Agenda item

WRITTEN PUBLIC QUESTIONS (written procedure)

1. Any member of the public can submit a maximum of two written questions in advance of this meeting.

2. The deadline for the submission of questions is 5.00 pm, at least 3 clear working days ahead of a meeting. For this meeting, the deadline for questions is 5.00 pm on 7 March 2023.

3. Questions should be addressed to the Chair of the meeting and e-mailed to democratic.services@westofengland-ca.gov.uk

4. Under the direction of the Chair, wherever possible, written replies to questions will be sent to questioners by the end of the working day prior to the meeting.

5. Please note - under the Combined Authority’s committee procedures, there is no opportunity for oral supplementary questions to be asked at committee meetings.

6. The written questions and replies will be circulated to committee members in advance of the meeting and published on the Combined Authority website.

PUBLIC STATEMENTS

1. Any member of the public may submit a written statement (or petition) to this meeting.

2. Please note that one statement per individual is permitted.

3. Statements must be submitted in writing and received by the deadline of 12 noon on the working day before the meeting. For this meeting, the deadline for statements is 12 noon on Friday, 10 March 2023. Statements should be emailed to democratic.services@westofengland-ca.gov.uk

4. Statements will be listed for the meeting in the order of receipt. All statements will be sent to committee members in advance of the meeting and published on the Combined Authority website.

5. Please note:

If any member of the public wishes to attend the meeting to orally present their statement, they are asked please to notify the Combined Authority’s Democratic Services team of this at the point when their statement is submitted and by 12 noon on the working day before the meeting at the very latest.

For those presenting their statements at the meeting, up to 3 minutes ‘speaking time’ is permitted for each statement. The total time available for the public session at this meeting is 30 minutes.

Two questions had been received from one member of the public in advance of the meeting.  These questions and replies had been published on the Authority’s website and had been circulated.

In addition three statements had been received from members of the public in advance of the meeting.  One member of the public attended the meeting to submit their statement in person: David Redgewell, South West Transport Network and Railfuture Severnside.  Adam Reynolds had also submitted a statement but had been unable to attend the meeting.  However, the Chair asked for it to be read out as it contained important information about the CRSTS allocation.  A statement had also been submitted by Ian Beckey, Gloucestershire Catch the Bus Service Campaign and Brendon Taylor, Bristol Disability Equalities Network & Somerset catch the bus campaign.  The statements had been published on the Authority’s website and had been circulated.

The Metro Mayor Dan Norris attended the meeting and participated in a question and answer session with Members of the Committee.  Issues from the statements included:

·       Cllr Geoff Gollop noted that the issues referred to by Mr Adam Reynolds had been raised at Audit Committee and internal audit were looking at aspects of this during the course of this year. He requested that the statement be referred to internal audit.

·       Cllr Ed Plowden mentioned concern about a liveable neighbourhoods approach, noting that Government guidelines state that “largely cosmetic” approaches are not a suitable use of Active Travel budgets, and there was a risk that Mr Reynolds’ comments about B&NES and the near-doubling of a budget in Bristol might be questioned as to whether it was a legitimate use of the funding.

It was agreed that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee would monitor the process of the £540m spend, noting the importance of officers synching on this matter.

Direct Response Transport and West link

Members queried when the West Link website would be launched since the scheme commenced in 3 weeks. It had been noted that there would be a need for effective communication and promotion, particularly in those areas losing bus services.

The Metro Mayor advised that overall, these pots of money had a very small window of spend, for instance a couple of years in relation to the Bus Service Improvement Plan. A longer lead in time would be preferred with West Link but the funding would be lost if not used and officers had been working hard to ensure the window would be met.

Members noted that West Link was not a substitute for all the subsidised buses that had been cut. The Combined Authority (CA) was working with the Unitary Authorities (UAs) to create a system irrespective of cuts. Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) would pick up people from virtual bus stops or local bus stops and take them to the main routes. This was why there had been a big investment to improve the frequency on the main routes. However, it was noted that it was not going to meet the needs of, for example, school children.

The Metro Mayor confirmed that he would be happy to hold discussions concerning West Link and advised it would roll out from April. He acknowledged that it would not be considered perfect by all but that learning points would be responded to. He also wished to remind members that this was the biggest on demand public transport system created in England which he wanted to prove to be commercially viable. He noted the shortage of drivers and advised that West Link information would be made public as soon as possible.

From the perspective of North Somerset, there was a missed opportunity where DRT was being used to backfill missing services. It was felt there is a huge opportunity to create integrated transport facilities and hubs and that DRT was not sustainable in the longer term in encouraging people out of their cars.

The Metro Mayor confirmed that he had no influence over existing subsidised services and that he hoped the situation would improve following the May 2023 elections.

It was acknowledged that from the viewpoints of residents, they just see that they no longer have a bus service. It was understood that residents may not be aware of DRT provision, that some areas would not have DRT, and that this may lead to people purchasing cars. It was felt there was a real disconnect and lack of recognition, and that residents’ needs are not going to be met. It was suggested that a public consultation could be held should agreement not be found between the UAs and the Combined Authority.

Other transport issues

Members queried whether funding would be set aside for franchising. It was suggested that the precept could be set up from the start as one package. A masterplan for walking and cycling was also requested, with maps of proposed corridors. It was also suggested that more due diligence was required from Bristol City Council on maintenance.

The Metro Mayor noted that without precepting the region would not have franchising. At the moment, South Gloucestershire Council did not want franchising nor precepting. He advised that he would be investigating the roll out of this in Greater Manchester later this year but highlighted that we do not have Greater Manchester’s tram system which would be very helpful in terms of franchising.

It was noted that the recruitment of drivers was the pressing issue of the day.

The Metro Mayor was asked to confirm whether he or the Combined Authority Transport Team had agreed that any future subsidy on new routes under BSIP would only be given to bus routes that have a cost per passenger of less than £40.

The Metro Mayor was also questioned on the current year’s projected overspend on supported buses — it is forecasted to be triple what was originally budgeted.at over £9.3m (see above). Why such an overspend?

The Interim Strategic Director for Infrastructure confirmed this matter would be investigated with a response being provided following the meeting. (see Appendix 1 for more details)
 

The Interim Acting Chief Executive Officer referred to the bus companies having asked for significant increases to continue to run supported bus services in May / June 2022 or they were going to stop them.

The Metro Mayor advised that the way in which we operate had changed. If there are extra passengers, then we are going to get the majority of the money. He noted that it was good to talk about the importance of buses, but it is necessary to match those words with resources.

SOLACE report

The Metro Mayor was questioned on what he thought the Combined Authority was for and whether the current arrangements could deliver or if a different Constitution were needed.

The Metro Mayor advised that the Combined Authority provided an opportunity for a strategic approach to challenges in the region, rather than a piecemeal focus on individual council areas which had not served residents well. He noted that all Metro Mayors and Combined Authorities had their own challenges because the Government had created a devolution that was not about giving power and resources to the CA but was instead about taking away from Local Authorities. He acknowledged that the Constitution could be improved.

Members felt that a pressing matter regarding how the Combined Authority works was the £1.4m allocated to Bath & North East Somerset Council and South Gloucestershire Council to deliver directly against infrastructure projects, whilst Bristol City Council was still in discussion on how it was going to deliver this. This demonstrated ongoing uncertainty about the organisational model for delivery.

Members commented that the Solace report mentioned the West of England working in partnership with Western Gateway, in particular in relation to the Severn tidal survey and railways. It was queried whether resources and support would be allocated to work with them on independent projects. It was noted that the Combined Authority’s new office could provide a space to work collaboratively with Western Gateway.

The Metro Mayor noted that Western Gateway had something to offer but it did not bring resources. He wanted to also work with organisations who have resources like the Welsh Government, for example in relation to Housing.

Members asked the Metro Mayor about the progress with regards to housing. He advised that the Spatial Development Strategy (SDS) had stopped since agreement had not been found. In particular, South Gloucestershire Council wanted too small a number. He noted that housing needs to be strategically co-ordinated with job needs etc and that collective leadership would be required to resolve the situation.

At this point the Metro Mayor was thanked for his attendance by the Chair who also noted the Metro Mayor’s 100% attendance record in the last two years. Members moved on to discuss the reports being considered at the 17 March 2023 West of England Combined Authority meeting as follows: