§ Mr. WallaceTo ask the Sectretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the additional number of bus services which will be established as a result of the rural transport funding package announced by his Department in March; and if he will make a statement. [38667]
§ Mr. McLeishI am confident what the £4.5 million package, the major part of which I am earmarking for aiding rural bus services, will significantly improve public transport links in rural areas. However, as we are currently588W Consulting about the distribution of that proporation of the funding which will be made to local authorities, we havae not yet made any predictions about the number of additional bus services which will be provided.