Speeches by Lightwood.

“Not before 2030.”

“Exactly. We will be looking at that, obviously. I visited Wrightbus not so long ago. They do some great work. They do great work in the re-powering market as well, which is a really exciting innovation where they transform old diesel buses and give them another decade of life by converting them into electric buses. We …”

“We have been really clear that that will be not before 2030. We have big ambitions when it comes to decarbonising our public transport. We want to do that with the industry. I do not want to put undue pressure on them. There are a lot of diesel buses out there at the moment. Q296       Dr …”

“It goes back to that evidence base. At the moment, if one in five are failing the test, that risk is something we could not tolerate.”

“—on driving licensing, including D1. The feedback then was that, while there was support for looking at D1, there was not sufficient evidence to suggest it would improve driver recruitment, and not enough evidence to suggest that it would not introduce extra risk when it comes to safety. We absolutely do not want road …”

“There was, under the previous Government, a call for evidence in 2022 or 2023—”

“With any change, you want to ensure that safety is of paramount importance and you understand any unintended consequences. I am not saying this would happen, but if there was a reduction in the number of people capable of driving these buses, what are the consequences for schools’ ability to get their children to enjoy…”

“I am afraid my colleague is going to be disappointed in my answer. This is really a matter for the Treasury. We have passed on the concerns of the sector to the Treasury to make sure they take that under advisement. VAT policy is a matter for my colleagues in the Treasury.”

“I know it is complicated. I can see a case where we would review it. However, we would need to be very careful to understand the unintended consequences. Safety should always be paramount in any decision. It is complicated already. There is potential for unpicking that and making it even more complicated. It might be w…”

“Sure. I recognise that there are significant concerns in the sector. We have shared that information from DRT providers with our colleagues in the Treasury. Ultimately, VAT policy is a matter for the Treasury, but we have made sure that those representations have got to where they need to go.”

“We are creating best practice guidance as a result of the trials that have been undertaken under the rural mobility fund. That is based on insights from the trials and from experienced local transport authorities that have been successful in creating effective DRT solutions. The first piece of guidance should be later …”

“Alternative service models are important for ensuring that communities have access to transport where traditional services may not be working or are not viable. Both DRT, demand-responsive transport, and crucially—it is important to emphasise this—community transport, of which I am a big fan, can fill the gaps where tr…”

“We and local transport authorities need to recognise that people do not exist in a bubble. They may live in one area and work in another, so it is in everybody’s interests that we work together collaboratively to break down any barriers when it comes to cross-boundary work.”

“We are giving more powers to local leaders in the bus services Bill. We expect them to work with each other and to think creatively with nearby authorities. That will be important when they redesign their networks to meet local needs. For example, the Bill will let franchising authorities give permits to operators who …”

“I don’t think that it is necessarily a silver bullet. Devolution is an exciting opportunity, and we have seen fantastic progress in places such as Greater Manchester, which obviously has franchised its network already. The bus Bill gives areas more power to improve their bus services, including new options such as crea…”

“Don’t get me wrong. This is not a simple ask; there are lots of moving parts.”

“It is important that we are able to facilitate better multimodal transport solutions, and I think this will go some way towards that.”

“As we mentioned, we are developing an integrated national transport strategy to set a long-term vision for transport. I don’t know why there wasn’t one before. It is important for how transport is designed, built and operated, again with passengers right at the centre. That is being developed with open dialogue and col…”

“Integration is key, not only with different modes of public transport but, crucially, with active travel. No one tends to get the bus without having walked, wheeled or cycled in the first instance, so that is an important aspect. Local authorities are encouraged when considering their BSIPs to consider that kind of int…”

“It adds another element to the toolkit, going back to the potential for an operator of last resort. It may be that, currently, people are exploring franchising and in the end decide that they want to operate some of the bus services, or certain sections of them, themselves.”