What assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on transport in Newcastle; and what support he is providing to public transport operators in that city.

The Department is in regular contact with Nexus and Transport North East and has a number of schemes in place to support transport operators at this difficult time.

The Minister will know that many of my constituents, particularly those on low and insecure pay, cannot work from home and are still taking the bus to work, so are still paying significantly more to go a few bus stops across Newcastle than it would to cross the whole of London. The Government talk about levelling up. When is he going to level down bus fares?

As the hon. Lady will be aware, we are putting huge resources into supporting the bus sector at this time. On 8 August, we announced additional funding of £27.3 million per week to support the bus sector. We are developing a bus strategy and I am sure that fares and the fairness of fares across the country will be part of that strategy.