Member

Amendment 13, proposed by the noble Lord, Lord Moylan, looks for the Secretary of State to have the power to intervene when franchised bus services persistently fail. The noble Lord mentioned that the Transport Act might give the Secretary of State such a power—if it does, I do not know of it. The proposition here is that, contrary to the noble Lord’s strongly held principles—which he has explained to me over many years—of the sanctity of local authority decision-making and their responsibility to local communities, he would like the Secretary of State to step in if a bus service is failing. I would say—I agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Pidgeon, on this—that this is entirely a matter for the local electorate and the local authority.