Agenda item

Report of the Cabinet Member for Commercial

The Select Committee had considered a report in July 2017 which had provided details of the public consultation on bus journeys subsidised by Staffordshire County Council.  The eight week consultation had taken place between July and September 2017.  The report had highlighted that over 90% of bus passenger journeys in Staffordshire were undertaken on the commercial bus network with the authority currently providing funding for less than 10% of the bus journeys which were not commercially viable. 

In February 2016, having considered its duty under section 63 (1) (a) of the Transport Act 1985, the Council agreed to provide a sum of £600,000 per annum from 2018/19 onwards, which when combined with the Bus Services Operator Grant (BSOG) would provide a total budget of £1.3m to enable bus journeys which would not be possible on the commercial bus network.  The consultation suggested four options on how the agreed allocated funding could best be spent.  The consultation document explained that Option 1 – Revised Local Supported Bus Services (no Connect or Demand Responsive Services) – was the preferred option as it retained the greatest number of existing bus journeys whilst minimising the public subsidy for each passenger trip.  In some cases this amounted to £13.66 per journey.  In terms of general concerns raised by respondents, these included social isolation, access to services including health and retail, potential  social and health care impacts and more limited education an employment access due to a lack of suitable alternatives for them.  The results of the consultation analysis indicated that there was most agreement from respondents for Option 1.

Member discussed this in two parts, consideration of the options proposed and consideration of the consultation. 

In referring to the £13.66 subsidy the Cabinet Member had mentioned that part of the objective in addressing this was to meet MTFS requirements.  It was queried whether this presented a moral and ethical question or whether it was purely financial.  He responded that it was in fact both and whilst these were challenging times financially, the main objective was to look after the most vulnerable people in the community.   It was also important to help people to help themselves, learn from best practice and be innovative.    

Members expressed concerns that bus companies should be more business orientated, and requested that when the Cabinet Member met with them he discuss how they may adopt a more commercial approach and that they come forward with details of how they were planning to market their services and improve operationally.  It would be important to work with them to keep routes open and also promote routes.  Members also suggested that the County Council work with Parish and District Councils to encourage local community/voluntary transport schemes.  Members considered that the My Staffs App could be developed to include details of community transport schemes and suggested that this might be an idea that the Community Support Members could take forward.  It was also important to work closely with voluntary groups, possibly using pump primed funding to incentivise communities and organisations.

  Members considered that more work was needed to encourage volunteers, including how to make volunteering easier and more attractive, and lobbying MPs to ask them to remove potential legal obstacles.  It was thought that the concept of “People Helping People” could positively impact on volunteering, as could offering training, encouragement and support to volunteers.  Members queried how concerns around social isolation for the most vulnerable would be monitored and benchmarked.  The Cabinet Member assured them that he would give priority to addressing this matter, and that benchmarking would be against best practice across the country.

Members noted the budget of £600,000 within the MTFS for 2018/19, but queried whether this funding would be maintained for the future.  They were informed that the current MTFS assumed that this money remained although it was noted that the BSOG monies were provided by central government and so were not in the direct control of the authority.

In regard to the consultation, members suggested that there may be an environmental impact as a consequence of Option 1, with air pollution being affected by an increase in car journeys.  In relation to community transport, members suggested that the Cabinet Member lobby MPs to propose changes to Section 19 Permits under the Transport Act which require not for profit passenger drivers to have the same permits as bus operators, as this stifled innovation.  Members expressed disappointment at the low level of responses from MPs and local councils, and requested that they be supplied with a list of respondees.  The Committee agreed to monitor the impact of the removal of bus subsidies going forward. 

RESOLVED – That:

a)    The comments of the Prosperous Staffordshire Select Committee be fed back to Cabinet by the Cabinet Member for Commercial, prior to a final decision being made by Cabinet on 15 November 2017;

b)    A list of respondees to the consultation be provided to members of the Committee; and

The Committee monitor the impact of the removal of bus subsidies going forward.