Purpose

To agree to spend Bus Service Improvement Plan
plus (BSIP+) funding allocated by Government

Content

RESOLVED
 
KEY DECISION
 

That the
Executive:
 

a)   
Noted the allocation of £569,412 of Bus
Service Improvement Plan plus funding for each of the financial
years 2023/24 and 2024/25;

 

b)   
Noted that the allocation of future funding
including the Bus Service Improvement Plan plus funding for 2024/25
is dependent on the Council’s overall bus budget (comprising
the bus subsidy budget of £275,000 and concessionary fares
budget of £2,907,320) not being reduced.

 

c)   
Delegated authority to the Executive Member for
Highways, Travel & Assets in consultation with the Executive
Director of Place & Economy to take any actions needed to award
the local bus service contracts and any further decisions/actions
relating to expenditure of the BSIP+ funding.
 

Reason for Recommendations
– To spend the external funding in accordance with the terms
and conditions of the grant.

 

Alternative Options Considered – The Council could choose
not to accept the external funding or to spend it in ways which
were inconsistent with the terms and conditions of the
grant.  This would not be in the best
interest of the community and would jeopardise future funding
allocations.  Launching new services in
areas with limited demand for bus travel is unlikely to represent
value for money in achieving the objectives of the funding, and not
appropriate with no long-term funding certainty.