Transferring responsibility for the concessionary fare scheme from district to county councils will not solve the £30M funding crisis, according to local authority leaders.
The Local Government Association urged the Government to address the system of financing the policy ‘as a matter of urgency’ in its submission to the Department for Transport’s consultation on the free bus pass scheme, which closed last week.
The consultation suggested that switching administration of the scheme to county level could resolve the funding shortfalls many local authorities had faced since it was introduced in April 2008.
However, the LGA disagrees and pointed to evidence it collected which suggested that even if funds were pooled at county level, some areas would still face shortfalls. According to the research, there would still be a £2M shortfall in Lancashire, £1.5M in North Yorkshire, and £1M in Gloucestershire.
The LGA has called on the Government for an accurate distribution of funding to reflect how costs fall at individual council level, and a commitment to the roll out of smartcard technology to record the number of passengers and journeys made.
Cambridgeshire County Council raised concerns that the DfT proposals could leave local authorities worse off, and councils in Essex warned they were on a ‘red alert’ after the county council had to step in to fund a £1.3M ‘black hole’ in the scheme.
Hampshire County Council has called for flexibility to apply the concessions to taxi share schemes and other innovative transport, to allow for an effective provision going forward – on the condition that satisfactory funding arrangements are reached.
Bruce Thompson, Devon County Council’s transport co-ordination service manager, said the funding imbalances, which were causing ‘severe pressure’ on councils in England, were in stark contrast to the fully-funded schemes across the border.
‘Any transfer of responsibility to upper-tier authorities should, therefore, attract sufficient funding to ensure that these authorities are fully reimbursed,’ Thompson added.
Meanwhile, the Association of Transport Co-ordinating Officers said reimbursement through a central agency would be a ‘far more efficient approach’. Communities and Local Government will consult separately on the funding implications of any proposed changes.
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