Finance Settlement increased by £11m to make up loss of bus funds

8 Feb 11
The 2012/13 Local Government Finance Settlement has been increased to compensate district councils for the loss of concessionary bus fare funding

By David Williams

8 February 2011

The 2012/13 Local Government Finance Settlement has been increased to compensate district councils for the loss of concessionary bus fare funding.

The tweak, which will increase the overall settlement by £11.3m, was announced yesterday in a statement to Parliament by local government minister Bob Neill.

Baroness Margaret Eaton, chair of the Local Government Association, said: ‘It is good news that the government has listened to our concerns.

‘This extra money, which we called for, will alleviate the shortfall faced by many district councils whose formula grant would have been disproportionately and unfairly cut.

But she added: ‘This doesn’t solve the ongoing problems, as many county and unitary councils which take on the responsibility for funding free bus travel will still be left out of pocket.

‘We need nothing less than a fundamental reform of the way bus services are subsidised to ensure that councils and passengers get value for money in return for the billions of pounds of public money paid to bus companies.’

Did you enjoy this article?

AddToAny

Top