of (i) BSOG paid to bus companies and community transport operators for running services outside London, (ii) BSOG devolved to local transport authorities in the five areas which have been designated as Better Bus Areas, and (iii) BSOG for tendered (non-commercially viable) services outside London for which the funding has been devolved to individual local authorities since 1 January 2014.