As I have commented elsewhere, in my view, Blackpool appeals mainly to senior citizens. I don't think that there is much of an opportunity to attract many more younger families with or without children.
Yeah, Blackpool Pleasure Beach is an attraction just for the oldies. Who'd want to take their kids to ride on the Big Dipper? The Big One is, on the other hand, a cracking ride for granny.
:roll:
My pass is issued by Hertfordshire. The county has areas where it gives many a better quality of life. It also has places where better-off seniors can be coaxed out of their cars and onto buses.
And it has many, many, many more areas where there are no longer any bus services because Hertfordshire CC has no money to subsidise them, but they cannot survive commercially. I lived in Hemel Hempstead, a far less leafy destination than St Albans, and the services in the town have, literally, been decimated in recent years. There are big chunks of the town where absolutely no buses run anymore, because there isn't the money for it.
As for seniors being coaxed out of their cars, have you tried parking in St Albans on a Saturday afternoon?
Dai Corner said:
Are ENCTS reimbursements paid out of the same budget as subsidies for tendered services?
It depends what you mean by "the same budget".
Councils have two main funding streams: council tax and the formula grant. Some statutory services may receive additional grants, but not always. Out of these two main funding steams they have to pay for everything.
ENCTS reimbursements used to be funded partly by the formula grant and partly by a specific DfT grant. The DfT grant has been withdrawn, meaning that ENCTS reimbursement funding from central government is now just within the formula grant, which has been cut repeatedly in recent years due to austerity government policies. Subsidies for public transport also comes out of these two funding streams, as does funding for libraries, swimming pools, a big chunk of social care, etc etc.
It is illegal for a council officer to set a deficit budget. This was a law brought in by Thatcher in response to the poll tax strikes of the mid 1980s. Therefore the council can only spend what they receive in income and not a penny more.
ENCTS is a compulsory duty: the council
must reimburse bus operators, and if the level is set too low, the operators can appeal to the government. Subsidies for public transport are not compulsory: councils must merely consider provision.
So, in a time of significant budget cuts, we have ENCTS reimbursement which is compulsory and subsidies to bus services which are not. We have a limited budget. It's not hard to see how one impacts upon the other.