Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will make an assessment of the provision of bus services serving Sabden in Lancashire; and what steps his Department is taking to protect bus services serving rural communities.

The bus market outside London is deregulated and decisions regarding service provision is primarily a commercial matter for bus operators. Decisions on subsidised bus services are a matter for individual English local authorities, in the light of their other spending priorities.

However, my Department provides around £40m of Bus Subsidy Operators Grant (BSOG) directly to English local authorities for local bus services, of which Lancashire receives almost £1.9 million. BSOG plays an especially important role in protecting services in rural areas by helping extend the bus network, providing residents with vital links to local services.