Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

43858

	registered interest
	date	18/03/2014
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the level of cross-subsidy between fare paying passengers and those using the Concessionary Travel Scheme (a) generally and (b) in rural areas.
	tabling member constituency	Beverley and Holderness
	tabling member printed	Mr Graham Stuart
	uin	192473
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2014 answer text <p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>Concessionary travel schemes are considered to be public service obligations.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Legislation requires bus operators to accept statutory concessionary bus pass holders for free travel on off-peak journeys within England, and are reimbursed for doing so. Bus operators may not solicit or accept payment for such journeys.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Reimbursement is provided on the basis that operators are “no better and no worse off” for carrying concessionary pass holders, and we therefore do not believe this to constitute a subsidy.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Department publishes guidance to help authorities calculate appropriate reimbursement rates. We are unaware of any cross-subsidy between fare paying and concessionary pass holding passengers occurring in rural areas or elsewhere. </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wimbledon answering member printed Stephen Hammond question first answered 25/03/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond
	tabling member	1482 label Biography information for Graham Stuart

44513

	registered interest
	date	21/03/2014
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the number of bus services that have closed in the last 12 months; and what assessment he has made of the effects of changes to the concessionary travel scheme on the viability of local bus services.
	tabling member constituency	Beverley and Holderness
	tabling member printed	Mr Graham Stuart
	uin	193214
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/03/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>There have been 3,385 existing bus registration cancellations in 2013/14 to date (with 5 days of the reporting period remaining). This is a reduction on the previous two years. There were also 3,303 new bus service registrations processed by the Office of the Traffic Commissioner across the same 12 month period. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Concessionary travel should have no impact on the viability of local bus services as reimbursement to bus operators is not a means to support services which are not viable on a commercial basis. Legislation requires Travel Concession Authorities (TCAs) to ensure that bus operators are left &quot;no better off and no worse off&quot; as a consequence of taking part in the mandatory travel concession. In general, TCAs set their Schemes each year and they have discretion to decide whether or not to offer more than the mandatory concession in their own Scheme areas.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wimbledon answering member printed Stephen Hammond question first answered 27/03/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond
	tabling member	1482 label Biography information for Graham Stuart