Louise Haigh
MP for Sheffield Heeley · Labour · United Kingdom
“For far too long, the state has found itself reaching for the comfort blanket of consultation, review and process. To deliver change at the pace and scale the public expect, my Department is stripping out needless bureaucracy.”
“My hon. Friend, with her considerable experience in this area, is absolutely right. The fact of the matter is that no amount of money will make up for the impact that this terrible tragedy has had on countless victims and their families, but we are determined to deliver justice as swiftly as possible.”
“I thank and congratulate my hon. Friend on his many years of campaigning on this terrible issue. He will know about the Prime Minister’s personal involvement in and commitment to this issue, about his personal experience of campaigning alongside the victims, and how important he and the Department consider the matter.”
“I am incredibly sorry to hear about the experience of Stan and the death of his family member. Unfortunately, that experience has been shared by too many people, and the Government, including my predecessor as Minister for the Cabinet Office, have done considerable work to improve the scheme, setting out a number of reforms and new statut…”
“I will explain it to the shadow Secretary of State. There is a difference between rebates and grants. The mayor does not have the ability to provide rebates now and is unlikely to in the future, because it would involve getting data from His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and having the ability to set income tax thresholds, which we will o…”
“The Infected Blood Compensation Authority has asked 6,321 people to start their claims. I am sorry to say that the horrible nature of this awful scandal means that there is inherent uncertainty about the number of eligible people, but we are deeply committed to ensuring that everyone eligible receives the compensation they are due.”
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“We are investing to keep fares down, putting money back in people’s pockets, and to provide more frequent services so that more people can get to more places at more times of the day. Not only are we a pro-investment Government, we are a pro-reform Government. We will not hesitate to overhaul parts of the system that simply are not working for passengers. If that means changes to how we allocate resources, we will make them; if passengers’ needs are not being met, we will prioritise them; and if laws are needed, we will introduce them. We have called time on the way that bus funding has historically been allocated. Previously, the Government made councils compete for funding, wasting resources and delaying decisions. That was overly complicated, led to inconsistent funding, and created uncertainty for authorities and operators.”
“We are also putting money into safer bus stops and more accessible passenger information so that our bus sector is fit for everyone. I am delighted that metro mayors have welcomed the announcement, with city regions such as Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and Liverpool receiving some of the biggest allocations. That is not all. We are committing over £150 million to cap bus fares at £3, ensuring passengers do not face a cliff edge of higher prices from next year, particularly in rural areas where buses are a lifeline. The current fare cap was only funded until 31 December, meaning that without the action we are taking, some fares would have risen by 80%. We were not going to let that happen.”
“In last month’s Budget, we confirmed more than £1 billion in funding to improve services, protect vital routes and keep fares down. Today, we are distributing that funding, which means more than £700 million for local councils to deliver bus service improvement plans and better meet local needs, and a further £243 million for bus operators, including funding a long-standing grant to drive down fares and drive up services. In many places, this is record investment, and every region and authority in England will benefit, especially areas that are historically underserved, such as rural areas and small towns. Councils such as Leicester, the Isle of Wight, Torbay and Cambridgeshire will see unprecedented levels of funding for services. Routes that are at risk will be saved and passengers will see faster, more reliable journeys.”
“Like much of the economy, our inheritance is dire. Some 40 years of failed deregulation have turned many lifeline bus services into liabilities. Passengers are let down as they sometimes wait for hours for buses that do not turn up. Areas are cut off as operators prioritise more viable routes in town centres. Fares continue to rise, and nearly 300 million fewer miles are being driven than in 2010. None of this was inevitable or an accident, but all of it was down to choices—political choices—paving the way for decline and placing a ceiling on the ambitions of many, especially the poorest in society, who catch 10 times more buses than trains. Enough is enough. This Government have chosen to back our buses and the millions who rely on them every day.”
“With your permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will update the House on our plans for better buses in England outside London. When we talk about fixing the foundations of our country, our minds should turn to the nation’s most popular form of public transport, because nothing props up our economy more or better supports our society than the 3.4 billion passenger journeys carried by our buses each year. They are more than just taking people from A to B: they are a lifeline for young and old, in cities or towns, binding us to jobs, public services and opportunity. From trips to the shops or a doctor’s appointment to a job interview, buses shoulder the daily needs of Britain and, in doing so, underpin every single one of our national missions. That is why, come what may, this Government will always back our buses.”
“For four decades, England outside London has experienced the failed deregulation of bus services, leading to a steady decline in passenger numbers. This funding is backed up by a once-in-a-generation reform to our bus policy, ensuring that we can deliver better bus services in every corner of the country, with public control backed up by funding and a Government who believe in buses.”
“I am grateful to the shadow Secretary of State for his questions, but I have to say that I will take no lessons from those on the Conservative Benches on good government. The approach to funding allocation is based on need, on deprivation, on population and on bus mileage, whereas his Government wasted millions of pounds in forcing areas to compete against each other, picking winners and losers, raising expectations and leaving some Tory-controlled areas such as Essex, where I was this morning, with absolutely nothing from the bus service improvement plan process. This formula and the funding allocated is a fair arrangement, ensuring that every area of the country gets the service levels it needs and can build the improvement plans that it wants. I have to say that I will also take no lessons on ideology.”
“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her support. Not only are we ensuring record funding for the majority of areas in this country; we are pushing ahead with reform. There is no point throwing money at a broken system, as the previous Government were so content to do. I am delighted that we are able to deliver better bus services for the people of Luton.”
“We want to ensure that every corner of the country has the funding it deserves and the ability to avail itself of the style of buses that we have enjoyed in London for four decades.”
“I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for those incredibly important questions. We have committed to publish the evaluation of the £2 bus fare cap shortly. We will introduce the better buses Bill in the coming weeks, which will allow every area of the country to avail themselves of the franchising powers and overturn the ideological ban on public ownership. My Department is also taking a much more proactive enabling role with local transport authorities, making sure that they have the capability and capacity to move to franchising. A significant amount of the funding settlement announced today is specifically for capability and staffing in local transport authorities. Finally, on pork barrel politics, the reason behind today’s funding is that we are not in the business of picking winners and losers.”
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We saw bus mileage and passenger numbers plummet under the last Tory Government. The hon. Member for Orpington (Gareth Bacon) talked about the funding that they provided, but they were throwing money at a broken system. This record funding for the majority of the country comes alongside massive reform so that we can give back control and deliver the better buses that every corner of the country deserves.”
“I am very pleased to confirm that Worcestershire is receiving £9.4 million dedicated for local bus services, a £4 million increase on this year. Of that, £5.4 million is revenue funding and can absolutely be delivered for the kind of bus service that the hon. Lady outlines.”
“I am grateful to my hon. Friend. We know that franchising works; Greater Manchester went through the franchising process a year ago and it has already driven up revenues and passenger numbers. That has allowed Andy Burnham to step in and use that revenue to keep his own bus fare cap at £2. With the funding allocated today, local transport authorities can absolutely lower fares below the maximum of £3. I absolutely encourage areas that already have the powers to plan a bus network that is appropriate for their communities. The Department stands ready to work with Devon and Torbay to ensure that they can do that.”
“The way the formula has been designed explicitly benefits rural areas, because a third of the allocation is dependent on bus mileage; that is why a number of areas, including Somerset, have done much better out of today’s allocation than in previous years. We are removing the controls that were previously required. All the funding will have to be spent on buses, but we believe it is right that local transport authorities take those decisions themselves rather than being constrained by central diktat from Whitehall.”
“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that important question. We have lifted controls on the funding from the Department. We think it is absolutely right that Kent county council should be able to decide where its bus money goes. The money will be ringfenced to ensure that it is spent on buses, but if areas want to spend it on providing concessions for younger people or care leavers, on buying new buses or on adding new services, that is entirely within its gift. It is right that Kent county council makes those decisions, rather than me.”
“I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that important question, which I often hear. Cross-border services can be an absolute lifeline for people travelling out of area for work, and we can absolutely consider that issue as part of debate on the better buses Bill. I hope he will involve himself in that debate as it passes through the House.”
“May I begin by saying what an absolute joy it is to thank my hon. Friend the Labour MP for Welwyn Hatfield? He is absolutely right; I can confirm that the better buses Bill will extend powers to every local authority that wants to avail itself of franchising. Because we are well aware that not every transport authority in the country is in either London or Greater Manchester, the Department stands ready to work with those in more rural areas and with different types of transport authority, and to look at different models to give them the flexibility that will enable them to build a network that works for their communities.”
“The hon. Lady is right, and that is one of the reasons why, throughout next year, we will be looking at the bus fare cap and considering whether we can extend a concession of some kind to young people. The point of the BSIP funding is that it can be used to deliver concessionary schemes as well. The hon. Lady should encourage her local authority to think about whether some of the revenue funding that has been allocated can be delivered for younger people.”
“The combination of Andy Burnham having franchised powers and this transformational funding is the reason why he can keep the fare cap at £2 in Greater Manchester. The combination of this transformational funding and more powers for authorities in the rest of the country will enable them to keep fares low as well.”
“This afternoon I was delighted to meet the Mayor of the west midlands, Richard Parker, to talk about how he is taking forward the bus powers in the west midlands. I was also delighted to announce the £50 million funding settlement for the west midlands, which will be transformational for the hon. Gentleman’s constituents.”
“My hon. Friend is entirely right. Tees Valley has done very well out of today’s funding settlement, and I would encourage the Mayor to consider franchising options to deliver better bus services for the whole area. I can also confirm that through the better buses Bill we will be lifting the ideological ban on public ownership, so my hon. Friend can certainly consider working with his local authority to set up a publicly owned bus company if the Mayor does not choose to avail himself of those powers.”
“With her example, the hon. Lady describes exactly what franchising is designed to provide: the ability to design the services that people rely on and ensure that schoolchildren have a direct route to school. I would encourage all our mayoral colleagues to take forward franchising.”
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Particularly in rural areas, buses simply are not good enough. Entire towns and villages are cut off, with no bus service before 9 am or after 5 pm, and that leaves people with their ambition completely curtailed. I am really pleased to have been working with Kim McGuinness, the Mayor of the North East, to ensure that, through the better buses Bill, we speed up the franchising process and make available to her as quickly as possible the powers to deliver better buses for my hon. Friend’s constituents.”
“I will take away the hon. Lady’s specific question about the percentages and write to her, but I was pleased to meet Ken Skates, the Welsh Transport Minister, just a few weeks ago to talk about the Welsh Government’s own ambitious plans for bus franchising across Wales. They are learning the lessons from Greater Manchester and London, and ensuring that every constituent in Wales will be able to benefit from better buses.”
“I am very happy to confirm that we are investing in Plymouth, Plymouth’s people and Plymouth’s buses. Buses are an enormous engine of social justice, because, as I said earlier, the most deprived rely on them the most. I am afraid that is why they have been so badly neglected in this place for so long, but that will absolutely turn around under this Labour Government. Buses are my priority and this Labour Government’s priority.”
“The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. Under the current system, money has been thrown hand over fist at operators, which have cherry-picked the most commercially viable routes, leaving local authorities to step in to subsidise the lifeline routes that people rely on. The benefit of areas being able to move to a franchised system, or indeed to set up their own publicly owned bus company, is that they can cross-subsidise properly across routes, and ensure that public money is spent in the best way and that we design routes and networks that really work for local communities.”
“It is particularly important that we encourage young people on to buses, so that they can develop better behaviours and carry on using buses throughout their adult lives. I am delighted that we can confirm an additional £1.2 million in revenue funding for Norfolk. That revenue funding will be available to Norfolk to enable it to add additional services and improve the reliability and frequency of its local buses.”
“Torbay is a fantastic example of an area that has done well out of this funding settlement but was treated appallingly by the previous bus service improvement plan funding process. The hon. Gentleman is right to say that the recruitment of bus drivers is an issue that has plagued certain parts of the country, and we are working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions, through its “Get Britain Working” White Paper, to ensure that we can address recruitment and retention issues in the bus sector.”
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I get very frustrated in the transport policy space because we often think of investment only in big infrastructure as a mechanism by which to achieve growth, but buses are essential to delivering growth in local communities. They connect people to jobs, to opportunities, to education and to each other, so they are not only a massive engine of growth but one of the most important engines of social justice available in transport policy terms.”
“The hon. Lady is absolutely right. The biggest barrier to people getting the bus is the absence of a bus in lots of communities, and that is why we have directed this significant level of funding into communities to ensure that it is invested in local bus services. The benefit of moving to franchising means that we avoid adding more and more operators and more and more services to commercially viable routes, and that we can design a network that means that more areas and communities are served by the timetables and levels of service that they deserve. This is exactly what she addresses, and it will allow a minimum level of service that every area can expect.”
“I was delighted to be in Harlow with my hon. Friend this morning to announce record levels of investment for Essex, another area that was badly underserved by the previous Government. Someone mentioned earlier that bus passenger numbers have been increasing since covid, which is true, but concessionary levels are still far below where they were before covid. I am afraid that potentially highlights the real issue of social isolation, and the hidden issue of older people not being able to access public transport. Only by delivering reliable, accessible bus services can we tackle social isolation and give older people the service they deserve.”
“It sounds like the Somerset volunteers are doing a cracking job. I am very happy to congratulate them and to welcome the £6.8 million of funding announced for Somerset today.”
“My hon. Friend is right that the 30% cut to his bus services is absolutely shocking. Behind every one of those cuts is a human story of opportunity and ambition curtailed. I have been working closely with Kim McGuinness on speeding up the franchising process. Under the current legislation, Andy Burnham took six years to bring a single bus service under public control, despite having been elected twice in that period on a mandate to do so. We want to ensure that we drastically speed up the process and reduce the cost to local transport authorities and mayoral authorities of getting to franchising, so that the money can be spent effectively on local bus services.”
“I am delighted to confirm that Shropshire’s resource departmental expenditure limit allocation is £3.1 million, so the hon. Lady has already had a further £600,000 out of today’s statement.”
“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for standing up, for Portsmouth and its people, as she always does. Today’s funding settlement will be ringfenced towards buses to ensure that Portsmouth gets both the level of funding it needs and, crucially, the flexibility and control to deliver it where it is needed most. Portsmouth will be able to avail itself of the powers we will announce in the coming weeks to take back control of its bus services and to deliver routes, services and fare levels that are right for the people of Portsmouth.”
“The hon. Gentleman raises some important points. It is right that local people have the mechanisms and ability to hold their local authorities to account. One such mechanism that we will introduce through the better buses Bill is a local network safeguard, which will ensure that the voices of communities and constituents are at the heart of any changes to local bus networks.”
“My hon. Friend makes an important point. This Government have put improving public transport at the heart of our priorities in order to deliver growth and allow people to access opportunity. Colleagues from across the House will recognise the picture he painted because, time and again, they will hear that the biggest barrier many businesses face to widening their labour market and ensuring people can access opportunity is poor local transport. That is why we are so delighted to announce this transformational funding.”
“Colleges and large employers that use shift workers are two of the institutions that often raise with me their frustration about local bus services. The problem with the current system is that nobody has the ability to require operators to run services according to timetables or shift timings. The move to franchising will allow local areas to design such services and ensure that buses run when shifts finish or colleges open or close. The new funding formula model will ensure that rural areas get the funding they deserve.”
“My hon. Friend is a true champion for the people of Kent, and this is a record investment in them and their bus services. The area was badly underfunded by the previous Government and Kent lost out repeatedly in the bus service improvement process. The funding will help to deliver better bus services, but if Kent county council chooses to avail itself of the powers that will come its way as a result of next month’s better buses Bill, then that will be the moment when it can deliver a public transport network and better bus services that serve all Kent constituents.”
“I was delighted to announce half a billion pounds of investment in Wrightbus just a few weeks ago. Those buses will make their way around the country and are fully electric—cleaner, greener, and providing a better service for passengers. We will announce some measures shortly to encourage investment in UK-manufactured buses. We have already announced the establishment of an expert panel in order to ensure that buses ordered in this country are built in this country.”
“My hon. Friend is right that this is a massive moment for the east midlands, with the new mayoral authority and this record level of funding for bus services. Of course the authority will go into the 2027 city region sustainable transport settlements round. Buses are an enormous opportunity to meet all our missions. That is why I am pleased to work across Government on our mission boards to ensure that buses contribute to both our growth mission and, crucially, our net zero mission.”
“My hon. Friend is right: cutting services such as the 46 has real-world implications for people attempting to access work, see their friends and family, or get to the local high street. Having a franchised system under the Mayor, Richard Parker, will mean that he has control. He can contract out the 46 service and require an operator to run it. At the moment, when an operator cuts a service we have no say or control over that, which is what leads to those terrible real-world consequences.”
“As today’s figures show, we have wasted no time in getting around the table with unions and making change happen now. That is what moving fast and fixing things looks like, and I commend this statement to the House.”
“That is why I have approached the situation with the urgency it demands, including focusing on performance today; bringing together industry to make it clear that improvements that can be made now must be made now; and using every tool at our disposal to drive improvements as fast as possible. At the same time, the root of the problem grows deeper. Decades of muddled decision making have left the railway fragmented. We have tolerated an unworkable system of track in one organisation and trains in another for decades too long. This Government will turn the page on that chapter of fragmentation. I have wasted no time in kick-starting the long-term reform that our railway desperately needs. We have wasted no time in bringing train operating companies under public ownership.”
“I can announce today that we will be fully transparent with passengers by displaying performance data at stations to demonstrate how the railway is working and to allow the public to hold us to account as we deliver change. That is important, because the railway is a promise—a promise to passengers from the moment they buy a ticket that the train will arrive on time, as the timetable says. While there are encouraging signs, I am not naive to the reality that passengers will see only a broken promise so long as the departure board shows trains delayed and services cancelled.”
“On CrossCountry, we took immediate steps to implement a remedial plan to reduce its cancellations and get services back on track. Its reduced timetable has brought greater stability, and I expect even greater reliability in the long term as the full timetable returns today. Those are early signs of what happens when a Government get a grip and put passengers at the heart of decision making. Resetting industrial relations is already having a direct impact on better services, but it will take time to pass all the benefits on to passengers. We have to be clear-eyed about the problems, but we are committed to full transparency.”
“Not only have cancellations due to a lack of driver resource dropped to near zero as a direct consequence of getting around the table with unions, but revenue is £15 million higher for the recent rail periods this year versus the same periods last year. Overall cancellations are down from 7% to 5%, and LNER has run 100 more train services in the last four weeks than in the comparable period last year. Elsewhere, passengers will see a tangible impact on reliability on Northern Rail trains. Thanks to our agreement on rest day working, hundreds more driver shifts have been covered this weekend, cutting cancellations now and in the long run. At TransPennine Express, operator-caused, on-the-day cancellations averaged around 2% in the last year, compared to 5% in the year before it was taken into public ownership.”
“I have made it my priority to get around the table, reversing the previous Government’s antagonistic approach by resetting industrial relations and settling the pay disputes that saw the country grinding to a halt. I am working with the sector to speed up training and accelerate the driver recruitment pipeline, which will reduce the railway’s reliance on rest day working agreements and lower the burden on taxpayers. Settling this saga allows us to move forward with long-overdue negotiations on workforce reform, bringing our railways into the 21st century. That is what moving fast and fixing things looks like. We are putting passengers first and, today, I can inform the House that since the resolution of the LNER driver dispute, we have seen green shoots emerging, with the number of LNER cancellations falling.”
“Convening Network Rail and train operators at Euston in the interest of passengers is an excellent example of the benefits that our reform agenda can achieve. Euston now not only has an integrated station management team, but a 100-day plan of rapid improvements that puts the interests of passengers first and individual organisations second. Platform announcements are made earlier, crowding has been reduced and, yes, the advertising screen has been temporarily switched off. Delays and cancellations were not the only inheritance. For two years, strike followed strike, and disruption followed disruption, in the longest industrial dispute on our railways.”
“We are using those tools to unlock the punctuality and reliability that passengers deserve across the country. For example, Southeastern is now performing much better. Its cancellations are low, with its punctuality ranking among the top five operators contracted to my Department, and that level of service will increase by 44 additional trains per day when the timetable is updated in December. That is what shadow Great British Railways is delivering now. We are demonstrating what integration between track and train can deliver for passengers. Take those who rely on Euston station, for example. Indecision on HS2 left passengers with fewer platforms and greater overcrowding, victims of the so-called “Euston dash”.”