My Lords, I thank all noble Lords for their contributions during this short debate. When we discuss new tools the Bill provides for local authorities to improve their bus services, it is important to bear in mind how local bus services are currently planned and provided. As noble Lords know, bus companies are responsible for providing local bus services; they design and deliver these services. Local authorities do not necessarily play any part in this, but they can work with their local bus companies to influence and help shape the services provided. These services are not run under contract to the authority.
Of course, local authorities can tender for socially necessary bus services to complement the commercial network. As noble Lords may be aware, only 17% of total bus mileage in England outside London is supported in this way by local authorities, with the remainder being provided on a commercial basis.
The enhanced partnership schemes are designed to cover a broader geographical area than the advanced quality partnership schemes we have already debated. Enhanced partnership schemes would enable local authorities to introduce a wide range of standards, including things such as vehicle standards, smart-ticketing requirements, types of tickets sold, and even the price of a multi-operator ticket, provided these receive majority support from local operators. Once agreed, all operators running, or wishing to run, services in the EPS area will have to comply with the specified standards.
New Section 138C(3) and (4), to be introduced by the Bill, set out the detailed requirements that may be imposed by local authorities as part of an enhanced partnership scheme. If included in a scheme, these become mandatory requirements for all services in the enhanced partnership area.
I turn to the amendments and first to Amendment 84A, moved by the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley. The Bill already stipulates in new Section 138H that any requirements imposed under the enhanced partnership scheme are to be included in the scheme. Once the scheme is made, these requirements will apply to all local bus services in the area.
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Amendment 84B would make it mandatory for a scheme to include requirements on frequency and timing of services. It is our view that it should be for individual partnerships to determine whether such requirements are necessary. If the Bill were to specify this in all cases, it may demand that local transport authorities impose such requirements, even in cases when they are not necessary.
Amendment 85, proposed by the noble Baroness, may have some unintended effects. For example, if an enhanced partnership scheme may consider standards of service only under new Section 138C(3), the standards listed in new subsection (4) cannot be imposed. This would remove an essential part of the proposals—namely, the power of local authorities to mandate standards of service that operators must meet under an enhanced partnership scheme. I am not sure that was the intention of the noble Baroness. I, of course—as, I am sure, she does—see merit in the local authority having to consider whether it would be appropriate to include all the standards of services listed in the Bill, and we will issue guidance in this respect.
Turning to Amendment 86, the noble Baroness suggests that requirements may specifically include emission standards and disabled access requirements. This amendment seems to offer a helpful clarification of the range of optional requirements that may be imposed by a local authority on the vehicles that are operated in an enhanced partnership area, and I agree to consider it. The noble Lord, Lord Shipley, asked what can be specified for a vehicle under an enhanced partnership. The Bill allows the scheme to specify any requirements concerning the vehicle. He gave some
examples. They can also include emissions, livery, colour, access requirements or anything else the LTA believes is necessary to improve services to passengers.
Amendment 90AA would allow the LTA, as one of the measures that it may take under new Section 138D, to carry out performance monitoring of a scheme. I agree with the intention that such monitoring may be a useful addition to a scheme. However, it should be for the LTA itself to determine whether to undertake such monitoring and, if so, what specific elements it covers. This may vary from scheme to scheme. For example, in some schemes, there may be no issues with driver behaviour but the cleanliness of the buses may be an issue. In others, it may be the other way around, or other issues may require monitoring. But I totally understand and appreciate the helpful point made by this amendment, and therefore I agree to consider this amendment as well. With the explanation that I have provided and the reassurance I have given on two of the amendments, I hope the noble Lord will withdraw his amendment.