Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to make (1) regulatory, or (2) licensing, changes to improve the viability of community transport.

The Government believes that community transport operators provide vital services that encourage growth and reduce isolation by linking people with their communities, helping take them to shops, work, school, and medical appointments. The Department appreciates and supports the continued efforts to provide these vital services, especially during such unprecedented times.

The Government recognises this vital work and has provided £30 million of funding to improve current services and restore lost services affected by Covid-19.

We committed to pay existing Bus Service Operator Grant funding at pre-Covid level to services run under section 19 and section 22 permits even though not all services may run during the outbreak.

The Government is set to publish its National Bus Strategy. The Strategy will focus on the needs of passengers so that more people have access to bus services that meet their needs. The Government recognises the importance of good transport links for the sustainability and independence of communities, particularly in rural areas, and the Strategy will set out how national and local government, and the private sector will come together to support this.

The Government will continue to work closely with local authorities and the community transport sector when lockdown measures start to be lifted to understand what issues and risks are raised, and how these could be addressed.