50th Report - Local bus services in England

Select Committee
Public Accounts Committee HC 892 29 October 2025
Report Status Government responded
Conclusions & Recommendations 29 items (16 recs)
Source View on Parliament website
Government Response (AI assessment · 29 of 29 classified)
Accepted 24
Acknowledged 1
Deferred 2
Not Addressed 2
Government response
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Fiftieth report from Session 2024-26 · published 19 Jan 2026
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Recommendations & Conclusions

2 results
17 Conclusion Not Addressed
Bus franchising requires significant time and cost, considerably exceeding Departmental estimates.
Conclusion
The Department of Transport is encouraging more local transport authorities to consider franchising their bus services. Franchising, whereby local transport authorities take on more responsibility for bus services and award contracts to private operators, gives local transport authorities more control … Read more
Government Response Summary
This item is a conclusion but the response addresses the recommendation 4, as the conclusion is linked to the recommendation. The Department is committed to supporting local transport authorities to deliver better bus services and share learnings, including through the Bus Centre of Excellence, shared guidance and advice, a handbook and toolkit, active support and funding to local transport authorities exploring franchising, and updated guidance with actionable steps for Enhanced Partnerships, including an EP Manual.
HM Treasury
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19 Conclusion Not Addressed
Local transport authorities lack capacity and capability for bus franchising models.
Conclusion
We asked the Department whether local transport authorities had sufficient information to know what the right delivery model is for their local area.42 The Department said its role is to help local authorities understand the options and acknowledged that many … Read more
Government Response Summary
This item is a conclusion but the response addresses the recommendation 4, as the conclusion is linked to the recommendation. The Department is committed to supporting local transport authorities to deliver better bus services and share learnings, including through the Bus Centre of Excellence, shared guidance and advice, a handbook and toolkit, active support and funding to local transport authorities exploring franchising, and updated guidance with actionable steps for Enhanced Partnerships, including an EP Manual.
HM Treasury
View Details