Author Archives: GovWorldMag

Labour will overturn the Government’s ban on council-owned bus companies as part of a wider strategy to put the public back into buses and deliver affordable, greener, and accessible transport.

Labour unveiled its bus strategy to put people not private profit first after figures revealed that passenger journeys in England outside London have declined by 39 percent and by 53 per cent in English cities since 1986. But over the same period in London, which kept regulation of bus services, passenger journeys increased by 99 per cent.

Labour’s policy includes a commitment to low emissions vehicles, Wi-Fi enabled buses, improved joint and through ticketing schemes, mandatory disability and equality training, and a commitment to introduce a national strategy for local bus services, setting out objectives, targets and funding provisions, including considering concessionary fares for 16-19 year olds.

Jeremy Corbyn MP, Leader of the Labour Party, said:

“Labour will create the freedom for councils to run first class bus services which the public are proud of. The Tory legacy brought rising fares, plummeting passenger numbers and too many areas where pensioners have a bus pass but no bus.

“Labour wants to see local communities empowered to determine their own priorities and reverse the decline in bus services. Labour will extend franchising powers to all areas that want them and will overturn the ban on new community bus companies, allowing Local Authorities to replicate the successes of the country’s best performing operators.

“For too long the bus industry has put profit before passengers. Labour will change that.”

Andy McDonald MP, Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary, said:

“Buses are by far the most important mode of public transport, connecting communities, places of education and businesses like no other.

“In supporting local economies, combatting climate change, addressing air quality and tackling social exclusion, the importance of buses cannot be over-stated. Yet funding for buses across England and Wales has been cut by 33 per cent since 2010 and thousands of routes have been downgraded or cut altogether, meaning passengers across the country have to put up with sub-standard services.

“We want to see clean, hi-tech fleets of buses running accessible and reliable services that meet passengers’ needs. For this to happen, we need to give communities the power to reform bus services to make them work for passengers, as well as ensuring the funding and strategy is in place to ensure no communities are left behind.”

Labour’s policy would:

•                        Create freedom for local authorities to form their own bus companies by removing the Government’s ban.

•                        Extend the powers to re-regulate local bus services to all areas that want them – not just to combined authorities with an elected mayor.

•                        Require all new buses to meet the low-emission requirements set out by the Government-sponsored Office for Low Emission Vehicles.

•                        Require new vehicles to be equipped with Wi-Fi, and install Wi-Fi on existing buses.

•                        Introduce a national strategy for local bus services, setting out objectives, targets and funding provisions. This would include consideration of a reduced fare scheme for young people aged 16-19.

•                        Require all bus drivers and staff at bus terminals to complete approved disability equality and awareness training, including mental and physical disabilities, by a specific date.

•                        Ensure bus services in England make adjustments for any disabled passenger on the bus including policies for priority wheelchair spaces. 

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald are in Tees Valley today (Friday) promoting Labour’s bus policy.

Nia Griffith MP, Labour’s Shadow Defence Secretary, commenting on reports our Armed Forces are facing a £10bn funding shortfall, said:

“This is deeply worrying, and the result of years of mistakes and poor decisions made under the Tories.  

“The severe cuts imposed on the defence budget since 2010 has led to countless knee-jerk decisions, like scrapping the Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft, which has left us reliant on allies to track Russian subs off the UK coast. 

“Last year we saw the Army shrink below 80,000 for the first time, far short of the Government’s manifesto pledge to keep it above 82,000. 

“Further cuts of £1bn each year, to make up for this mis-management of the defence budget, will do yet more severe damage to our Armed Forces. Reports that the Royal Marines could be further cut are particularly concerning. 

“On the Today programme, the Defence Secretary kept referring to investment in equipment but he needs to be investing in our forces personnel to ensure that professional standards remain high, and that they are trained to be able to operate and maintain new kit. Our Armed Forces are driven by the hard working men and women who serve and it’s time the Tories recognised that.  

“It simply isn’t good enough for ministers to say they can’t verify whether these reports are accurate. They urgently need to get a grip and explain where they intend these savings to come from.”

Barbara Keeley MP, Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Minister for Social Care, commenting on the CLG select committee report in to social care, said:

“This report is yet more evidence of government failure on social care.

“With less than 10 per cent of directors of adult social care confident they will be able to fulfil their statutory duty to provide care this coming year, it’s clear that the Government simply has not done enough to give social care the funding it needs.

“The underfunding of social care is hitting the care work force with nearly half of all care staff on zero-hours contracts and hundreds of thousands of them scandalously earning less than the living wage. And as the cuts to budgets bite, we are seeing the number of people caring for family and friends unpaid going up faster than population growth. This is bad for the family carers and can put great strain on families. 

“The Government should heed the recommendations from the committee and make sure that their upcoming Green Paper does not rule any future funding options out.  We need social care to be put on a long term sustainable financial footing and we need an end to this on-going funding crisis.”