Question
For a young person in a South Cotswolds village, the barrier to an apprenticeship is often just getting there. Buses are rare or non-existent, and the cost of running a car is out of reach on an apprentice’s pay. Will the Chancellor work with the Transport Secretary to cap bus fares at £1 and to fund more rural bus routes?
Answer
The hon. Lady is absolutely right to say that we want to see apprenticeships for young people in every part of the country, including in rural constituencies. That is why the Government have put in place the £2 bus fare in England, but we are obviously conscious that not everybody will be able to get a bus to their place of work, which is why the Chancellor has extended the freeze to fuel duty right the way through to next summer.25% vibes
Verdict: RED (18/100)
Only one of the two parts of the question received a partial answer. The reply pointed to the existing £2 bus fare cap in England but did not address the proposed £1 cap or whether the Chancellor would work with the Transport Secretary to introduce it. On rural bus routes, the reply talked about the fuel duty freeze, a different policy, and did not say anything about funding those routes. The person who asked would most likely need to submit a follow-up to get the specific information they wanted.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Will the Chancellor work with the Transport Secretary to cap bus fares at £1? | Partially Addressed | Direct | The reply cites the existing £2 bus fare cap in England, which is a concrete, related mechanism. It does not address the proposed £1 cap or whether the Chancellor will work with the Transport Secretary to introduce it, so the item is only partly answered. |
| Will the Chancellor work with the Transport Secretary to fund more rural bus routes? | Not Addressed | Generic MISREADS QUESTION | The reply acknowledges that not everyone can reach work by bus, but it then points to the fuel duty freeze, a different policy. It says nothing about funding rural bus routes or any Chancellor–Transport Secretary work on them. |