Funding for concessionary travel

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Question Reference #090108-000046
Question: Freedom of Information request - Funding for concessionary
travel
Date Created: 08/01/2009 17:56
Last Updated: 08/01/2009 17:56
Status: Unresolved

Enquiry History
Customer (John Bradbury) 08/01/2009 17:56
Dear Sir or Madam,

Notts CC is responsible for running the concessionary bus passes
for over 60's and the disabled I understand that this is funded by
a grant from central government

Will you please confirm the amounts of central government grant
that has been allocated to Notts CC and the amounts actually spent
of concessionary travel for each financial year since the inception
of the scheme

Yours faithfully,

John Bradbury

show quoted sections

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Subject
Freedom of Information request - Funding for concessionary travel

Enquiry History
Response (Karen Green) 09/01/2009 09:32
Dear John,

Thank you for your enquiry.

I have passed your e-mail to Wendy Hallam, our Freedom of Information
Practitioner for Communities. Your request will now be dealt with as
described in the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

If you have any further enquiries please contact us again.

Kind regards
Customer (John Bradbury) 08/01/2009 17:56
Dear Sir or Madam,

Notts CC is responsible for running the concessionary bus passes
for over 60's and the disabled I understand that this is funded by
a grant from central government

Will you please confirm the amounts of central government grant
that has been allocated to Notts CC and the amounts actually spent
of concessionary travel for each financial year since the inception
of the scheme

Yours faithfully,

John Bradbury

show quoted sections

Dear Mr Bradbury

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

Thank you for your request for information relating to concessionary bus
passes which we received on 9 January 2009.

Your request is being considered under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
and, if the council holds the information requested, you will receive it
within the statutory timescale of 20 working days subject to the
information not being exempt or containing a reference to a third party.

For your information, the Act defines a number of exemptions which may
prevent release of the information. There will be an assessment of the
information you have requested and if an exemption applies the information
will not be released. You will be informed if this is the case, including
your rights of appeal.

If the information you request contains reference to a third party they
may be consulted prior to a decision being taken on whether or not to
release the information to you. You will be informed if this is the case.

There may be a fee payable for copying the information. You will be
informed if a fee is payable and the fee must be paid before the
information is processed and released. The 20 working day time limit for
responses is suspended until payment is received.

If you have any queries or concerns about the Freedom of Information
process then please contact me.

If you require further information about your rights, this is available
from the Information Commissioner at:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 01625 545 700
[1]www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

Wendy Hallam
FOI Practitioner
Customers and Access
Communities Dept
0115 9772287
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References

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Dear Mr Bradbury

I refer to your request for information about concessionary fares. I have
been in contact with officers in the passenger transport team and they
have asked if you can clarify your request. The County Council has been
operating a concessionary bus pass scheme since the mid 1980's and it
would take a considerable amount of time to gather financial information
about the scheme since that time.

Are we right in assuming that you are referring to the new national
entitlement to free bus travel which came into force in April 2008?

Yours sincerely

Wendy Hallam
FOI Practioner
Customers and Access
Communities Dept
0115 9772287
E-mails and any attachments from Nottinghamshire County Council are
confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the
sender immediately by replying to the e-mail, and then delete it without
making copies or using it in any other way.
Although any attachments to the message will have been checked for viruses
before transmission, you are urged to carry out your own virus check
before opening attachments, since the County Council accepts no
responsibility for loss or damage caused by software viruses.
Senders and recipients of email should be aware that, under the Data
Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the contents
may have to be disclosed in response to a request.
Nottinghamshire County Council Legal Disclaimer

Dear Mr Bradbury

Thank you for your request for information relating to the Nottinghamshire
concessionary fare scheme which we received on 9 January 2009. I am now
able to advise you that Nottinghamshire County Council administers a
concessionary travel scheme on behalf of all the district councils in
Nottinghamshire. Government funding for the scheme is only given through
the district councils within the overall Formula Grant Settlement and as
such, it cannot be separately identified. The County Council receives no
money direct from central government to administer the scheme.

It is only from April 2008 that local authorities have received a specific
government grant award towards the cost of changing from a local statutory
free fare scheme to a national free fare scheme,. This grant is also
allocated to the district and unitary authorities, not to county councils.

The travel scheme in Nottinghamshire has always been more generous than
the statutory scheme and although the County Council receives no
government funding, it does contribute towards those discretionary
elements of the scheme that are over and above the statutory scheme.

Over the last six years the Nottinghamshire County Council has contributed
the following amounts towards the discretionary elements of the
Nottinghamshire countywide scheme:

2008/09 **544k (See Note)

2007/08 **844k

2006/07 **801k

2005/06 **728k

2004/05 **805k

2003/04 **866k

For comparison, the overall cost of the Nottinghamshire countywide scheme
for each of the last six years has been:

2008/09 **9.45M

2007/08 **8M

2006/07 **7.16M (See Note)

2005/06 **2.48M

2004/05 **2.13M

2003/04 **2.13M

Note *** the changes in these years relate to the change of statutory duty
and / or the level of concessionary discount offered.

In 2008/09 the seven Nottinghamshire Districts received a total of
**2,021,000 towards the costs of the national free fare scheme. It is not
possible to separately identify the amount of government funding available
for concessionary travel in the preceding five years.

I hope this information is helpful

Yours sincerely

Wendy Hallam

FOI Practitioner

Communities Department

0115 9772287

E-mails and any attachments from Nottinghamshire County Council are
confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the
sender immediately by replying to the e-mail, and then delete it without
making copies or using it in any other way.
Although any attachments to the message will have been checked for viruses
before transmission, you are urged to carry out your own virus check
before opening attachments, since the County Council accepts no
responsibility for loss or damage caused by software viruses.
Senders and recipients of email should be aware that, under the Data
Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the contents
may have to be disclosed in response to a request.
Nottinghamshire County Council Legal Disclaimer