Source · Select Committees · Transport Committee
Recommendation 10
10
Deferred
Require ring-fenced funding and minimum operator provision for socially necessary bus services.
Conclusion
The Department should ensure that there is funding to support the provision of socially necessary services by ring-fencing a dedicated portion of its bus grant funding or by other means. This will help ensure that the duty to identify such services has practical effect and is not undermined by competing local priorities or budgetary pressures. In addition, operators working within Enhanced Partnerships should be required to commit to a minimum level of provision on routes designated as socially necessary. (Recommendation, Paragraph 49)
Government response summary AI-generated
The government did not address the recommendation for ring-fenced funding for socially necessary services or operator commitments to minimum provision. Instead, it discussed the Integrated National Transport Strategy and efforts to improve timetable coordination across transport modes.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
The Government is providing significant funding to LTAs through the LA Bus Grant, and we have been clear that funding is expected to be used to support and improve bus services. The Department reserves the right to reduce future funding if that is not achieved. A high proportion of revenue funding provided is already spent on supporting socially necessary services. We believe it would be challenging to identify an appropriate sum of money to ringfence as the Committee recommends due to the significant differences in local circumstances, and the risk of unintended negative consequences for some LTAs, if the ringfence is set too low or too high. The allocation of a specific budget that is ring-fenced would remove an LTA’s ability to manage its funding effectively and independently. Ring-fenced money would also mean that a proportion of the budget could potentially be under-utilised on an annual basis. Consequently, LTAs may find that they receive less funding to grow their transport networks over time if they regularly maintain surplus funds due to ring-fenced funding. Alternatively, it may limit the ambition of LTAs who would otherwise have spent more on socially necessary services. We believe decisions about the appropriate level of service for parts of the network designated as socially necessary should be taken locally, based on local understanding of the area and passenger needs. In areas with an Enhanced Partnership (EP), this should be regularly discussed by LTAs and operators. This could include commitments to provide certain levels of service for a specified time. The new socially necessary local services measure in the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill will support this by ensuring EPs identify, review, and discuss such local services on a regular basis. It will also establish the processes that must be followed before they can be significantly varied or withdrawn.
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