To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the level of tender prices for new and additional rural bus services in Bedfordshire funded by the rural bus service grant. [80248]

The award of contracts for subsidised bus services is a matter for the local authority concerned. However, a number of local authorities, of which I know Bedfordshire is one, have reported concerns about recent increases in tender costs. We will be considering this issue as part of our assessment with local authorities of the impact of the rural bus subsidy grant and in monitoring bus industry performance more generally.