§ Mr. Donald Stewartasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the fall in regional authority support for bus services.
§ Mr. MillanFinancial support for bus services is a matter for regional and islands councils to determine in the light of their assessment of the needs of their areas. In 1976–77, they spent £9.1 million on this support, and the figure for 1977–78 was about £4.6 million. The126W difference was due to reduced requests for support from the Scottish Bus Group and to lower levels of support for PTE, municipal and privately owned undertakings. Support payments in 1978–79 are likely to be rather above the 1976–77 level.