The Government has provided over £2 billion in emergency and recovery grants to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic on the bus and light rail sector and continues to discuss with the sector what further support might be appropriate.
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Pandemic-related funding for English Light Rail systems outside London ended on 4 October 2022. This funding had represented exceptional subsidy for light rail systems as their operation and financial sustainability are largely devolved.<\/p>
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The Local Transport Fund, which provided funding until October 2022, helped local authorities with Light Rail systems to adjust to post-pandemic travel patterns.<\/p>
Furthermore, the Energy Bill Relief Scheme will help reduce the financial pressure on light rail systems caused by higher energy prices this winter. This support is expected to be worth millions of pounds to the sector.<\/p>
The Department continues to engage with key stakeholders in the Light Rail sector to understand the financial pressures on systems, including regarding energy prices.<\/p>
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<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4813", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Richard Holden"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "North West Durham"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mr Richard Holden"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2022-11-02", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2022-11-02T10:23:37.863Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "27"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2022-10-25", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Trams: Finance"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make it her policy to extend recent support to maintain the viability of bus routes to also support local tram networks.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4663", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Ben Bradley"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Mansfield"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Ben Bradley"} ], "uin" : "71264"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1536021", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Transport"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1536021/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age to ensure that no older or disabled person in England need be prevented from bus travel by cost alone.<\/p>
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Funding for this is provided through the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities\u2019 Settlement Funding Assessment: a Grant that supports a wide range of activities to ensure that each local transport authority receives the funding that they need. This funding is not ringfenced to enable local authorities to make spending decisions that more closely align with local needs and circumstances. There are currently no further plans to directly extend the concessionary fares for buses to light rail or tram systems.<\/p>
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In addition, local authorities have the powers to provide further discretionary concessions in addition to ENCTS, through local resources such as Council Tax.<\/p>
All Travel Concession Authorities that have light rail or tram systems in England, including Nottingham City Council, choose to fund travel on their systems as a discretionary concession.<\/p>
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<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4813", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Richard Holden"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "North West Durham"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mr Richard Holden"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2022-11-02", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2022-11-02T10:53:16.583Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "27"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2022-10-25", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Rapid Transit Systems and Trams: Fares"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the viability of (a) light rail and (b) tram services of permitting those services to operate in the same concessionary fare system as buses.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4663", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Ben Bradley"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Mansfield"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Ben Bradley"} ], "uin" : "71265"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1535396", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Transport"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1535396/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
In 2020 the government announced a £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund (LUF) to invest in local infrastructure that has a visible impact on people and their communities, including local transport schemes across the UK. LUF superseded previous local growth funding streams in England and any local authority, including local highway authorities, Combined Authorities, and those in the Devolved nations, may bid into the fund.<\/p>
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In Round 1 of LUF, in October 2021, bids to the value of £1.69 billion were successful. The next round of grants are due to be awarded in autumn 2022. Further information on the Government\u2019s plans for public spending will be set out in due course.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4442", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Huw Merriman"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Bexhill and Battle"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Huw Merriman"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2022-10-31", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2022-10-31T15:08:21.517Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "27"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2022-10-24", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Transport: Finance"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has to reintroduce funding for small transport projects, similar to the previous Pinch Points Fund that was announced prior to the pandemic but not completed.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4663", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Ben Bradley"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Mansfield"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Ben Bradley"} ], "uin" : "69783"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 3, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }