Dear Ms Etkind

 

FOI Request ref:  8096 / Bus Transport in East Sussex County Council

 

Thank you for your request for information about the above. Your request
was received on 23/11/2016 and I am dealing with it under the terms of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.

We always aim to respond as quickly as possible, and in this case will do
so no later than 21/12/2016, which is the 20 working day deadline. The
deadline is counted from the first working day we receive it, not the date
a letter is written / posted or an email sent.

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case, I will
let you know. A fees notice will be issued to you, and you will be
required to pay before we proceed in dealing with your request.

Please quote the above reference number in any communication regarding
this request.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

Samantha Spence

Customer Information Advisor

 

East Sussex County Council

Communities Economy and Transport Directorate

W1D, County Hall

St Anne’s Crescent

Lewes

East Sussex BN7 1UE

 

Phone: 01273 482913

email: [1][East Sussex County Council request email]   web: [2]www.eastsussex.gov.uk/foi

P  please consider the environment - do you really need to print this
email

 

 

 

 

 

This message is intended for the use of the addressee only and may
contain confidential or privileged information. If you have received it in
error please notify the sender and destroy it. You may not use it or copy
it to anyone else.

E-mail is not a secure communications medium. Please be aware of this
when replying. All communications sent to or from the County Council
may be subject to recording and/or monitoring in accordance with
relevant legislation.

Although East Sussex County Council has taken steps to ensure that this
e-mail and any attachments are virus free, we can take no responsibility
if a virus is actually present and you are advised to ensure that the
appropriate checks are made.

You can visit our website at http://www.eastsussex.gov.uk

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[East Sussex County Council request email]
2. http://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/foi

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Ms Etkind

 

FOI Request ref:  8096 / Bus Transport in East Sussex County Council

 

Thank you for your request for information about the above. Your request
was received on 23/11/2016 and I am dealing with it under the terms of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.

We always aim to respond as quickly as possible, but we do need you to
clarify your request before we will be able to process it.

 

Request

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

 

 Clarification Required

What do you mean by ’capital and current’?.  Do you mean ‘capital and
revenue’? Please clarify.  

 

 

Your request is on hold pending receipt of your clarification. Please
quote the above reference number in any communication regarding this
request.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Samantha Spence

Customer Information Advisor

 

East Sussex County Council

Communities Economy and Transport Directorate

W1D, County Hall

St Anne’s Crescent

Lewes

East Sussex BN7 1UE

 

Phone: 01273 482913
Fax: 01273 481208

email: [1][East Sussex County Council request email]   web: [2]www.eastsussex.gov.uk/foi

P  please consider the environment - do you really need to print this
email

 

 

 

This message is intended for the use of the addressee only and may
contain confidential or privileged information. If you have received it in
error please notify the sender and destroy it. You may not use it or copy
it to anyone else.

E-mail is not a secure communications medium. Please be aware of this
when replying. All communications sent to or from the County Council
may be subject to recording and/or monitoring in accordance with
relevant legislation.

Although East Sussex County Council has taken steps to ensure that this
e-mail and any attachments are virus free, we can take no responsibility
if a virus is actually present and you are advised to ensure that the
appropriate checks are made.

You can visit our website at http://www.eastsussex.gov.uk

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[East Sussex County Council request email]
2. http://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/foi

 

Dear Ms Etkind

 

FOI Request ref:  8096 / Bus Transport in East Sussex County Council

 

Thank you for your request for information about the above. Your request
was received on 23/11/2016 and I am dealing with it under the terms of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.

We always aim to respond as quickly as possible, but we do need you to
clarify your request before we will be able to process it.

 

 

Request

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.

 

Clarification Required by Department:

‘It is not possible to answer Q 3 as I don’t have access to the figure of
‘total transport budget’.’  ‘I can supply the budget for demand responsive
transport for supported bus services and fares.’

 

Please clarify if this is the information you seek?

 

 

Your request is on hold pending receipt of your clarification. Please
quote the above reference number in any communication regarding this
request.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Samantha Spence

Customer Information Advisor

 

East Sussex County Council

Communities Economy and Transport Directorate

W1D, County Hall

St Anne’s Crescent

Lewes

East Sussex BN7 1UE

 

Phone: 01273 482913
Fax: 01273 481208

email: [1][East Sussex County Council request email]   web: [2]www.eastsussex.gov.uk/foi

P  please consider the environment - do you really need to print this
email

 

 

 

 

This message is intended for the use of the addressee only and may
contain confidential or privileged information. If you have received it in
error please notify the sender and destroy it. You may not use it or copy
it to anyone else.

E-mail is not a secure communications medium. Please be aware of this
when replying. All communications sent to or from the County Council
may be subject to recording and/or monitoring in accordance with
relevant legislation.

Although East Sussex County Council has taken steps to ensure that this
e-mail and any attachments are virus free, we can take no responsibility
if a virus is actually present and you are advised to ensure that the
appropriate checks are made.

You can visit our website at http://www.eastsussex.gov.uk

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[East Sussex County Council request email]
2. http://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/foi

 

 

 

 

Dear Ms Etkind

 

FOI Request ref:  8096 / Bus Transport in East Sussex County Council

 

Thank you for your request for information about the above, which has been
dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. 
Following our earlier email, it was decided that further clarification was
not required.   Your request and our response are set out below. Please
note that any information we provide is subject to the copyright and reuse
of information terms and conditions set out at the bottom of this email.

 

Request

My questions are as follows, in each case only with respect to East Sussex
County 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.

 

 

Response

1. £735,490, having excluded extra sources of funding.

 

2. £412,690. Our actual spend on supported bus services was £596,997. Both
figures exclude extra sources of funding.

 

3. 1.53%

 

4. 0.08%

 

5. Three supported routes have been cut:

Route 94 (Bexhill town service) – late afternoon journeys removed due to
very low level of use.

Route 128 (Lewes town service) – due to traffic congestion the frequency
was reduced to improve punctuality.

Route 129 (Lewes town service) – due to traffic congestion the frequency
was reduced to improve punctuality.

 

6. No supported routes have been completely withdrawn.

 

7. East Sussex County Council provides free school transport to the
nearest or catchment school.

 

East Sussex County Council continues to work with commercial bus service
providers to minimise the effects of the cuts in our budget for supported
bus services since 2015/16. A significant number of services previously
supported are now provided on a commercial basis, albeit sometimes with
reduced frequencies.

 

Parish and Town Councils are now also providing some limited funding for
individual services, working in partnership with the County Council. One
example is where a cluster of Parishes in the Rye area are funding an
additional morning journey on which concessionary pass holders can travel
for free before 09:30, thereby providing more convenient access to
shopping and medical appointments. Whilst this particular arrangement is
for an experimental period we hope the particular Parishes will agree to
provide long term funding.

 

 

I hope that this answers your enquiry. If you believe that the County
Council has not complied with the FOI Act in responding to your request,
you may ask for an internal review. If you wish to do so, please set out
the grounds of your appeal in writing to:

 

Philip Baker, Assistant Chief Executive, East Sussex County Council,
County Hall, St Anne’s Crescent, Lewes, East Sussex. BN7 1UE.

or by email to him at [1][email address]

 

Please quote the FOI reference number in any communication regarding this
particular request.

 

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you then
have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. Generally, the Information Commissioner cannot make a decision
unless you have exhausted the County Council’s internal review procedure
as described in the previous paragraph. The Commissioner can be contacted
at: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane,
Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Tel: 0303 123 1113.  [2]www.ico.org.uk

 

Yours sincerely

 

Samantha Spence

Customer Information Advisor

 

East Sussex County Council

Communities, Economy and Transport

W1D, County Hall

St Anne’s Crescent

Lewes

East Sussex BN7 1UE

 

Phone: 01273 482913
Fax: 01273 481208

email: [3][East Sussex County Council request email]   web: [4]www.eastsussex.gov.uk/foi

P    please consider the environment - do you really need to print this
email 

Copyright and Re-Use of information

1. Providing you with documents under the Freedom of Information Act does
not give you an automatic right to re-use those documents in a way that
would infringe copyright – for example by making multiple copies, or by
publishing / issuing copies to the public.

2. Copyright in the information is owned by East Sussex County Council
and/or its contractor(s) unless otherwise stated. Brief extracts of the
material can be reproduced under the “fair dealing” provisions of the
Copyright Design and Patents Act 1988 (S.29 and S.30) for the purposes of
research for non-commercial purposes, private study, criticism, review and
news reporting.

3. We do not give permission for this information to be used for the
purposes of direct marketing.

4. If you wish to use this information then, in accordance with the
Regulations on the Re-use of Public Sector Information 2015, you must
first ask our permission. Such re-use may or may not involve the granting
of a licence and the application of a Fee.

 

 

 

 

 

This message is intended for the use of the addressee only and may
contain confidential or privileged information. If you have received it in
error please notify the sender and destroy it. You may not use it or copy
it to anyone else.

E-mail is not a secure communications medium. Please be aware of this
when replying. All communications sent to or from the County Council
may be subject to recording and/or monitoring in accordance with
relevant legislation.

Although East Sussex County Council has taken steps to ensure that this
e-mail and any attachments are virus free, we can take no responsibility
if a virus is actually present and you are advised to ensure that the
appropriate checks are made.

You can visit our website at http://www.eastsussex.gov.uk

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.ico.org.uk/
3. mailto:[East Sussex County Council request email]
4. http://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/foi

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your email below.

I would be grateful if you could provide what Freedom of Information request you are referring to so we are able to assess when the request was made. It is usually a 4 digit reference we provide for all logged Freedom of Information requests.

Kind regards,

Freedom of Information Team
Customer Services Officer
Communities, Economy and Transport Department

eastsussex.gov.uk
                                                                                                

show quoted sections

Dear Ms Etkind,

FOI Request ref: 8096 / Bus Transport in East Sussex County Council

Thank you for your email and clarifying which FOI your request for Internal Review refers to.

In line with the Information Commissioner's Office Guidance (ICO), we would expect a requester to request an internal review within 2 months of the Council's final response. I can see from our files that we responded to your request on 06/12/2016, meaning we would expect a request for an Internal Review to be lodged no later than 06/02/2017, I am therefore refusing your request for an Internal Review.

I am sorry if this was not the result which you was hoping for, we always try to follow the ICO's guidance with how we should be dealing with any Information requests.

If you are not content with my decision, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Tel: 0303 123 1113. www.ico.org.uk

Kind regards,

Freedom of Information Team
Customer Services Officer
Communities, Economy and Transport Department

eastsussex.gov.uk
                                                                                                

show quoted sections