Hansard - United Kingdom Parliament

17W
Written Answers
20 JUNE 2011
Written Answers
18W
Bus Services
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for
Transport what the minimum statutory requirement is
for the provision of (a) evening and (b) Sunday bus
services in local areas in England. [59515]
Norman Baker: There is no specific statutory requirement
for the provision of evening and Sunday bus services in
local areas of England.
78% of local bus services are provided on a commercial
basis by private operators and the routes and times that
they run are a matter for the operator concerned.
There is a duty in the Transport Act 1985:
“to secure the provision of such public passenger transport
services as the council considers it appropriate to secure to meet
any public transport requirements within the county which would
in their view not be met apart from any action taken by them for
that purpose...”
It is therefore a decision for local councils to decide
what further services, if any, they should be providing.
Bus Services: Fees and Charges
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for
Transport whether he has powers to require bus
companies which cancel routes and services to reduce
the price of season tickets. [59516]
Norman Baker: In the deregulated bus market in
England outside London, bus fares and routes are a
matter for commercial operators of local services, not
the Secretary of State. London fares and timetables are
a matter for the Mayor. Non-commercial services supported
by local transport authorities are a matter for them.
The Department for Transport is considering possible
remedies to address the Competition Commission’s
initial findings from its inquiry into the local bus market
that bus fares, tickets and frequencies may be used to
deter new entrants from engaging in competition with
incumbent operators.
In the meantime, local transport authorities currently
have powers to introduce maximum fares under a Quality
Partnership Scheme, but not to reduce fares.
Bus Services: Finance
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for
Transport how many small and medium-sized bus
operators have ceased to trade in 2011 to date. [58261]
Mike Penning: The number of surrendered licences in
2011 by PSV operators 1 is 98. Of these, 96 operators
had held licences for 20 vehicles or less. The number of
licences surrendered does not necessary mean operators
who have ceased to trade as they may hold licences in
other geographical areas.
1
PSV operators numbers will also include limousine operators, as
well as hotel and taxi operators who require a licence to operate a
mini-bus.
Bypasses: Lincoln
Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for
Transport what recent progress his Department has
made on the proposal for the construction of a bypass
in Lincoln. [59441]
Norman Baker: This scheme is currently in the
Department for Transport’s Development Pool of local
major transport schemes. We have invited Lincolnshire
county council to submit a “best and final funding bid”
to the Department by 9 September. We aim to announce
decisions in December this year on which schemes have
been successful.
East Coast Railway Line: Contracts
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for
Transport what estimate he has made of the (a) costs
and (b) savings of the outsourcing to locations outside
the UK of East Coast Main Line’s (i) customer contact
centre and associated services, (ii) telesales, (iii) group
travel, (iv) assisted travel and business travel, (v) ticket
fulfilment, (vi) web support and (vii) customer relations
work. [59004]
Norman Baker [holding answer 10 June 2011]: The
outsourcing of services is an operational matter for
East Coast. The Department has had no involvement in
these decisions.
High Speed 2 Railway Line
Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport
how many households (a) nationally, (b) in Warwickshire
and (c) in North Warwickshire constituency have received
assistance from the HS2 Exceptional Hardship Scheme;
and what the total monetary value is of compensation
allocated in each case. [59494]
Mr Philip Hammond: The information is as follows:
(a) 38 applications have been accepted nationally. The
total value of 34 of these properties, calculated by the
sum of formal offers made to applicants, is £19,920,000.
HS2 Ltd is currently awaiting valuations on the other
four properties that have been accepted.
(b) 11 applications have been accepted from Warwickshire.
The total value of nine of these properties, calculated
by the sum of formal offers made to applicants, is
£5,152,500. HS2 Ltd is currently awaiting valuations on
the other two properties that have been accepted in
Warwickshire.
(c) Two applications have been accepted from North
Warwickshire constituency. One property has been
purchased and the other is currently awaiting valuation.
I am not able to release the value of the purchased
property as this relates to a single application, and
constitutes personal data as part of that application
which could potentially identify the owner as an EHS
applicant. When more than one valuation is available in
this area I will be content to provide the sum total.
Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport
how many agricultural units and commercial properties
with a rateable value not exceeding £34,800 have applied
for compensation under the HS2 Exceptional Hardship
Scheme; and if he will make a statement. [59514]
Mr Philip Hammond: Applications to the Exceptional
Hardship Scheme have been received from:
1 agricultural unit
3 combined residential/agricultural units
3 combined residential/commercial properties with a rateable
value not exceeding £34,800.