Member

I believe the Minister referred to the fact that the forthcoming buses Bill will contain measures that allow local authorities once again to run their own buses. The noble Lord, Lord Grayling, asked some very important questions about demand-responsive bus services. The strength that the local authorities buying and running their own buses could provide would be in those areas where socially necessary bus services—for example, to hospitals and so on—cannot be provided effectively on a commercial basis. So is it possible for the Minister to give us some indication at this early stage of whether the scope of the new buses Bill will include issues such as those raised by the noble Lord, Lord Grayling, and me?