Louise Haigh MP: speeches

Speeches

• 18 Nov 2024 · Bus Funding · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady is right, and that is one of the reasons why, throughout next year, we will be looking at the bus fare cap and considering whether we can extend a concession of some kind to young people. The point of the BSIP funding is that it can be used to deliver concessionary schemes as well. The hon. Lady should encourage her local authority to think about whether some of the revenue funding that has been allocated can be delivered for younger people.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Bus Funding · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right: cutting services such as the 46 has real-world implications for people attempting to access work, see their friends and family, or get to the local high street. Having a franchised system under the Mayor, Richard Parker, will mean that he has control. He can contract out the 46 service and require an operator to run it. At the moment, when an operator cuts a service we have no say or control over that, which is what leads to those terrible real-world consequences.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Bus Funding · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to my hon. Friend. We know that franchising works; Greater Manchester went through the franchising process a year ago and it has already driven up revenues and passenger numbers. That has allowed Andy Burnham to step in and use that revenue to keep his own bus fare cap at £2. With the funding allocated today, local transport authorities can absolutely lower fares below the maximum of £3. I absolutely encourage areas that already have the powers to plan a bus network that is appropriate for their communities. The Department stands ready to work with Devon and Torbay to ensure that they can do that.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Bus Funding · Hansard source

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  I was delighted to announce half a billion pounds of investment in Wrightbus just a few weeks ago. Those buses will make their way around the country and are fully electric—cleaner, greener, and providing a better service for passengers. We will announce some measures shortly to encourage investment in UK-manufactured buses. We have already announced the establishment of an expert panel in order to ensure that buses ordered in this country are built in this country.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Bus Funding · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady is absolutely right. The biggest barrier to people getting the bus is the absence of a bus in lots of communities, and that is why we have directed this significant level of funding into communities to ensure that it is invested in local bus services. The benefit of moving to franchising means that we avoid adding more and more operators and more and more services to commercially viable routes, and that we can design a network that means that more areas and communities are served by the timetables and levels of service that they deserve. This is exactly what she addresses, and it will allow a minimum level of service that every area can expect.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Bus Funding · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is a true champion for the people of Kent, and this is a record investment in them and their bus services. The area was badly underfunded by the previous Government and Kent lost out repeatedly in the bus service improvement process. The funding will help to deliver better bus services, but if Kent county council chooses to avail itself of the powers that will come its way as a result of next month’s better buses Bill, then that will be the moment when it can deliver a public transport network and better bus services that serve all Kent constituents.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Bus Funding · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right that this is a massive moment for the east midlands, with the new mayoral authority and this record level of funding for bus services. Of course the authority will go into the 2027 city region sustainable transport settlements round. Buses are an enormous opportunity to meet all our missions. That is why I am pleased to work across Government on our mission boards to ensure that buses contribute to both our growth mission and, crucially, our net zero mission.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Bus Funding · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is entirely right. Tees Valley has done very well out of today’s funding settlement, and I would encourage the Mayor to consider franchising options to deliver better bus services for the whole area. I can also confirm that through the better buses Bill we will be lifting the ideological ban on public ownership, so my hon. Friend can certainly consider working with his local authority to set up a publicly owned bus company if the Mayor does not choose to avail himself of those powers.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Bus Funding · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that important question, which I often hear. Cross-border services can be an absolute lifeline for people travelling out of area for work, and we can absolutely consider that issue as part of debate on the better buses Bill. I hope he will involve himself in that debate as it passes through the House.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Bus Funding · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman raises some important points. It is right that local people have the mechanisms and ability to hold their local authorities to account. One such mechanism that we will introduce through the better buses Bill is a local network safeguard, which will ensure that the voices of communities and constituents are at the heart of any changes to local bus networks.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Bus Funding · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I get very frustrated in the transport policy space because we often think of investment only in big infrastructure as a mechanism by which to achieve growth, but buses are essential to delivering growth in local communities. They connect people to jobs, to opportunities, to education and to each other, so they are not only a massive engine of growth but one of the most important engines of social justice available in transport policy terms.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Bus Funding · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. Under the current system, money has been thrown hand over fist at operators, which have cherry-picked the most commercially viable routes, leaving local authorities to step in to subsidise the lifeline routes that people rely on. The benefit of areas being able to move to a franchised system, or indeed to set up their own publicly owned bus company, is that they can cross-subsidise properly across routes, and ensure that public money is spent in the best way and that we design routes and networks that really work for local communities.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Bus Funding · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We saw bus mileage and passenger numbers plummet under the last Tory Government. The hon. Member for Orpington (Gareth Bacon) talked about the funding that they provided, but they were throwing money at a broken system. This record funding for the majority of the country comes alongside massive reform so that we can give back control and deliver the better buses that every corner of the country deserves.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Bus Funding · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her support. Not only are we ensuring record funding for the majority of areas in this country; we are pushing ahead with reform. There is no point throwing money at a broken system, as the previous Government were so content to do. I am delighted that we are able to deliver better bus services for the people of Luton.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Bus Funding · Hansard source

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  It sounds like the Somerset volunteers are doing a cracking job. I am very happy to congratulate them and to welcome the £6.8 million of funding announced for Somerset today.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Bus Funding · Hansard source

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  May I begin by saying what an absolute joy it is to thank my hon. Friend the Labour MP for Welwyn Hatfield? He is absolutely right; I can confirm that the better buses Bill will extend powers to every local authority that wants to avail itself of franchising. Because we are well aware that not every transport authority in the country is in either London or Greater Manchester, the Department stands ready to work with those in more rural areas and with different types of transport authority, and to look at different models to give them the flexibility that will enable them to build a network that works for their communities.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Bus Funding · Hansard source

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  With your permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will update the House on our plans for better buses in England outside London. When we talk about fixing the foundations of our country, our minds should turn to the nation’s most popular form of public transport, because nothing props up our economy more or better supports our society than the 3.4 billion passenger journeys carried by our buses each year. They are more than just taking people from A to B: they are a lifeline for young and old, in cities or towns, binding us to jobs, public services and opportunity. From trips to the shops or a doctor’s appointment to a job interview, buses shoulder the daily needs of Britain and, in doing so, underpin every single one of our national missions. That is why, come what may, this Government will always back our buses. Like much of the economy, our inheritance is dire. Some 40 years of failed deregulation have turned many lifeline bus services into liabilities. Passengers are let down as they sometimes wait for hours for buses that do not turn up. Areas are cut off as operators prioritise more viable routes in town centres. Fares continue to rise, and nearly 300 million fewer miles are being driven than in 2010. None of this was inevitable or an accident, but all of it was down to choices—political choices—paving the way for decline and placing a ceiling on the ambitions of many, especially the poorest in society, who catch 10 times more buses than trains. Enough is enough. This Government have chosen to back our buses and the millions who rely on them every day. In last month’s Budget, we confirmed more than £1 billion in funding to improve services, protect vital routes and keep fares down. Today, we are distributing that funding, which means more than £700 million for local councils to deliver bus service improvement plans and better meet local needs, and a further £243 million for bus operators, including funding a long-standing grant to drive down fares and drive up services. In many places, this is record investment, and every region and authority in England will benefit, especially areas that are historically underserved, such as rural areas and small towns. Councils such as Leicester, the Isle of Wight, Torbay and Cambridgeshire will see unprecedented levels of funding for services. Routes that are at risk will be saved and passengers will see faster, more reliable journeys. We are also putting money into safer bus stops and more accessible passenger information so that our bus sector is fit for everyone. I am delighted that metro mayors have welcomed the announcement, with city regions such as Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and Liverpool receiving some of the biggest allocations. That is not all. We are committing over £150 million to cap bus fares at £3, ensuring passengers do not face a cliff edge of higher prices from next year, particularly in rural areas where buses are a lifeline. The current fare cap was only funded until 31 December, meaning that without the action we are taking, some fares would have risen by 80%. We were not going to let that happen. We are investing to keep fares down, putting money back in people’s pockets, and to provide more frequent services so that more people can get to more places at more times of the day. Not only are we a pro-investment Government, we are a pro-reform Government. We will not hesitate to overhaul parts of the system that simply are not working for passengers. If that means changes to how we allocate resources, we will make them; if passengers’ needs are not being met, we will prioritise them; and if laws are needed, we will introduce them. We have called time on the way that bus funding has historically been allocated. Previously, the Government made councils compete for funding, wasting resources and delaying decisions. That was overly complicated, led to inconsistent funding, and created uncertainty for authorities and operators. We are taking a fundamentally different approach. We have allocated funding based on local need, population, the distance that buses travel, and levels of deprivation. That puts fairness at the heart of future funding and ends the postcode lottery for bus services. It ensures taxpayer money goes to the areas that are most in need, where it will have the most impact and where passengers will most benefit. This is the first stop on our journey to support local areas to take back control of services and deliver better buses across the country. Finally, we will introduce our landmark buses Bill in the coming weeks—the biggest shake-up of the sector for 40 years. This Bill will allow councils across the country to adopt franchising models, as in Greater Manchester and London. That means local leaders taking back control of services, ensuring that routes, fares and timetables are all geared towards local passenger needs. This model works. It has been over a year since buses were brought under public control in Greater Manchester. Since then, passenger numbers have grown, reliability has improved, and new 24/7 services have been introduced. Roads are now managed in a way that works for buses, meaning that unexpected congestion or unplanned roadworks do not leave passengers stranded. That is what power in local hands looks like. It is why we are simplifying the franchise process to ensure local leaders waste no time in driving improvements for passengers. We will also remove the ideological ban on publicly owned bus companies so that our buses can finally be run for the public, by the public. I have said it before, and I will say it again: when it comes to our public transport, we are moving fast and fixing things. After years of decline, we are putting passengers back at the heart of our buses through record levels of investment and generational reform. Last month’s Budget sent the signal that, even in difficult economic times, this Government will never take our buses for granted, because we know that investing in buses means investing in people, in communities and in the future growth of our country. Better buses are just a few stops away. I commend this statement to the House.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Bus Funding · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right that the 30% cut to his bus services is absolutely shocking. Behind every one of those cuts is a human story of opportunity and ambition curtailed. I have been working closely with Kim McGuinness on speeding up the franchising process. Under the current legislation, Andy Burnham took six years to bring a single bus service under public control, despite having been elected twice in that period on a mandate to do so. We want to ensure that we drastically speed up the process and reduce the cost to local transport authorities and mayoral authorities of getting to franchising, so that the money can be spent effectively on local bus services.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Bus Funding · Hansard source

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  The way the formula has been designed explicitly benefits rural areas, because a third of the allocation is dependent on bus mileage; that is why a number of areas, including Somerset, have done much better out of today’s allocation than in previous years. We are removing the controls that were previously required. All the funding will have to be spent on buses, but we believe it is right that local transport authorities take those decisions themselves rather than being constrained by central diktat from Whitehall.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Bus Funding · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for those incredibly important questions. We have committed to publish the evaluation of the £2 bus fare cap shortly. We will introduce the better buses Bill in the coming weeks, which will allow every area of the country to avail themselves of the franchising powers and overturn the ideological ban on public ownership. My Department is also taking a much more proactive enabling role with local transport authorities, making sure that they have the capability and capacity to move to franchising. A significant amount of the funding settlement announced today is specifically for capability and staffing in local transport authorities. Finally, on pork barrel politics, the reason behind today’s funding is that we are not in the business of picking winners and losers. We want to ensure that every corner of the country has the funding it deserves and the ability to avail itself of the style of buses that we have enjoyed in London for four decades.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Bus Funding · Hansard source

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  I will take away the hon. Lady’s specific question about the percentages and write to her, but I was pleased to meet Ken Skates, the Welsh Transport Minister, just a few weeks ago to talk about the Welsh Government’s own ambitious plans for bus franchising across Wales. They are learning the lessons from Greater Manchester and London, and ensuring that every constituent in Wales will be able to benefit from better buses.

• 11 Nov 2024 · Rail Performance · Hansard source

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  One of the purposes of this reform was to save the taxpayer money, and bringing operators into public ownership as their contracts expire means there will be no compensation. We will also be saving the money currently leaking out of the system through dividends and management fees. It would not be fiscally prudent in the current environment to spend billions of pounds on nationalising the rolling stock, so we will continue the current arrangement whereby private finance is leveraged into rolling stock companies.

• 11 Nov 2024 · Rail Performance · Hansard source

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  The truth is that the previous Government deliberately provoked and prolonged that strike, the longest in the history of our railways. They budgeted for a pay settlement not far off where we landed, and that pay settlement has already paid for itself through increased revenue and improved services for passengers.

• 11 Nov 2024 · Rail Performance · Hansard source

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  I will look into the issue for the right hon. Gentleman. It may be that the Rail Minister has to make himself a hero; I will ask him to meet the right hon. Gentleman to discuss the matter.

• 11 Nov 2024 · Rail Performance · Hansard source

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  We can hear from the House how much of an impact the levels of service on Northern Rail are having. Andy Burnham texts me every Monday about the performance on Northern trains, so I can assure my hon. Friend that it is a priority.