The Treasury has again rebuffed attempts to obtain a bespoke support package for the coach industry. It says that it is “not currently prepared” to provide a specific ‘aid to trade’ grant or further financial measures for the sector.
The disappointing message was conveyed to MP Emma Hardy and Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) Chief Executive Graham Vidler in a letter dated 16 December and signed by John Glen MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury. It follows a meeting between Mrs Hardy, industry representatives and Treasury minister Kemi Badenoch on 3 December.
In his response, Mr Glen says that the government has already offered a “generous economy-wide package of measures.” He adds that the Treasury’s decision not to offer sector-specific support to coach operators is “based on the evidence available.”
Numerous submissions have been made to Westminster and the devolved governments to illustrate the impact of coronavirus COVID-19 on the coach industry. However, because of overall pressure on public finances, “the bar for bespoke sector-specific support is very high,” Mr Glenn says.
DfE money in England cited as evidence of coach industry support
In a move that will further frustrate much of the sector, Mr Glen refers to additional money that has been made available in England by the Department for Education (DfE) for additional dedicated home-to-school transport as evidence of existing government support for the coach industry.
In a debate in Westminster Hall on 10 December, Mrs Hardy said that money had benefited a fraction of the total number of coaches that are otherwise idle. Many operators have stated that they are unable to access it. In his letter, Mr Glen also refers to the £3m made available to support scheduled coach services over the winter travel window.
While the latest government refusal to provide support to the coach industry comes as a blow, Mrs Hardy has pledged to continue her work to highlight the sector’s plight. “I shall call for another debate. We will keep going, keep the pressure on and we shall not give up,” she says.
CPT calls on minister to join the coach industry’s cause
In an associated development, CPT has sent a letter co-signed by over 230 coach operators to Under-Secretary of State for Transport Rachel Maclean. Ms Maclean was responding minister at the 10 December Westminster Hall debate.
CPT asks her to “join our call in making the case for providing support to a sector that, should it fail, will impact on both the country’s economic and social recovery, and the delivery of important environmental goals.”
The letter underlines that the industry “is fundamentally healthy and profitable” and it reiterates the need for previously requested support mechanisms.
Those relate to extensions to vehicle finance payment holidays, eligibility for grants awarded to leisure and tourism businesses and the topping-up of payments for home-to-school services while ‘infill’ work is lacking.
Ms Maclean delivered a bland and noncommittal response to the Westminster Hall debate, although she told those MPs present that the coach industry’s good health “is a vital issue” to ministers and that conversations about the sector will continue.
Transcription of the 10 December debate available on Hansard.
