Bus service provision

The request was successful.

Campaign for Better Transport

Dear Ceredigion 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 Ceredigion 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

Ceredigion Reception, Ceredigion County Council

Diolch am eich neges e-bost – bydd yn derbyn sylw’r gwasanaeth priodol yn
ei dro.

 

Thank you for your e-mail communication which will receive attention from
the appropriate service in due course.

 

--

Ymwadiad:

Er y cymerir pob gofal posib i sicrhau cywirdeb unrhyw wybodaeth a chyngor
a roddir yn yr ohebiaeth hon, ni dderbynnir atebolrwydd am unrhyw
golledion a all godi o unrhyw gamgymeriadau sy'n gynwysedig ac fe'ch
atgoffir o'r angen i chi ofyn am gyngor proffesiynol eich hun.

Bwriedir y neges ebost hon, ac unrhyw atodiadau iddi, at sylw'r person(au)
y'i danfonwyd atynt yn unig. Os nad chi yw'r derbynnydd y cyfeiriwyd y
neges hon ato ef neu hi, neu'r person sydd gyfrifol am drosglwyddo'r neges
hon iddo ef neu hi, mi ddylech hysbysu'r anfonwr ar eich union. Oni bai
mai chi yw'r person neu gynrychiolydd y person y cyfeiriwyd y neges hon at
ef neu hi nid ydych wedi eich awdurdodi i, ac ni ddylech chi, ddarllen,
copio, dosbarthu, defnyddio na chadw'r neges hon nac unrhyw gyfran ohoni.

O dan y Ddeddf Amddiffyn Data 1998 a Deddf Rhyddid Gwybodaeth 2000 gellir
datgelu cynnwys y negest ebost hon.

Disclaimer:

While reasonable care is taken to ensure the correctness of any
information and advice given in this correspondence no liability is
accepted for losses arising from any errors contained in it and you are
reminded of the need to obtain your own professional advice.

The information in this email and any attachments is intended solely for
the attention and use of the named addressee(s). If you are not the
intended recipient, or person responsible for delivering this information
to the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately. Unless
you are the intended recipient or his/her representative you are not
authorised to, and must not, read, copy, distribute, use or retain this
message or any part of it.

Under the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000
the contents of this email may be disclosed.

Ceredigion Technical Services, Ceredigion County Council

Dear Ms Etkind

I refer to your email dated 23 November 2016. I am writing to inform you that your correspondence is being dealt with in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act.

We aim to respond to you in full within 20 working days from receipt of your correspondence and will let you know if it is going to take longer.

Yours sincerely

Mair Hemming
Business Support Team Leader
for Paul Arnold
Head of Technical Services

Rydym yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg a Saesneg. Cewch ateb Cymraeg i bob gohebiaeth Gymraeg ac ateb Saesneg I bob gohebiaeth Saesneg. Ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg yn arwain at oedi.

We welcome correspondence in Welsh and English. Correspondence received in Welsh will be answered in Welsh and correspondence in English will be answered in English. Corresponding in Welsh will not involve any delay.

show quoted sections

Ceredigion Technical Services, Ceredigion County Council

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Etkind

Further to your Freedom of Information Request dated 05 December 2016,
please see below Ceredigion County Council’s response highlighted in bold
script.

1. What is the total budget for supported bus services in the fiscal year
2016/17? £745,310

 

2. What was total budget for supported bus services in the fiscal year
2015/16? £767,323

 

3. What is the fiscal year 2016/17 budget for supported bus services as a
percentage of the total transport budget? 15.9%

 

4. What proportion of total council expenditure (capital and current) is
constituted by local bus funding? 0.56%

 

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)? Nil
by Local Authority but see answer to Q6

 

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

 

510/512 - 22:45 service circular -  11 June, 2016 - withdrawn by operator

510/512/526 - 31 October, 2016 - withdrawn by operator

 

 

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.

 

School transport is provided to the nearest suitable school if eligible
for transport and remains unchanged since before 2012

 

 

If you have any complaints regarding this reply, please write to Mr Alun
Williams, Head of Policy Support, Ceredigion County Council, Penmorfa,
Aberaeron, Ceredigion SA46 OPA or by email to [1][cyfeiriad ebost]. 
If this fails to resolve the matter to your satisfaction, you have the
right to apply to the Information Commissioner.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Rhian Thomas

Group Manager Financial Control

For Paul Arnold

Head of Technical Services

 

Rydym yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg a Saesneg. Cewch ateb Cymraeg i
bob gohebiaeth Gymraeg ac ateb Saesneg I bob gohebiaeth Saesneg. Ni fydd
gohebu yn Gymraeg yn arwain at oedi.

 

We welcome correspondence in Welsh and English. Correspondence received in
Welsh will be answered in Welsh and correspondence in English will be
answered in English. Corresponding in Welsh will not involve any delay.

 

 

 

show quoted sections

Campaign for Better Transport

Dear Ceredigion Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Ceredigion 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 £745,310 for 2016/17, and was £767,323 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 £1,109,522.

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

Ceredigion Reception, Ceredigion County Council

Diolch am eich neges e-bost – bydd yn derbyn sylw’r gwasanaeth priodol yn
ei dro.

 

Thank you for your e-mail communication which will receive attention from
the appropriate service in due course.

 

--

Ymwadiad:

Er y cymerir pob gofal posib i sicrhau cywirdeb unrhyw wybodaeth a chyngor
a roddir yn yr ohebiaeth hon, ni dderbynnir atebolrwydd am unrhyw
golledion a all godi o unrhyw gamgymeriadau sy'n gynwysedig ac fe'ch
atgoffir o'r angen i chi ofyn am gyngor proffesiynol eich hun.

Bwriedir y neges ebost hon, ac unrhyw atodiadau iddi, at sylw'r person(au)
y'i danfonwyd atynt yn unig. Os nad chi yw'r derbynnydd y cyfeiriwyd y
neges hon ato ef neu hi, neu'r person sydd gyfrifol am drosglwyddo'r neges
hon iddo ef neu hi, mi ddylech hysbysu'r anfonwr ar eich union. Oni bai
mai chi yw'r person neu gynrychiolydd y person y cyfeiriwyd y neges hon at
ef neu hi nid ydych wedi eich awdurdodi i, ac ni ddylech chi, ddarllen,
copio, dosbarthu, defnyddio na chadw'r neges hon nac unrhyw gyfran ohoni.

O dan y Ddeddf Amddiffyn Data 1998 a Deddf Rhyddid Gwybodaeth 2000 gellir
datgelu cynnwys y negest ebost hon.

Disclaimer:

While reasonable care is taken to ensure the correctness of any
information and advice given in this correspondence no liability is
accepted for losses arising from any errors contained in it and you are
reminded of the need to obtain your own professional advice.

The information in this email and any attachments is intended solely for
the attention and use of the named addressee(s). If you are not the
intended recipient, or person responsible for delivering this information
to the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately. Unless
you are the intended recipient or his/her representative you are not
authorised to, and must not, read, copy, distribute, use or retain this
message or any part of it.

Under the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000
the contents of this email may be disclosed.

Ceredigion CE Freedom Of Information, Ceredigion County Council

Dear Ms Etkind,

Thank you for your e-mail requesting an Internal Review.

We will be in further contact once we have more information.

Yours sincerely,

Nerris Jones-Williams

Swyddog Cwynion a Rhyddid Gwybodaeth
Complaints and Freedom of Information Officer
Cyngor Sir Ceredigion County Council
Penmorfa
Aberaeron
SA46 0PA
[Ceredigion County Council request email]

show quoted sections

Ceredigion CE Freedom Of Information, Ceredigion County Council

1 Attachment

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

Further to your correspondence of 20 February 2017 requesting an internal
review, I have revisited the information previously provided and
established that the discrepancies you highlight have arisen due to
differences in interpretation by compiling officers

 

The original response included budget provision for specific bus
services/routes that are wholly funded by Welsh Government and these
routes were exclude from the information provided in the second response.
Additionally, there was a budget reduction to reflect known procurement
savings; transfer was made to meet Council overall budget. This was
interpreted to be outside your request as it was not spent on subsidised
bus services.

 

A reconciliation is :

 

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┬──────────┐
│  │ £│
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼──────────┤
│Original response – budget expenditure provision │1,109,522.│
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼──────────┤
│  │  │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼──────────┤
│Less wholly funded routes by WG grant for strategic services │ -535,730│
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼──────────┤
│  │  │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼──────────┤
│Deduction of known budget savings as result of procurement │ -193,531│
│which was transferred to meet corporate savings │ │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼──────────┤
│  │  │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼──────────┤
│Revised Figure – true spend on Ceredigion subsidised bus │ 767,323│
│services │ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┴──────────┘

 

I apologise for the confusion.

 

I trust that the above information is useful to you.  However, if you
remain dissatisfied you may refer the matter to the Information
Commissioner’s Office 2nd floor Churchill House, Churchill Way, Cardiff,
CF10 2HH.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Yours sincerely

[1]cid:image001.jpg@01D24FD6.748E6390

Alun Williams

Head of Policy Support

 

 

 

--

Ymwadiad:

Er y cymerir pob gofal posib i sicrhau cywirdeb unrhyw wybodaeth a chyngor
a roddir yn yr ohebiaeth hon, ni dderbynnir atebolrwydd am unrhyw
golledion a all godi o unrhyw gamgymeriadau sy'n gynwysedig ac fe'ch
atgoffir o'r angen i chi ofyn am gyngor proffesiynol eich hun.

Bwriedir y neges ebost hon, ac unrhyw atodiadau iddi, at sylw'r person(au)
y'i danfonwyd atynt yn unig. Os nad chi yw'r derbynnydd y cyfeiriwyd y
neges hon ato ef neu hi, neu'r person sydd gyfrifol am drosglwyddo'r neges
hon iddo ef neu hi, mi ddylech hysbysu'r anfonwr ar eich union. Oni bai
mai chi yw'r person neu gynrychiolydd y person y cyfeiriwyd y neges hon at
ef neu hi nid ydych wedi eich awdurdodi i, ac ni ddylech chi, ddarllen,
copio, dosbarthu, defnyddio na chadw'r neges hon nac unrhyw gyfran ohoni.

O dan y Ddeddf Amddiffyn Data 1998 a Deddf Rhyddid Gwybodaeth 2000 gellir
datgelu cynnwys y negest ebost hon.

Disclaimer:

While reasonable care is taken to ensure the correctness of any
information and advice given in this correspondence no liability is
accepted for losses arising from any errors contained in it and you are
reminded of the need to obtain your own professional advice.

The information in this email and any attachments is intended solely for
the attention and use of the named addressee(s). If you are not the
intended recipient, or person responsible for delivering this information
to the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately. Unless
you are the intended recipient or his/her representative you are not
authorised to, and must not, read, copy, distribute, use or retain this
message or any part of it.

Under the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000
the contents of this email may be disclosed.

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