Councils face shortfall in grants for free bus travel

COUNCILS in North Devon and Torridge could face cuts in government grants for free bus travel for pensioners.

A government review is taking place which could see the two councils, alongside another five in the South West lose out.

The National Bus Pass entitles pensioners and the disabled free off-peak travel on local buses anywhere in England.

Eligible people can get free travel from 9.30am to 11pm on weekdays, all day at weekends and on bank holidays paid for by the council.

Stagecoach has voluntarily extended the morning time to 9am at no additional cost to the councils.

North Devon Council's chief accountant, Steve Hearse, said it was virtually impossible to tell exactly how much of the overall government grant was specifically for free bus travel.

But in 2008/09 the free fare element was around £663,000. However, the the council had spent £762,000 on the scheme.

The previous year the scheme cost £692,000.

It expects a grant of around £679,000 for 2009/10, but predicts costs of £950,000.

The consultation paper puts forward a case for reducing the specific grant at North Devon in 2010/11 from the £700,000 the council was told it would receive, to £390,000 — leaving a shortfall of £310,000.

Mr Hearse said: "Due to the inability to determine precisely what is included in the general government grant for funding concessionary bus travel it is not possible to be absolutely certain whether the funding received is wholly adequate or not.

"Clearly all areas of government funding are under pressure and the council is considering how its finances might be affected over this period and planning how to manage this.

"Work is ongoing to search for efficiency savings that will allow the council to maintain services, but at a reduced cost.

"The council has not set any plans for any cuts in services. Nonetheless it is inevitable that a £310,000 cut in budget for a small council will have a significant impact, increasing the risk of reductions in services in other areas."

Torridge District Council also could not confirm how much it received directly for the scheme.

But it spent £434,000 in 2008/09 and £537,000 in 2007/08 including new set up costs.

Jenny Wallace, the council's strategic director of resources, said the grant was adequate to fund the scheme.

She added: "At present it is not certain that the grant distribution will be changed.

"The scheme will be considered as part of the overall budget process for the council that will not be concluded until February 2010."