asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he can now indicate the priority that is being given to increased subsidies for rural bus services; what extra provision is being made in the current year for the country as a whole and for Leicestershire in particular; and if he will make a statement.
The distribution of transport supplementary grant for 1975–76 for Leicestershire as for all other counties included an allowance on the basis of the county's own estimate of its revenue support expenditure for 1974–75 plus 20 per cent. The distribution of the grant as a whole for 1975–76 has been determined and cannot now be changed. The Government recognise that 93 per cent. of the £123 million revenue support provision this year is going to the major conurbations. For 1976–77, however, greater priority will be given to proposals for revenue support in the less densely populated areas.