My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have taken part in this debate. I will take each amendment in turn, beginning with Amendments 59 and 60.
Amendment 59 would enable franchising authorities to cancel the date on which local service contracts may first be entered into for a franchising area or sub-area. I admit to being unclear as to the purpose of this amendment and would welcome further clarification from my noble friend. The amendment that my noble friend proposes is to the section in the Bill which enables franchising authorities to postpone the date on which local service contracts can first be entered into, for example to deal with a situation in which the procurement exercise takes longer than anticipated.
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The Bill already provides for revocation of a franchising scheme where the franchising authority thinks that local services are likely to be better if the scheme did
not apply, where the continued operation of the scheme is likely to cause financial difficulties for the authority or where the burdens of continuing the scheme outweigh the benefits of doing so. If the ability to revoke a franchising scheme and move back to the deregulated model of bus service delivery is what my noble friend is concerned about, then I can reassure him that the Bill already provides for this.
Amendment 60 would prohibit a franchising authority from reconsidering a franchising scheme for five years from the point at which it decides to cancel a scheme. Moving to a model of franchising is an important decision and one which will have an impact on bus operators, local passengers and the local authority itself. We have developed the Bill with this in mind and included a number of processes which franchising authorities must follow before they can introduce a franchising scheme. The processes are designed to ensure that the proposed scheme is assessed, the relevant parts of the assessment audited and that stakeholders have a chance to respond to a consultation on a proposed scheme before any decision to move to a model of franchising is taken.
I agree that any decision to revoke a scheme is important. I also fully recognise the disruption it would cause to local passengers and the uncertainty caused to bus operators in the area if a scheme were to be revoked only to be followed, a short time later, by the introduction of another scheme. However, I have concerns about the amendment as drafted, particularly as it has been drafted in relation to the section in the Bill which relates to postponing the time at which local service contracts can be entered into. I will consider, however, how best to ensure that the Bill achieves the objective of the amendment.
Amendment 61A, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Bradley, provides that a franchising authority may apply to the court for an injunction to prevent a person from continuing to operate a service in a franchising area if it is not operating under a local service contract, is not an interim service and is not provided under a service permit. I agree entirely that there must be suitable mechanisms in place to enable authorities to take action against bus operators which should not be operating in franchised areas. That is why we have included provisions in the Bill to enable traffic commissioners to impose sanctions in relation to such operators. These provisions enable traffic commissioners to impose financial penalties and attach conditions to operators’ licences preventing them from running services in certain areas in future.
I recognise the issue the noble Lord raises regarding occasional or event services where the time for a traffic commissioner to act may be limited. However, the traffic commissioners’ powers are wide-ranging and include an ability to impose fines on operators. This is not an issue that I am aware has been raised widely by local transport authorities. If it is likely to be a particular issue in Manchester or any other local area, I would encourage the relevant local transport authorities to discuss with the Office of the Traffic Commissioner whether it would be possible to expedite decisions in particular circumstances.
The noble Lord, Lord Bradley, also raised the issue that bus services operating under service permits could undermine rail services. I note his point about the ambition to deliver integrated bus, tram and rail services. However, I remain concerned that passengers should be given a choice as to how they travel, as it may be, for example, that a bus service is a cheaper option than the tram or train alternative. I hope this discussion has reassured the noble Lord that the Bill as drafted includes sufficient mechanisms to deal with operators which are not authorised to operate in a franchised area.
The noble Lord, Lord Bradley, and the noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, also proposed amendments to the service permit provisions in the Bill. The noble Lord, Lord Bradley, proposes Amendment 66, which would prevent franchising authorities from granting applications for service permits unless they are satisfied that the service proposed would not have an adverse effect on the authority’s ability to afford the franchise scheme. The intention of the service permit provisions is not to enable bus operators with service permits to compete with franchised services on the road. I agree entirely that it would be unreasonable for a franchising authority to be required to grant a service permit to a bus operator who was proposing to run a service that would have an adverse effect on a franchised service. That is why we specifically stated in the Bill that service permits should be granted only where the proposed service will benefit local people and where it will not have an adverse effect on any local service provided under a local service contract. As such, I think that the Bill already achieves many of the aims of the noble Lord’s amendments.
Amendment 67, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, would further reinforce the need for authorities operating a franchising scheme fully to consult passengers on the conditions that may be attached to the operation of certain services running in a franchised area under a service permit. The Bill enables franchising authorities also to attach conditions to service permits, which could include, for example, a condition that required the operator to accept certain tickets or display certain information on services. Before such conditions could be imposed, the franchising authority would have to consult on a notice which set out those conditions and publish that notice. I agree entirely that passengers should have an opportunity to comment on the proposed conditions, as it is possible that they could make services more or less attractive to local people. I will therefore consider how best to ensure that the Bill achieves the objective of the amendment.
I hope that my comments have reassured noble Lords that I understand many of their concerns and that they will therefore choose not to press their amendments.