TfL funding settlement extended to 4th February 2022

The ongoing saga of government funding to Transport for London has seen the current funding settlement extended through until 4th February 2022. The original settlement was due to expire on 17th December 2021 (which itself had been extended) but after further information was supplied by the Mayor of London, the Department for Transport have now agreed to extend this on the same terms with the understanding that a new deal will be signed ahead of this latest expiry.

Explaining the extension, Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Transport, said: “We have thus far supported London with over £4 billion funding and these extraordinary funding settlements for Transport for London recognise the reliance of London’s transport network on fare revenue, and government’s commitment now and in the future to mitigating loss of fare revenue because of the pandemic. This extension has provided certainty to Transport for London and to Londoners over the Christmas and New Year period whilst also allowing government and Transport for London to monitor and adapt to the impact of the Omicron variant of the virus. The extended settlement will continue to support the capital and its transport network – on the same terms as previously agreed – until 4 February 2022, when government expects there to be a new funding settlement in place. The extension letter also includes amendments to the current settlement relating to fares and the Hammersmith bridge ferry.”

The sticking point in extending the current settlement was that Transport for London and the Mayor of London had been due to give details of proposals to raise new income between £0.5 billion and £1 billion in the future. This had been expected by 12th November 2021 but in the end the letter giving details from the Mayor didn’t arrive with the DfT until 15th December 2021.

Mr Shapps continued: “We have therefore agreed to extend the current Transport for London settlement from 17 December 2021 to 4 February 2022 so that government is able to fully consider these proposals. The government is committed to supporting London and the transport network on which it depends, whilst balancing that with supporting the national transport network as a whole.”

There is no doubt there is a lot of politics going on from both sides in this but at least for now the threats of severe service cuts have been abated – until we get to the start of February and go through all this again that is!

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