Commons Sense

House of Commons · Westminster Hall

Public Transport Authority for South Yorkshire

27 April 2022 · 5 other contributors · 8,695 words

Opened by Alexander Stafford Con Rother Valley

Responding minister: Andrew Stephenson

EconomyTransportCommunity Security

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Alexander Stafford raised concerns about public transport authority for south yorkshire in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.

Key points

  • Mr Stafford is concerned about fragmented public transport services in South Yorkshire, which are unreliable, infrequent, and expensive, limiting access to essential services and opportunities.
  • Mr Stafford calls for the South Yorkshire Mayor to establish Transport for South Yorkshire, modeled after London and Manchester, to improve local transport provision and connectivity.
  • The Minister states the Government will introduce legislation to support the merger between the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive for better control over bus services.

Key requests to Government

Mr Stafford calls for the South Yorkshire Mayor to work with him to establish Transport for South Yorkshire based on the London and Manchester models. He urges the Minister to strongly encourage the combined authority to franchise transport and submit a fully ambitious funding proposal that addresses long-standing issues in local transport provision.

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Opened the debate

Alexander Stafford Con Rother Valley

Mr Stafford is concerned about the current state of public transport in South Yorkshire, including fragmented services, unreliable and infrequent routes, high fares, and limited connectivity. He highlighted that these issues prevent residents from accessing employment opportunities, health care, education, and social gatherings. He also pointed out that rural communities are particularly affected by poor transportation infrastructure, leaving them isolated and unable to access essential services.

Other contributors (5)
  • Clive Betts Lab Sheffield South East

    Defended the bus review process which involved 6,000 contributors and challenged Alexander Stafford to specify what parts of the £400 million bid were excessive or unrealistic. Supports cross-party backing for franchising but emphasises that it requires extra Government money to be effective, as companies like First Bus in Sheffield are losing money. Without additional resources from the government placed under transport authority control, there will be failure and discontent among constituents.

  • Dan Jarvis Lab Barnsley North

    In his speech, Dan Jarvis highlighted the investment made in South Yorkshire's transport infrastructure over four years as Mayor. He mentioned £87 million for cycling and walking improvements, £100 million for tram expansion, and millions more on bus concessions and better infrastructure. Jarvis expressed frustration at limited powers and funding from the national government, noting a decline of 40% in public transport spending between 2009 and 2020. He criticised the Government's decision to reject South Yorkshire's ambitious £474 million bus service improvement plan due to insufficient funding. Jarvis called for detailed feedback on why their bid was rejected and urged the hon. Member for Rother Valley (Alexander Stafford) to lobby for more resources.

  • Gill Furniss Lab Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough

    Expressed concerns about the lack of support from central government for public transport in South Yorkshire. Highlighted that bus coverage is at its lowest level in decades, and bus miles fell by an average of 12% between 2010 and 2017. Noted that despite the mayoral combined authority's efforts to improve transport links, funding cuts have hindered progress.

  • Paul Blomfield Lab Sheffield Central

    I support the arguments presented and highlight that South Yorkshire had a reliable, popular service until it was dismantled by Conservative Governments in the 1980s. I argue for the critical importance of investment in public transport and express regret over the rejection of the £474 million bid for bus improvements. Additionally, I question the current Government's spending cuts on public transport from £3.9 billion to £2.4 billion. Mr Paul Blomfield intervened, acknowledging the importance of an integrated public transport system but also highlighting that previous bids for a bus service improvement plan had been rejected by central Government due to their lack of ambition.

  • Sarah Champion Lab Rotherham

    Constituents in Rotherham face severely poor public transport, with an extensive survey showing that 80% of respondents stated their buses were usually late and 91% condemned services as unreliable. The situation has worsened since the pandemic, with high fares and slow services making public transport unviable for many. South Yorkshire's passenger transport executive lacks both funding and power to improve standards.

Government Response

Andrew Stephenson

The Government are committed to levelling up South Yorkshire by delivering an integrated and sustainable transport network. Strategic responsibility for local transport in South Yorkshire lies with the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, which is working towards merging with the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive to provide greater control over bus services. The Department supports this merger and will introduce legislation to facilitate it. Since 2010, £33 billion has been invested in northern England's transport infrastructure, including £570 million for South Yorkshire through the city region sustainable transport settlements programme. Bids are encouraged for the second round of the levelling-up fund to further improve connectivity and restore pride in local areas. The Department is supporting bus networks through the national bus strategy, which includes a Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) and zero-emission bus funding under the ZEBRA scheme. South Yorkshire has received more than £8 million for 27 zero-emission buses. While not all BSIP bids were approved this time, support remains available. The Government's focus is on both buses and rail infrastructure, with a £96 billion integrated rail plan to transform networks in the north and midlands.

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