Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of advanced partnership arrangements for co-ordinating local bus services; what best practice he has identified; and if he will issue guidance to local partnerships on minimum standards.

96% of Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) in England which opted to deliver their local bus services through an Enhanced Partnership (EP) have now developed and published their EP schemes, based on their local Bus Service Improvement Plan.

EPs have facilitated closer working relationships between LTAs, operators and other local stakeholders, supported by over £1bn of BSIP delivery funding for the period 2022/23 to 2024/25.

The Government has published guidance on developing EPs which sets out the required standards for delivery of LTAs’ EP scheme commitments.