§ 6. Mr. Eric Illsley (Barnsley, Central)What steps he is taking to improve community transport in Barnsley.[105788]
§ The Minister of State, Department of Transport (Mr. John Spellar)Funding for community transport is provided through the local transport plan and urban and rural bus challenge schemes. It is encouraging to see that the partners in Barnsley are making good use of this funding and have recently been successful in securing schemes to serve the communities of Penistone and Athersley.
§ Mr. IllsleyI am grateful to my right hon. Friend for that reply. As he probably knows, Barnsley has the highest need for community and social transport in south Yorkshire. However, proposals to be discussed this week would move 60 per cent. of community transport funding into the private and commercial sectors. The money would go to companies governed by commercial considerations such as profitability. Does my right hon. Friend think that that would be best use of those resources? Does the proposal fit the Government's policies in relation to community transport?
§ Mr. SpellarMy hon. Friend will know that I visited the borough of Barnsley last year and saw the community transport scheme there. I am aware that discussions are taking place with the South Yorkshire passenger transport authority, which is looking at the interface between community transport and the accessible mainstream bus services. We must see how that work evolves, and there will need to be discussions afterwards to ensure that an excellent service being provided to the community in Barnsley is sustained.