Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to Philip Alston’s report, Public Transport, Private Profit: The Human Cost of Privatizing Buses in the United Kingdom, published in July 2021, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of that report's conclusions on the effect of the deregulation of the bus network on the (a) effectiveness of the transport system and (b) climate change objectives.

The National Bus Strategy sets out how we will reform the way in which bus services across England outside London are provided. Instead of services being planned on a purely commercial basis with little or no engagement from local transport authorities, we want to see the important skillsets and contributions of local transport authorities and bus operators brought together in either Enhanced Partnership or franchising arrangements, to deliver ambitious local visions for better buses. This is backed by our £3 billion of investment. This approach can deliver the bus services that passengers deserve and support our decarbonisation goals by making the bus an attractive alternative to the car for far more people.