1.         ORIGIN OF REPORT

1.1     A Committee request for an update on Kent’s Bus Service Improvement Plan and the allocation of National Bus Strategy Funding from Government.

2.         PURPOSE OF REPORT AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2.1     This report provides an update on the National Bus Strategy and KCC’s response.   It advises on progress to date, Kent’s indicative funding allocation received in response to its Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP), the status of Kent’s Enhanced Partnership and next steps.    

3.         INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

3.1       In March 2021 Government published a new National Bus Strategy (NBS) which set out a blueprint for the improvement of all aspects of bus service provision inclusive of both service levels themselves but also extending to infrastructure, ticketing, innovation, information, vehicle, accessibility and environmental considerations.      

3.2       At the time of publication, Government stated that £3bn would be made available to support the strategy, although this figure was subsequently adjusted to £1.2bn, reflecting its use for existing commitments and expenditure linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.

3.3       In order to be able to access this funding and to protect existing funding streams, the NBS placed a number of requirements on LTAs and operators.   By the end of October 2021, LTAs had to publish a Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) and by April 2022, LTAs and bus operators were required to form Enhanced Partnership Agreements (EPs) governing all bus services in the LTA area. 

3.4       A BSIP is essentially a local bus strategy document but in this context, they are also part bidding documents designed to support accompanying funding requests to the Department for Transport.  In response to the strategy and to align with its ambitions KCC, in conjunction with operators, submitted it’s BSIP at the end of October 2021, with a total funding ask of £213m over a three-year period.

3.5       KCC subsequently worked with operators to introduce EPs covering the County which came into effect from 1^st April 2022.  The EPs as they stand today contain only initiatives from the BSIP which are deliverable with no or little funding, but with a bespoke variation method included to allow changes to be made taking into account future funding availability (such as BSIP funding) or other local changes.

3.6       On 4^th April 2022, KCC learnt that it had received an indicative allocation of £35.1m in response to its BSIP. KCC was subsequently required to provide information on its planned use for the funding by 30^th April 2022.

3.7       Whilst the allocation is significantly less than the £213m requested and will not deliver the level of ambition contained within Kent’s BSIP, wider context is important which shows that:

- Of 79 LTAs which submitted a BSIP, only 31 received any funding from the allocations announced by Government on 4^th April 2022.

- Of those receiving funding, KCC’s indicative allocation is the 9^th highest in England with many of the areas receiving a higher level of funding being city areas or locations proposing to be or who already are mayoral authorities.

 3.8      At the time of submitting this report, KCC still await confirmation of funding with the allocation remaining indicative in status.  

4. Use of  indicative Funding Allocation

4.1       On 4^th April 2022, Kent learnt formally of its funding allocation through the BSIP process. Kent received an indicative allocation of £35,070,139 (of which £24,159,744 is capital and £10,910,395 is revenue). This is total funding from 2022/23 to 2024/25.

4.2    The indicative funding allocation came pre-determmined as mixture of capital and revenue and was approprtioned by the 3 years covered by the BSIP period and identified below.

4.3    In addition, associated guidance from the DfT highlighted a clear expectation that funding proposals delivered schemes aligning with their own priorities which were stated as:

         Revenue: Ambitious initiatives that reduce or simplify fares at pace / increased service frequencies and new / expanded routes (funding cannot be used to sustain existing services).

         Capital: Bus priority measures, which enable operating cost savings and as such reciprocal investment. 

4.4    In order to secure this funding, all successful LTAs were required to submit a further pro-forma identifying how they intended to use the indicative allocation taking account of the nature of  the funding available and the associated guidance.   

4..5   Although no final decisions have been made about the precise nature and locations of  any schemes, it is proposed to use the funding to support the following initiatives. 

Fares Initiatives, Ticketing and Promotions - £3.6m

Bus Priority Schemes (three corridors) - £18.5m

Bus Focused Highways Interventions - £1.5m

New / Enhanced Bus Services - £7.5m

Back Office Systems for MaaS and DRT - £1.5m

Other Bus Support (see appendix)- £2.4m

5.       Summary

5.1     In Summary

          5.1.1  Kent is hopeful of receiving £35.1m to support enhancements to the Bus Network in the next three years.

          5.1.2  This is considered to be a very positive outcome reflecting the quality of the BSIP submitted to Government.

          5.1.3  The funding is not yet confirmed but we have identified a range of initiatives taking account of the level and nature of funding available and guidance provided by the DfT.

4   

5   

5.1   

5.1.4  This funding cannot be used to sustain existing services.                     

6       REPORT APPENDICES

A.               Summary of Maidstone Service Changes

7       BACKGROUND PAPERS

N/A

Appendix A.  Summary of Maidstone Service Changes