Labour and Reform Scrap Regional Transport Scrutiny Committee as Bus Fares Rise Across the West Midlands
Birmingham Conservatives have condemned the decision by Labour and Reform councillors to abolish the West Midlands Combined Authority’s Transport Delivery Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the very day that National Express West Midlands announced bus fare increases for passengers across Birmingham and the wider region.
The committee played a vital role in holding transport decision-makers to account, scrutinising the performance of the region’s transport network, and ensuring that residents received value for money from transport investment.
Birmingham Conservatives say the decision sends entirely the wrong message to passengers already facing higher travel costs and ongoing concerns over reliability, congestion and service standards.
Outgoing Chair of the now abolished Transport Delivery Overview & Scrutiny Committee Cllr Tim Huxtable has raised serious concerns about the attempts to scrap detailed scrutiny of the combined authority's transport budget.
Cllr Tim Huxtable, said:
“Today Birmingham residents have learned they will be paying more to travel by bus. At exactly the moment passengers need stronger accountability and greater scrutiny of transport decisions, Labour and Reform have joined together to vote to abolish the regional committee responsible for scrutinising transport performance.
“This decision is particularly concerning given the growing amount of transport funding being devolved to the Combined Authority. Transport already accounts for almost half of the Combined Authority’s revenue budget, and as more powers and funding are transferred to the region there should be more scrutiny of how decisions are made and how money is spent, not less. Residents expect elected politicians to ask difficult questions on their behalf and ensure value for money for taxpayers and passengers alike.”
Cllr Tim Huxtable, said:
“Labour and Reform’s decision to weaken transport scrutiny is even harder to justify when Birmingham’s representation on Combined Authority scrutiny arrangements has already been slashed. Birmingham has gone from having ten representatives involved in scrutiny to just two, yet Birmingham taxpayers are still expected to fund 39 per cent of the Transport Levy despite now holding only 14.3 per cent of the scrutiny representation.
“Birmingham residents and taxpayers deserve a fair voice in how regional transport decisions are examined and challenged. At a time when fares are rising and significant sums of public money are being spent through the Combined Authority, reducing Birmingham’s influence and abolishing dedicated transport scrutiny sends entirely the wrong message.”
Birmingham Conservatives are calling on the West Midlands Combined Authority to ensure transparent and effective scrutiny arrangements remain in place and to scrap the decision to abolish the dedicated transport scrutiny committee at a time when passengers are paying more and expecting better services.
