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Concessionary Bus Fares

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his contribution, but the Minister has been extremely generous in preparing for the Bill by inviting Opposition spokesmen to help to iron out several issues before it comes to the House. She has been able to answer several of the questions on which the Liberal Democrat spokesman and I sought reassurance—although that does not, as I am sure she can imagine, mean that we shall not give the Bill extensive scrutiny in Committee. We have heard the usual comments today about bus companies. Some such comments are undoubtedly true, but there is no balance. One of the problems with the deregulated markets at the moment is that bus companies are becoming increasingly frustrated by what they see as local authorities’ failings, and local authorities are increasingly frustrated by what they see as bus companies’ failure to invest or to be responsive. The operators have freedom to decide where and when to run buses, but they are banned from co-ordinating with other operators. Local authorities can offer subsidised and non-commercial schemes, but there are restrictions on deals and on what they can negotiate on service levels. Of course, local authorities can invest in quality bus corridors and bus improvement schemes—I have been to see several of those. The private sector benefits from them, but several local authorities feel that they do not make a greater contribution to the public purse. However, those are not necessarily good arguments for the reintroduction of older schemes or for making the tests on quality contracts easier. There is a lot of talk about the schemes that quality contracts might enact if the test were made easier. The schemes would be similar to those on the London bus network, but that is not the paragon of virtue that many people who live outside London’s precincts believe it to be. The Government believe that the current test for quality contracts is far too exacting and that the public interest clause should be redefined to state exact circumstances. Although it is clear that voluntary partnerships continue to work and can be made to work, it is not clear, even with the revision to the test that the Minister proposes in ““Putting Passengers First?, whether quality contracts can ever work. They seem to take us back to the pre-1985 solution. The Minister talks about the Bill and ““Putting Passengers First?, but rather than trying to make quality contracts work, we want her to make voluntary and quality partnerships work.