The Department for Transport (DfT) has launched a consultation into a revised distribution of special grant funding for the concessionary fares scheme.
The DfT revealed the total amount allocated would remain unchanged, with some councils expressing concern that the move did not go far enough to address shortages.
The revisions take into account data provided by councils to the Department for Communities and Local Government on how much they spent on concessionary travel.
But a spokesman for the Local Government Association (LGA) said the Government had to ensure the scheme was fully funded at individual council level. The best way to resolve the problem was to create a contingency fund to make payments to those which could demonstrate they were under-funded, he added.
Only last week, the LGA called for clarity on the scheme’s future funding arrangements. LGA chairman, Cllr Margaret Eaton, told communities secretary, John Denham, and transport minister, Sadiq Khan, in a letter that councils needed to know what they would receive before they made decisions on next year’s budget.
Last year, 10 councils reported a shortfall of more than £1m, with a further 30 authorities facing serious deficits as a result of the scheme. Fully funding these would require a top-up grant somewhere between £20m and £30m, according to the LGA.
Mr Khan said the department had listened to authorities’ concerns about the allocation of funds, and had carried out an assessment on last year’s revised grant distribution. ‘Ensuring this extra money is distributed fairly and to where it’s needed most is critical to the continued success of the scheme,’ he said.
The revised allocations raise the amount paid to authorities which experienced shortfalls in line with next year’s anticipated costs, and those which were over-paid will receive slightly less.
The only significant change will be in London, where the special grant funding has been cut by half. London Councils has expressed its anger at the move.
The Government came under increasing pressure earlier this year, when the Association of Chief Co-ordinating Officers joined Liberal Democrat transport spokesman, Norman Baker, in calling for a review of concessionary fares funding (Surveyor, 3 March).
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