Dr Neil Hudson MP has welcomed news that bus funding in Cumbria is being increased by more than £2 million by the Conservative Government thanks to the reallocation of HS2 funding.
Announced today, Cumbrian local authorities will now benefit from a mammoth £2.8 million to improve bus services over the next financial year (2024/25).
Dr Hudson is urging local authorities to use the cash and address 16-18-year-olds who are mandated to stay in training or education but are not provided transport to get there. This can leave parents with the grim decision to pay eye-watering amounts to get their children to school or or their children choosing not to go to their next stage of education or training.
This is the first tranche of £1 billion worth of new funding that the Government is dedicating to bus services across the North and the Midlands as part of the Network North plan – with further funding allocations to be announced in due course. Over £770 million of this funding is for the North, with almost £230 million going to the Midlands.
This is new funding in addition to the £1.1 billion for Bus Service Improvement Plans announced in 2022 and 2023, as well as the £300 million to protect and enhance bus services announced in May this year.
Thanks to the reallocated HS2 funding, Cumberland Council funding has more than tripled and the local authority will now be awarded £1,554,000 - up from the original £464,743. Likewise Westmorland and Furness Council will now be given £1,289,000 by central Government up from £412,130.
While it is up to local authorities in partnership with operators to decide how best to use the funding, the new funding for next year is enough to support up to 25 million miles of new bus services across the North and Midlands, helping local authorities provide more regular and reliable services or cheaper fares delivered through fare initiatives and ticket price caps.
The funding has only been made possible thanks to this government making the right long-term decisions for a brighter future. The reallocation of HS2 funding as part of Network North ensures that we can deliver our new £36 billion plan to improve the daily transport connections that matter most to people, benefitting more people, in more places, more quickly.
Dr Neil Hudson MP said:
"For rural communities like ours buses really matter. They connect people to improve mental health and stave off rural isolation; they unlock educational opportunities; and they help grow the economy.
"That is why I am delighted our Conservative Government has boosted Cumbrian bus funding by more than £2 million for the next financial year. This was only possible with the Prime Minister's pragmatic approach to HS2 - redistributing the funding across the whole of the UK.
"I would urge Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness Councils to look at allocating some of this funding for 16-18-year-olds who have to continue education or training but are not granted bus places to get there."
Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said:
"Today’s announcement marks the start of the Network North plan coming into action.
"We’re backing buses with one of the biggest ever support packages and keeping bus fares down to ensure the country’s favourite means of transport is more affordable for millions of people.
"This government is taking the right long-term decisions to deliver on our vision for a fairer and improved transport system by investing billions back into the transport projects that matter most to people and their communities."
This funding comes on top of the government’s unprecedented investment of over £3.5 billion for the bus sector since March 2020 to support its recovery from the pandemic, drive improvements to local bus services and encourage more use of buses.
The Get Around For £2 bus fare cap scheme will also be extended again to continue to help people save money. The cap had been due to rise to £2.50 but will instead remain at £2 and continue until 31 December 2024 thanks to the redirected HS2 funding behind the new Network North plan. This takes total government investment to cap bus fares at £2 to nearly £600 million.
