Issue - meetings

Review of Grant Funding for Provision of Locally Organised Transport Schemes for People with Mobility Impairments

 

 

Meeting: 01/09/2011 - Delegated Decisions by Cabinet Member for Transport (Item 31)

Review of Grant Funding for Provision of Locally Organised Transport Schemes for People with Mobility Impairments

Forward Plan Ref: 2011/107

Contact: Neil Timberlake, Assistant Public Transport Officer Tel: (01865) 815585

 

Report by Deputy Director of Environment & Economy – Highways & Transport (CMDT5).

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Transport had been due to consider the future funding for the volunteer car scheme organised by and forming part of the services offered by the Wantage Independent Advice Centre.  However, he had been asked to defer this particular report in view of a proposed review of the community transport strategy to define how these range of services would operate in Oxfordshire and help guide the county council’s investment in services.

 

Councillor Turner pointed out that this issue had been raised at the Community Transport Association meeting in March and 5 months on there seemed to have been little progress. He asked for details of the timeline for the review and whether finance was time limited to this financial year.

 

Mr Howell advised that a one off grant of £270,000 had been received and rather than make one off grants to on-going services it had seemed sensible to use part of that resource to develop a community transport strategy and provide a consistent approach to the County’s investment in the dial-a-ride service.  Funding for schemes would, pending a review, continue at their current level with provision for inflation. The project plan was still being developed but work would be completed and operational by the end of the financial year.  Further discussion was due to take place at the Growth & Infrastructure Committee on 23 September 2011 and he confirmed that where an on-going revenue service was being provided that would be considered a legitimate bid and that not all of the finance available would be spent on the strategy. 

 

The Cabinet Member for Transport AGREED that Item 5 be deferred until the position regarding future provision of community transport had become clearer. He noted that funding for this and other schemes would remain as currently budgeted with an increase of 2.5% for inflation.