Local Transport Bill [Lords]

This provision is for a time-limited period of nine months, plus three months as a further option, to get the contracts in place. Under the scheme, there is a period of time for the contract that was running, so it would be for the remainder of that period that this would run. That is why I believe that if there were a problem with the tendering, there would also be a wider issue that needed to be dealt with. Amendments (e) and (f) appear to be getting at a slightly different issue. They seek to insert references to quality partnership schemes into new clause 9. The idea seems to be that, if a quality contract operator were unable to continue operating his services, the local authority might seek to fill that gap with a quality partnership scheme. But such an arrangement is wholly unworkable. The whole point of quality contracts schemes is that bus services falling within them are to be provided under quality contracts. I simply cannot see how the authority could superimpose a quality partnership scheme on top of an existing quality contract scheme. Furthermore, a quality partnership scheme involves the provision of facilities by the local authority, and bus operators wishing to use them must deliver an improved standard of service. I simply cannot see what hon. Members are seeking to achieve through these amendments other than attempting to wreck a sensible set of existing powers. Amendment No. 5 simply states the obvious. It is a requirement, under clause 19 as drafted, that a proposed scheme bring benefits to people using bus services by improving the quality of the service. Clearly, the requirement must be judged against some other scenario, and the only reasonable and realistic one is to do exactly what the amendment says—to compare the expected benefits of a quality contracts scheme with what would be expected if things carried on without a scheme. Indeed, that is what the guidance will advise. That is not quite the same as saying that the effects of the scheme must be compared with the status quo, because in some cases it would be clear that, if no changes were made, services would be cut, passenger numbers would fall and we should be into a downward spiral. The effect of amendment No. 6 would be much more substantive than that of amendment No. 5, because a quality contracts scheme could not be made if there were any adverse effects on any bus operator or anybody living or working in the area. I think that anyone who understands the public transport industry or who has had to respond to correspondence from the public about bus or rail services will know that that condition is impossible to meet—or as good as impossible. Virtually any change in the pattern of service routes or timetables, however well planned and however well intended, will inconvenience somebody or other—even if it brings great improvements for the vast majority. That applies just as much to franchised rail services as it does to deregulated bus services, and it is just a fact of life. Amendment No. 7—another amendment proposed by the hon. Member for Wimbledon—is more perplexing. It appears to remove discretion from the local transport authority about how it would publish a consultation document, but it does not prescribe how it should be done. In the absence of anything further, the local transport authority could do only what it thought fit, having regard, of course, to the statutory guidance. The Government believe that local authorities can be relied on to take a reasonable view to how consultation documents should be published; it is something that they do all the time. Amendment No. 8 would require the local transport authority to send copies of the consultation document to various specified people or classes of persons. That is over and above the list of statutory consultees specified in the Transport Act 2000. The guidance that we are proposing can supplement the statutory requirements on local authorities, without obliging them to follow it to the letter in every single case. We published this guidance in draft in December, but we will consult on a revised version of the quality contracts scheme volume around the turn of the year, taking into account a number of points made in debates both here and in the other place. The guidance will certainly highlight the need to ensure that bodies representing disabled people are properly consulted.