Local Transport Bill

My right honourable friend the Minister of State for Transport (Rosie Winterton) has made the following Ministerial Statement. I am today publishing the Government's response to the consultation on the draft Local Transport Bill (which was introduced in the House of Lords yesterday and published today). This response explains how the Bill has been revised in the light of pre-legislative scrutiny and responses to the public consultation. I am also publishing a summary of the views expressed in the written responses, at consultation events and meetings, and during the course of a series of regional visits to hear people's views about the draft Bill. The core purpose of the Bill is to improve public transport and tackle congestion, and it forms a key part of the Government's strategy to empower local authorities to deliver local transport that meets the needs of their communities. In so doing, it will also support the Government's efforts to tackle climate change. It creates new opportunities for local authorities to deliver bus services that are better suited to the needs of local passengers; to develop more coherent approaches to the planning and delivery of local transport; and, where they wish to do so, to develop local road pricing schemes in a way that best meets local needs whilst ensuring that schemes are consistent and interoperable. It also contains measures to allow for the establishment of a new statutory body to represent the interests of bus and coach passengers in England. Copies of the Government's response to the consultation, and other related documents, have been placed in the Vote Office, the Libraries of the House and are also available on the department's website.