Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to meet the £652 million funding gap, identified by analysis from the Local Government Association published on 9 February, required to cover the total costs of the National Concessionary Travel Scheme for bus passengers.

Funding for the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) is provided to local authorities through the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s (MHCLG’s) revenue support grant. This funding is not ringfenced, which enables local authorities to make spending decisions that more closely match local needs and circumstances. It is misleading to talk about the grant in isolation when local authorities have access to council tax, business rates and other local income to deliver their local services.