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<p>Local bus journeys remain central to transport choices, accounting for around half
of all public transport journeys. In 2018/19, 1.18 billion bus service miles were
run in England, a decrease of 1.3% when compared with 2017/18.</p><p> </p><p>Funding
for the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme is within the funding made available
to local government at the Local Government Finance Settlement. This funding is not
ringfenced, which enables local authorities to make spending decisions that more closely
match local needs and circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>The Ministry of Housing Communities
and Local Government is currently working on a Review of the Relative Needs and Resources
for local government. This Review is being developed in close collaboration with local
government representatives and others. It will consider the drivers of local authorities’
costs, the resources available locally to fund services, and how to account for these
in a way that draws a more transparent and understandable link between local circumstances
and resource allocations. The Government’s current aim is to implement the outcome
of this review as part of the 2021-22 Local Government finance settlement.</p><p>
</p><p>The bus market outside London is deregulated and decisions regarding service
provision is primarily a commercial matter for bus operators. Decisions on subsidised
bus services are a matter for individual English local authorities, in the light of
their other spending priorities.</p><p> </p><p>The Bus Services Act 2017 provides
the tools local authorities in England need such as Enhanced Partnerships and Franchising
to improve local bus services. From 2020, a number of measures such as Bus Open Data
powers, and the commitments in the Better Deal for Bus Users, will help increase passenger
numbers.</p><p> </p><p>This Government has committed to implementing the UK’s first-ever
long-term bus strategy, accompanied by a long-term funding settlement. The strategy
will focus on the needs of passengers so that more people want to use the bus and
set out how national and local government and the private sector will come together
to achieve this.</p>
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