Ausschreibungen

Transport systems consultancy services. Whilst concessionary travel is a popular policy, the funding and reimbursement arrangements continue to generate a high level of controversy and attract significant press and Parliamentary interest. This is because the amounts of money at stake are substantial with around £1 billion now spent on concessionary travel annually. Under the Transport Acts 1985 and 2000, the Secretary of State is required to determine appeals by bus operators against the reimbursement offered to them by local authorities for carrying concessionary passengers. The Acts also permit the Secretary of State to appoint an independent person to determine the appeals on his behalf. Since the introduction of free travel in 2006 the number of appeals has been significant (66 in 2006/7; 102 in 2007/08; 100 in 2008/09; 49 in 2009/10; 26 in 2010/11) and the Department has therefore appointed independent decision makers each year to determine the appeals cases on behalf of the SoS. Although the number of appeals appears to have passed its peak, we are anticipating that the downward trend may not continue in the short term as the Department is revising the regulations and guidance provided to local authorities regarding their reimbursement arrangements. One of the key aims of the changes is to generate efficiency savings and consequently bus operators are likely to wish to challenge the probable reductions in their reimbursement payments. The Department has also historically received 43 applications for Judicial Review in respect of appeals decisions. 26 of these were grouped together and heard in a week long High Court hearing in November 2009, which the Department won. Future appeals decisions may also be subject to legal action and therefore it is essential that the right resources and expertise are deployed in the initial decisions in order to protect the Department's position. The determination of bus operator appeals is a specialist area of work that requires a particular skill set including an ability to consider detailed legal and economic information contained in commercially confidential submissions and to draft clear and concise determinations that minimise the risk of legal challenge. The decision maker is supported by advice from DfT policy advisors, economists and lawyers. Given the ongoing requirement for an independent decision maker it is our intention to run an OJEU procurement exercise to set up a decision maker framework which we could draw on in response to demand over the next three years. Our working assumption is that the total value of this framework contract could be up to 300 000 GBP, depending on workload-driven demand.

UK - St Leonards-on-Sea: concessionary travel appeals decision maker.

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