Agenda item

The Cabinet considered a report of the Corporate Director of Regeneration, Economy and Growth which provided a financial update on spending under the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) in 2022/23 and 2023/24 and how that underspend has been deployed to support bus service provision in line with the decision taken by Cabinet in October 2022.  The report proposed that the underspend forecast in the ENCTS budget should continue to be redirected to support for bus services in 2024/25 and beyond, given that bus patronage continues to remain subdued (for copy of report, see file of minutes).

Councillor E Scott, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Economy and Partnerships explained that the huge reductions of patronage and changes in travel demands continued to place great strain on the sector. A viable network had been maintained through commendable partnership work between council officers and the local bus operators. This was vital for the residents of County Durham and had been feasible as Cabinet were keen to ensure that underspends in one part of the service were being utilised to support the wider bus network. Bus services were a lifeline for residents in County Durham, helping them get to and from their places of work, schools or colleges, and to enable them to access essential services.

Councillor M Wilkes, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhoods and Climate Change explained that local bus services were vital in getting residents to work, to school and to access essential services. Since COVID bus services, despite additional government funding had seen the number of people using free bus passes falling, as had the number of paying passengers. With this report the Council were ensuring that every penny of the funding provided went back into bus services and Councillor Wilkes pleaded for bus companies operating in the county to do all they could to ensure that bus services were operating efficiently and to bring back as many services as they could manage financially. The taxpayer and Council were providing significant subsidy to these companies and it was often referenced that services were not up to the standards expected by the public.

Resolved:

That the recommendations in the report be approved.