Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason the disabled persons bus pass is only valid after 9:30am on weekdays.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age, between 9.30am and 11.00pm on weekdays and all day at weekends and on Bank Holidays. The duration of the concessionary period was set out in the Transport Act 2000. The ENCTS costs around £795 million annually in reimbursement to operators. Any changes to the statutory obligations, such as extending the times of use, would therefore need to be carefully considered for its impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability.
However, local authorities in England have the power to go beyond their statutory obligations under the ENCTS and offer additional discretionary concessions, such as extending the travel times for disabled passholders.
The Government has confirmed over £3 billion from 2026/27 to support local leaders and bus operators across England to improve bus services over the spending review period. This includes multi-year allocations for local authorities under the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) totalling nearly £700 million per year. Liverpool City Region Combined Authority will be allocated £64.2 million under the LABG from 2026/27 to 2028/29, in addition to the £22.5 million they are already receiving this financial year. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services can be used in whichever way they wish to deliver better services for passengers, which could include extending discretionary concessions locally.
Asked by: Anneliese Midgley (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will publish changes in bus funding allocations by local transport authority for 2025–26 and 2026–27.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On 5 December, the Government confirmed investment of over £3 billion from 2026/27 for the rest of the spending review period to support local leaders and bus operators across the country to improve bus services for millions of passengers. This includes multi-year allocations for local authorities under the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) totalling nearly £700 million per year, ending the short-term approach to bus funding and giving councils the certainty they need to plan ahead.
The formula used to calculate LABG allocations in 2025/26 was the Government’s first step towards ending competitive allocations and it considered population size, levels of deprivation and the extent of existing bus services. To prevent sharp decreases of funding, and as part of the Government’s effort to rebalance inequalities created by competitive allocations, losses were capped at 25%.
We revised this formula for 2026/27 onwards to give a greater weighting to levels of deprivation and population, and to cap any losses at 5% in our continued effort to end the inequalities of competitive allocations once and for all. The formula now also includes consideration of the rurality of local areas in response to a recommendation from the Transport Select Committee.
Further details on the funding formula and local authority allocations for 2026/27 onwards have been published on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-bus-grant-allocations. LABG allocations for 2025/26 are also published on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bus-service-improvement-plans-local-transport-authority-allocations/total-combined-bus-funding-allocations-2025-to-2026.
In addition to the LABG, the Government has also introduced a £3 million Bus Franchising Fund for Mayoral Combined Authorities that are pursuing franchising to apply for in 26/27, such as Liverpool City Region, to help support their transition to franchised services.
Asked by: Anneliese Midgley (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will set out the changes to the bus funding allocations formula between 2025-26 and 2026-27.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On 5 December, the Government confirmed investment of over £3 billion from 2026/27 for the rest of the spending review period to support local leaders and bus operators across the country to improve bus services for millions of passengers. This includes multi-year allocations for local authorities under the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) totalling nearly £700 million per year, ending the short-term approach to bus funding and giving councils the certainty they need to plan ahead.
The formula used to calculate LABG allocations in 2025/26 was the Government’s first step towards ending competitive allocations and it considered population size, levels of deprivation and the extent of existing bus services. To prevent sharp decreases of funding, and as part of the Government’s effort to rebalance inequalities created by competitive allocations, losses were capped at 25%.
We revised this formula for 2026/27 onwards to give a greater weighting to levels of deprivation and population, and to cap any losses at 5% in our continued effort to end the inequalities of competitive allocations once and for all. The formula now also includes consideration of the rurality of local areas in response to a recommendation from the Transport Select Committee.
Further details on the funding formula and local authority allocations for 2026/27 onwards have been published on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-bus-grant-allocations. LABG allocations for 2025/26 are also published on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bus-service-improvement-plans-local-transport-authority-allocations/total-combined-bus-funding-allocations-2025-to-2026.
In addition to the LABG, the Government has also introduced a £3 million Bus Franchising Fund for Mayoral Combined Authorities that are pursuing franchising to apply for in 26/27, such as Liverpool City Region, to help support their transition to franchised services.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what action the Department is taking to support the growth of British film and television production outside London.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to spreading the benefits of our world-leading film and TV sector across the country. The Creative Industries Sector Plan was published in June and announced a £75 million Screen Growth Package. This includes funding to assist productions filming across England, alongside support for the British Film Commission, to build on its work in doubling UK studio capacity outside London, including Space Studios Manchester and The Depot in Liverpool.
The recent Budget announced plans to maintain the 40% business rates relief for film studios until 2034, giving emerging production hubs in places such as Hartlepool and Digbeth a strong foundation on which to build.
We are also investing directly in regional creative ecosystems. Our £150 million Creative Places Growth Fund is providing £25 million over three years to six Mayoral Strategic Authorities: West of England, West Midlands, Liverpool City Region, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and the North East. Unleashing the full potential of cities and regions is a core objective of the Sector Plan and is already delivering results, including the recent agreement between the BBC, the West Midlands Combined Authority, and Create Central to expand regional production investment.
Asked by: Anneliese Midgley (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of transport costs on Knowsley students’ ability to access A-level education.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government knows how important affordable public transport services are in enabling young people to get to education. The Government has taken action to keep the cost of travel lower, for example, by introducing a £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London. We confirmed at the Spending Review that this would be extended until March 2027.
As part of the Autumn 2024 Budget, the Government allocated over £1 billion to support and improve bus services in 2025/26. This includes £712 million for local authorities, this can be used to expand services and improve reliability, which are currently massive obstacles for too many people. Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has been allocated £20.9 million of this funding. Funding allocated to local authorities to deliver better bus services can be used in whichever way they wish to improve services for passengers, which could include introducing new fares initiatives to reduce the cost of bus travel for young people. This is already the case in Liverpool City Region, where a £2 bus fare cap is in place.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many new cars were registered in (a) London, (b) the West Midlands Combined Authority, (c) the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, and (d) the Liverpool City Region in each of the last five years.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The number of cars registered for the first time in the last five years in London were; 107,292 in 2020, 110,607 in 2021, 117,353 in 2022, 138,631 in 2023 and 137,198 in 2024.
We do not readily hold the respective figure for the West Midlands Combined Authority, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, and the Liverpool City Region.
It is important to note, vehicles are allocated to geographic location according to the postcode of the registered keeper. The address does not necessarily reflect where the vehicle is located. This is especially true for large fleets kept by companies involved with vehicle management, leasing or rentals.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme in (a) London, (b) the West Midlands Combined Authority, (c) Greater Manchester Combined Authority and (d) the Liverpool City Region in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Figures have been provided in the table below.
Table 1: Volume of PIP claimants in an active Motability contract
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
London | 29,800 | 33,400 | 36,700 | 44,400 | 56,800 | 61,600 |
West Midlands Combined Authority | 22,700 | 24,600 | 26,100 | 30,700 | 37,000 | 38,400 |
Greater Manchester Combined Authority | 20,800 | 22,400 | 23,700 | 27,900 | 33,900 | 35,600 |
Liverpool City Region | 16,700 | 17,900 | 19,000 | 22,000 | 26,400 | 27,400 |
Notes:
- Values have been rounded to the nearest 100.
- The figures have been provided in calendar years, containing data from January 2020 to July 2025.
- Figures include claims made under Normal Rules and Special Rules for End of Life
- Values in the table show any PIP claimant with an active Motability Scheme contract on the PIP caseload within that calendar year.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to introduce free bus travel for people under the age of 22; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of transport costs on young people’s access to education, training, and employment.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government knows how important affordable and reliable bus services are in enabling people to get to education, work and access vital services. On 1 January, we introduced a £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London to help passengers continue to access cheaper bus services and better opportunities. At the Spending Review we announced the cap would be extended until March 2027.
At present, the majority of bus services operate on a commercial basis by private operators, and any decisions regarding the level at which fares are set outside the scope of the £3 bus fare cap are commercial decisions for operators. Bus operators can choose to offer discounted fares for young people, and in the year ending March 2025, youth discounts were offered by at least one commercial bus operator in 73 out of 85 local authority areas in England outside London.
As part of the Autumn 2024 Budget, the Government allocated over £1 billion to support and improve bus services in 25/26 and make fares more affordable. This includes £712 million for local authorities, this can be used to expand services and improve reliability, which are currently massive obstacles for too many people. Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has been allocated £20.8 million of this funding. Funding allocated to local authorities to deliver better bus services can be used in whichever way they wish to improve services for passengers, which could include introducing new fares initiatives to reduce the cost of bus travel for young people.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress he has made on implementing the VALOUR pilot scheme in (a) Stockport and (b) Greater Manchester.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The VALOUR pilot was launched on 26 June in partnership with Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire Combined Authorities. Work with our pilot partners to develop the VALOUR system is in progress, and I am grateful to them for their invaluable contributions so far.
VALOUR is a new programme that will give veterans across the UK easier access to the essential care and support that is available to them, overseen by the Office for Veterans' Affairs in the Ministry of Defence. It will improve the coordination of services at a national, regional and local level to ensure that veterans receive the support they need.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether their Department has run any (a) recruitment and (b) internship schemes aimed to increase the number of people from underrepresented groups in the workforce in the last year.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Recruitment
As set out in the Civil Service People Plan 2024 - 2027, MHCLG are committed to ensuring we attract, develop and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds to create a modern Civil Service, now and for the future
Civil Service recruitment must follow the rules set out in legislation within the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (CRaGA) 2010 which outlines the requirements to ensure that civil servants are recruited on merit, via fair and open competition
Going Forward into Employment (GFiE, pronounced gif-ee) accredits life chance recruitment pathways across government. GFiE pathways recruit people from a wide range of backgrounds into the Civil Service, including people from low socio-economic backgrounds, prison leavers, veterans, carers and care leavers. People recruited by GFiE develop skills, gain experience and build a career, contributing to the Opportunity Mission and to the wider economy.
MHCLG participated last year in the Care Leavers GFiE scheme, offering work experience in government to those entitled to a leaving care package.
In February 2025, MHCLG also gained accreditation to deliver Civil Service Masterclasses as a new life-chance pathway. This is a unique two-week face to face programme designed to support candidates aged 19+ from lower socio-economic backgrounds. The programme breaks down barriers and helps participants in a practical learning setting to develop skills and knowledge to access Civil Service roles at AO or EO level. The scheme is available to all departments and supporting bodies based in the Liverpool City Region, Greater Manchester, and County Durham/Darlington areas.
Internships
In this period, MHCLG participated in the following internship schemes with a focus on increasing representation of under-represented groups: