Agenda item

A report was submitted which provided an update on key transport issues in South Yorkshire.  The Bus Services Improvement Plan which set out the measures planned to improve bus services in South Yorkshire, had been submitted to the Government.  A submission to the Government’s Sustainable Transport Settlement had also been made, and the SYMCA had been notified of an award of £570m, further details were not yet available.  The outcome of the other submissions following the Spending Review were also awaited.

M Swales commented that today would mark the last LEP Board meeting that J Holmes would attend.  He expressed his thanks to J Homes for all of the work that she had undertaken for the SYMCA and the LEP.

The Board noted that this had been an incredibly busy year in terms of the transport agenda, which had included the Levelling Up Fund bid of £50m, the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement award of £570m, the Bus Service Improvement Plan, the enhanced partnership and the Integrated Rail Plan.  All of which had been undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic.  All of the MCAs within the country had been requested to produce a programme level business case based on the £570m with a submission to be made to the DfT in January 2022; confirmation would be received by March 2022.  Initial discussions had been held with the business partners to gain an understanding of what was required, and further guidance was anticipated within the upcoming few weeks.  Additional weekly meetings had been scheduled with the business partners throughout the submission period.  The DfT and Treasury had both advised of their expectation that all of the MCAs would receive the full funding amount.  There was not a full guarantee of the programme award until the process was completed and a formal response had been received from the DfT with the settlement and grant conditions.  It was intended that a draft business case would be produced prior to Christmas 2021.

In response to a question received from J Muir regarding the outcome from the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement and bus funding, M Swales commented that as yet there was no confirmation of the figures.  The Government’s position was that £3bn had been put into the bus network, which given the support around COVID-19 now stood at £1.2m split between capital and revenue.  A number of the local transport authorities across the country had expressed large ambitions to the BSIP in response to the national bus strategy, however the funding was unavailable to support those ambitions.

There were a number of elements of bus related funding within CRSTS that would bring funding of specific lines in relation to £27m, £5m and £3m, together with bus related enhancements within other schemes, which brought in the relation of £100m of bus related funding within CRSTS. A greater emphasis would be required in relation to some of the funding sources, given the BSIP and LUF position.

As part of the BSIP development process and transition to the Enhanced Partnership Board, C Shepherd highlighted the need to develop an Enhanced Partnership Board.  J Muir requested C Shepherd to liaise with P Kennan in the first instance.  The Enhanced Partnership Board would need to be linked to the thematic boards.

On behalf of the Board, J Muir wished C Shepherd the very best in the next stage in her career, and he expressed his thanks for her excellent work contributions.

RESOLVED – That the LEP Board received the report and provided comment on business and economy issues related to transport.