Written questions by Hoare.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the removal of the £2 cap on fairs on the number of people using buses in (a) Dorset and (b) England.

The final monitoring and evaluation report into the impact of the £2 bus fare cap, including analysis on bus usage, was published on 12 February, and the Department does not plan to publish any further reports on the £2 fare cap.Trends in bus usage will continue to be monitored and reported through the Department’s national statistics which are published annually.

If she will publish an analysis of the trends in bus usage for the full duration of the £2 bus cap.

The final monitoring and evaluation report into the impact of the £2 bus fare cap, including analysis on bus usage, was published on 12 February, and the Department does not plan to publish any further reports on the £2 fare cap.Trends in bus usage will continue to be monitored and reported through the Department’s national statistics which are published annually.

What further steps she plans to take to make rural bus routes sustainable.

The Government introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill on 17 December as part of its ambitious plan for bus reform. The Bill puts the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders and is intended to ensure bus services reflect the needs of the communities that rely on them right across England, including in rural areas in North Dorset. The government has committed to increasing accountability by including a measure on socially necessary services so that local authorities and bus operators have to have regard for alternatives to changing or cancelling services. In addition, the Government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £243 million for bus operators and £712 million allocated to local authorities across the country, of which Dorset Council has been allocated £3.8 million. Local authorities can use this funding to introduce new bus routes, make services more frequent and protect crucial bus routes for local communities. The Government has reaffirmed its commitment to bus services in this Spending Review by confirming additional funding of around £900 million of revenue funding each year from 26/27 to maintain and improve vital bus services, including taking forward bus franchising pilots, and extending the £3 bus fare cap until March 2027.

When her Department plans to publish the Road Investment Strategy 3; and what funding is available via that scheme.

The third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3) will cover the five-year period from April 2026 to March 2031. We expect to publish that Strategy at the end of 2025 with a draft Strategy published in the summer of 2025. An Interim Settlement for National Highways will be in place covering 2025-26.