Member

I note that the noble Lord, Lord Moylan, decries franchising for the rest of England, outside London, but forgets to remind the Committee that Transport for London has considerable subsidies from the Government: £250 million in 2024 alone and, I understand, £6.6 billion since 2020. The rest of the country would really like to share the sort of bus services that TfL is able to operate, so that they too can help the economy to grow in their areas, by making it easier and cheaper for people to access jobs and leisure and retail facilities, as my noble friend Lord Goddard said. I am concerned that we have heard a strong argument from the noble Lord, Lord Moylan, to prevent bus franchising elsewhere, when he is involved in London transport, where it has operated successfully over a number of years, but with considerable subsidies from the Government—rightly, in my opinion.