§ Mr. BreedTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans the Government have to provide door-to-door public transport services for those unable to walk to rural bus stops. [16584]
§ Ms KeebleI have been asked to reply.
The Government are specifically supporting the development of demand responsive, door-to-door transport services in rural areas, especially through DTLR's Rural Bus Challenge and the Countryside Agency's Rural Transport Partnership programme. The Rural White Paper published last year announced £92 million would be made available over the next three years to fund these two initiatives. Many of these services will also benefit as a result of the Government's intention to extend eligibility to receive fuel duty rebate to a wide range of community transport services. Following consultation earlier this year, regulations implementing this change will be introduced later this financial year.
§ Mr. BreedTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of households in rural areas lived within 10 minutes walk of at least hourly bus services in(a) 1996, (b) 1997, (c) 1998, (d) 1999, (e) 2000 and (f) 2001. [15908]
§ Ms KeebleI have been asked to reply.
334WThe proportion of households in rural areas within Great Britain living within about 10 minutes walk of a bus stop with at least an hourly service was:
Year Percentage 1992–94 44 1995–97 41 1998–2000 50 Trends should be treated with caution as sample sizes for rural areas are small, despite aggregation of data over a three year period.