§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will estimate how much it would cost to extend the fuel duty rebate to(a) school buses and (b) dial-a-ride schemes. [113583]
§ Mr. Hill[holding answer 8 March 2000]: Those school bus services which are registered with the Traffic Commissioner as local bus services, and which are normally available to, and used by, the general public, are already eligible for bus fuel duty rebate.
Possible changes to the scope of bus fuel duty rebate are currently being considered as part of the Commission for Integrated Transport's review of value for money from public financial support for bus services.
At this stage no estimate has been made of the cost of extending eligibility for the rebate specifically to dial-a-ride schemes or to those school bus services which are currently not eligible. Any such estimates would depend on the precise definition of the newly eligible services which was adopted for the purpose and a forecast of eligible mileage run by them.