Clause 38
Local Transport Bill [Lords]
12:00 pm
Ann Winterton (Congleton, Conservative)
As has been stated, the Bill confers a power on the Secretary of State and Welsh Ministers to issue statutory guidance to local authorities about quality contracts schemes. Local authorities would be obliged to have regard to such guidance. The amendment tabled by the hon. Member for Wimbledon would empower the senior traffic commissioner and the public transport users’ committee to issue such statutory guidance, as well.
The guidance is intended to assist local authorities in deciding whether a quality contracts scheme is a realistic option for their area and, if it is, how they might introduce it. The Department has produced draft guidance, which is available to the Committee and is also on the Department for Transport website. We will be issuing a revised draft for formal consultation later in the year.
As far as involving the public transport users’ committee is concerned, the hon. Gentleman will no doubt be aware that the Secretary of State announced on 8 April that we intend to widen the remit of Passenger Focus, the rail watchdog, to include functions relating to local bus and scheduled coach services in England. That followed public consultation on how to deliver strengthened bus passenger representation. Subject to working up the details of conferring these official functions on Passenger Focus and further consultation, that means that the powers to establish a public transport users’ committee for England would not be taken up immediately. Retaining the powers in the Bill, however, gives us the flexibility to establish such a multi-modal committee in the future.
As I have said, we have already issued draft guidance and will revise it later in the year. Waiting for the bus component of Passenger Focus to be established so that it could help to write the guidance would delay the process of making guidance available to local authorities. Passengers might be best served by their passenger representative groups offering comments on individual quality contracts schemes when consulted.