Bus service provision

The request was successful.

Campaign for Better Transport

Dear Worcestershire County Council,

I am gathering information on bus and public transport provision as part of the Save our Buses campaign, which maps cuts to bus services across the country. We know that the Government has made deep cuts to local authority budgets, and that this is having an effect on the provision of local bus services. We would like to gather a national picture of bus cuts, so that we can explain to central Government exactly how their decisions are having an impact across the country.

My questions are as follows, in each case only with respect to Worcestorshire Council:

1. What is the total budget for supported bus services in the fiscal year 2016/17?

2. What was total budget for supported bus services in the fiscal year 2015/16?

Note: This refers to the Department for Transport’s definition of a supported bus service as: “one where a local transport authority has invited tenders for the operation of a service (not e.g. seats on a bus or subsidised tickets etc), and a contract exists as a result of that tender”. Please, exclude extra sources of funding such as Section 106/developer funding, Community Infrastructure Levy, local authority staffing and publicity, RTPI expenditure and revenue, the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG), Local Education Authority funding for home to school transport, NHS-funded non-emergency patient transport, social services transport, voluntary transport and other central and national government grants or income streams.

3. What is the fiscal year 2016/17 budget for supported bus services as a percentage of the total transport budget?

Note: For the purposes of this request 'transport' includes highway maintenance, home to school/college transport; adult social care transport; demand responsive transport; special educational need transport and voluntary driver schemes, cycling and walking, roads spending, supported bus services and fares. Please include the council’s contributions to projects jointly funded by multiple organisations, but exclude contributions from those other organisations and funding streams, such as Local Enterprise Partnerships, private sector contributions, Local Growth Fund, Department for Transport contributions to Local Authority Major Projects, Local Sustainable Transport Fund etc.

4. What proportion of total council expenditure (capital and current) is constituted by local bus funding?

5. How many and which supported routes have had cuts in services in the fiscal year 2016/17 (for example loss of weekend or evening services)?

6. How many and which supported routes have been completely withdrawn in the fiscal year 2016/17?

7. Does your council provide free school transport to nearest or catchment school, or to nearest school only? If nearest school only, please indicate if this is a change since Jan 2012.

Our campaign also seeks to promote examples of councils which have protected bus services, sometimes in innovative ways. Please do feel free to share any information you feel is relevant on how your council has protected bus services.

Thank you.

Yours faithfully,

Lianna Etkind
Campaign For Better Transport

Do not Reply - Worcestershire County Council, Worcestershire County Council

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Request For Information #246345

Dear Lianna Etkind

Request for Information – Freedom of Information Act 2000 / Environmental
Information Regulations 2004 

Thank you for contacting Worcestershire County Council.  I acknowledge
your request for information has been received.

Your request is being considered and we will contact you within the
statutory 20 working day timescale.

Yours sincerely

Information Access Team

Corporate Information Management Unit (CIMU)
Worcestershire County Council
[Worcestershire County Council request email] 

This email address is not monitored , please do not reply

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Worcestershire County Council

2 Attachments

EIR Request Response

 
Dear Lianna Etkind

REQUEST REGARDING:  Bus service provision

We have completed our response to this Environmental Information
Regulations request, please see the letter attached for further
information.

Yours sincerely,
Hirschhorn, Linda (BEC)
 

Worcestershire County Council

This email address is not monitored , please do not reply

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Campaign for Better Transport

Dear Worcestershire County Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Worcestershire County Council's handling of my FOI request 'Bus service provision'.

Following an analysis of FOI requests forwarded to you, I stumbled across discrepancies in the information that you provided me with. In your last report, you stated that your budget for supported bus services is £1.6 million for 2016/17, and was £1.6 million for the year 2015/16.
After examining my reports for last year’s info, I found details that stated that your 2015/16 supported bus budget was £2,573,633.

Please review my original request, keeping in mind that the budget that I requested is net budget, (NOT actual expenditure), usually listed under "Local Bus Services", and EXCLUDES expenses such as home to school transport, Contributions from third parties, or income from minimum cost contracts.
I'm including the previous FOI sent to you below:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/b...

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/b...

Yours faithfully,

Campaign for Better Transport

Harbison, Paul, Worcestershire County Council

1 Attachment

Good morning,

 

Please accept this email as acknowledgement of your request for EIR
246345, regarding bus service provision.  I have been forwarded your email
of the 20^th February 2017 to Freedom of Information at Worcestershire
County Council and I will be undertaking taking a review of the handling
of this request. I will send a response within 25 working days.

 

Please see below link to Worcestershire County Council Corporate
Complaints Procedure, EIRs are investigated under Stage 2 of the
Procedure. If you remain unhappy after the review has been conducted you
will have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner.

 

 

[1]http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/info/20...

 

 

Regards,

 

 

Paul Harbison

Consumer Relations Officer (Corporate)

Consumer Relations Unit

Worcestershire County Council, County Hall, Spetchley Road, Worcester, WR5
2NP

Office:   01905 846364

Email:    [2][email address]

 

[3]cid:image003.jpg@01D1EC9B.D439D160

 

 

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1. http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/info/20...
2. mailto:[email address]

Harbison, Paul, Worcestershire County Council

1 Attachment

Good afternoon,

 

I am writing further to my email of 27^th February 2017. Unfortunately I
am still awaiting confirmation of the figure for the total budget for
supported bus services in the fiscal year 2015/16.

 

I am therefore unable to complete my review of your FOI request within the
25 working days.

 

I am not in the office after today but will aim to respond to you by 30^th
March 2017.

 

Please accept my apologies for this delay.

 

Regards,

 

 

Paul Harbison

Consumer Relations Officer (Corporate)

Consumer Relations Unit

Worcestershire County Council, County Hall, Spetchley Road, Worcester, WR5
2NP

Office:   01905 846364

Email:    [1][email address]

 

[2]cid:image003.jpg@01D1EC9B.D439D160

 

 

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1. mailto:[email address]

Harbison, Paul, Worcestershire County Council

2 Attachments

Dear Ms Etkind,

 

 Please find attached letter.

 

 Regards,

 

Paul Harbison

Consumer Relations Officer (Corporate)

Consumer Relations Unit

Worcestershire County Council, County Hall, Spetchley Road, Worcester, WR5
2NP

Office:   01905 846364

Email:    [1][email address]

 

[2]cid:image003.jpg@01D1EC9B.D439D160

 

 

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1. mailto:[email address]