ANALYSIS  ⁄  TRANSPORT & MOBILITY

Future of Devon bus services being decided behind closed doors

Devon County Council does not want the public to hear whether local service improvements are going according to plan.

Public transport  Devon county council  Accountability & transparency 

Devon bus users might be surprised to learn that Devon County Council published a plan to improve local services back in 2021. The government required it to do so, as a local transport authority, in response to its new national bus strategy so it could decide which plans to fund and by how much.

The county council plan relied on the government granting it more than £100 million but it received just £14.1 million to cover a three-year period.

It revised its service improvement plan accordingly and published version two in November. It says annual updates will follow.

As part of the plan, Devon County Council set up the “Devon Bus Enhanced Partnership”, a statutory arrangement that is supposed to provide a basis for Devon’s bus service operators to work with the county council to improve services by specifying both improvement aims and the actions required to achieve them.

The partnership agreement provides for a board to oversee its implementation. It was originally envisaged that the board would operate as a county council committee and therefore comply with statutory rules on press and public access to meetings and documents.

However at its inaugural meeting on 22 November the board instead decided that its meetings would not be open to the public and would sit outside the statutory framework, with agendas and minutes published after the event.

The minutes of the following meeting, held on 19 January, were not published until 1 March.

Devon Bus Enhanced Partnership board structure Devon Bus Enhanced Partnership board structure

The partnership agreement also established a bus users and stakeholders group referred to as the Bus Forum. It describes this as comprising “a wider range of bus user representatives and stakeholders with a vested interest in the local bus network” including the rail industry, local businesses, passenger representative groups and local councils.

It adds that the forum would “provide a second tier of peer review and performance consultation” and would “be able to challenge the success of deliverables” achieved through the service improvement plan, providing feedback and evaluation to the oversight board.

Meetings of the forum are also not open to the press or public. We asked Devon County Council to explain why the press and public are not allowed to attend either board or forum meetings.

It said: “There is no legal requirement for enhanced partnership board meetings to be held in public. Due to the strategic and often commercially sensitive discussion at meetings, the board decided they would not be held in public, however meeting notes would be published.”

While it is true that there is no statutory requirement that these board meetings must be held in public, the partnership agreement says that they will.

It quotes the statutory basis for local authority meetings, saying: “Meetings of the EPB [Enhanced Partnership Board] will be held as if they are meetings of a decision-making body for the purposes of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012” and goes on to rehearse the public access provisions of those regulations.

Nor is there any justification for holding these meetings in private. Peninsula Transport, the South West’s sub-national transport body, which is also hosted by Devon County Council, is not a statutory body but nevertheless operates in line with statutory requirements on openness.

When we pressed the county council on this, it said the partnership board “is not a public forum or a council meeting - it is a meeting of key stakeholders who are working collectively to improve services”.

This is not a reason for preventing the press and public attending its meetings, while it hardly seems likely that commercial bus operators would disclose highly sensitive information in meetings which their competitors also attend.

The Peninsula Transport board encompasses a much broader cross-section of interests than the Devon Bus Enhanced Partnership board, yet sees no reasons to hold its meetings in private.

When “commercially sensitive discussion” is on the agenda it simply makes use of the statutory provisions under which press and public may be excluded from its meetings.

Devon Bus Enhanced Partnership area

Devon Bus Enhanced Partnership area

At least the partnership board minutes are published, which is more than can be said for the forum.

Devon County Council said: “The Bus Forum is an informal group who meet [sic] three times a year to discuss local issues relating to bus services across Devon.

“There is no legal requirement for Devon County Council to form a Bus Forum; we have not published the terms of reference or membership list, and due to the informal nature of the forum no minutes were taken or will be published.”

It is true that there is no statutory requirement to set up the forum. It is also true that the forum is a key constituent of the partnership, which is itself a statutory arrangement under the Bus Services Act 2017 and so is hardly “informal”, as the county council claims.

When we asked how anyone would know what happened at its meetings, Devon County Council said: “At no point have we said that ‘no notes’ are taken. Notes and associated actions are taken by attendees. This is not the same as minutes”.

It will be interesting to see how the forum’s chair, who sits on the board, will report to the board without an agreed summary – or minutes – of what happened at each forum meeting. Or perhaps we won’t see, as the press and public are excluded from both.

We asked Devon County Council whether it was saying there was a link between the absence of a statutory requirement to form the forum and the decision not to publish any terms of reference or membership details.

It said: “No - it is not reasonable to assume that because we have not published the terms of reference or membership list in this case that this approach applies to all other stakeholder bodies that involves [sic] Devon County Council.”

This suggests that, while the county council may not have a policy on conducting stakeholder-related activities behind closed doors, it chooses to hold such meetings this way as it sees fit, and adopts the same ad hoc approach to publishing the terms of reference and membership information for such bodies too.

Devon County Council did, however, provide a list of organisations invited to nominate forum members, although it did not explain the criteria for selecting the organisations, only saying that they were “stakeholders”, and none of its responses explain why either the board or the forum have been placed in the closed door category.

It nevertheless says on its website that it is “committed to the principles of openness and transparency, and aims to make as much information as possible available to the public”.


 is a contributing editor of Exeter Observer.

Community share offer
Community share offer
Exeter in brief
Exeter in brief

SOUTH WEST WATER owner Pennon Group has increased its shareholder dividend by nearly 11% to £112 million despite making a pre-tax loss of £8.5 million and being fined £2.15 million after pleading guilty to thirteen environmental offences committed across Devon and Cornwall. CEO Susan Davy said the company, which also owns Bristol Water, had “delivered improvements in environmental performance”

EXETER CITY COUNCIL member’s allowances and expenses came to a total of £409,000 in the year to March 2023, with council leader Phil Bialyk claiming £28,400 and receiving gifts and hospitality at Sandy Park stadium.

The city council has agreed to allow four music concerts at SANDY PARK STADIUM in June with up to 15,000 people in attendance, tickets for which have already been on sale for two months. Its planning committee heard accounts of extreme anti-social behaviour by visitors attending events at the venue as well as other adverse impacts on local residents and imposed traffic and parking, noise, litter and opening and closing time restrictions on the concerts.

An Ofsted monitoring report on DEVON COUNTY COUNCIL CHILDREN’S SERVICES, the fifth since the local authority was judged inadequate in January 2020, has found that the “quality of social work practice across Devon remains inconsistent”. Inspectors found “pockets of better practice” and “some positive changes” but said that weak management oversight, insufficient challenge and poor care planning all continue to cause problems. It also said a high turnover rate in agency social work staff, who make up more than 40% of the workforce, is having an adverse impact.

SOUTH WEST WATER owner Pennon Group has increased its shareholder dividend by nearly 11% to £112 million despite making a pre-tax loss of £8.5 million and being fined £2.15 million after pleading guilty to thirteen environmental offences committed across Devon and Cornwall. CEO Susan Davy said the company, which also owns Bristol Water, had “delivered improvements in environmental performance”

EXETER CITY COUNCIL member’s allowances and expenses came to a total of £409,000 in the year to March 2023, with council leader Phil Bialyk claiming £28,400 and receiving gifts and hospitality at Sandy Park stadium.

The city council has agreed to allow four music concerts at SANDY PARK STADIUM in June with up to 15,000 people in attendance, tickets for which have already been on sale for two months. Its planning committee heard accounts of extreme anti-social behaviour by visitors attending events at the venue as well as other adverse impacts on local residents and imposed traffic and parking, noise, litter and opening and closing time restrictions on the concerts.

An Ofsted monitoring report on DEVON COUNTY COUNCIL CHILDREN’S SERVICES, the fifth since the local authority was judged inadequate in January 2020, has found that the “quality of social work practice across Devon remains inconsistent”. Inspectors found “pockets of better practice” and “some positive changes” but said that weak management oversight, insufficient challenge and poor care planning all continue to cause problems. It also said a high turnover rate in agency social work staff, who make up more than 40% of the workforce, is having an adverse impact.

More Analysis
Closed doors at County Hall

DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE

Closed doors at County Hall for councillor conduct hearings

A survey of local authority approaches to standards committee hearings finds Devon County Council alone in imposing private determination of conduct complaints.

Exeter City Council ballot share by ward 2016-23

DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE

Exeter electoral tectonic plates rumble as political landscape shifts

Labour takes second Conservative seat in Topsham but loses in St Thomas to Liberal Democrats as Green wins in Heavitree, St David's and Newtown & St Leonards place party second in 2023 city council elections.

2023 Exeter local elections guide graphic showing current council seat distribution

DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE

2023 Exeter local elections guide

City council elections take place on Thursday 4 May. Our essential guide highlights who's standing where, wards to watch and what the results might be. It also covers the wider context, voter ID and the impact of First Past the Post in Exeter elections.

All Analysis
News
AirBnB website listing page

DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE

Exeter councillor Yvonne Atkinson found in breach of code of conduct but escapes prosecution

Summary of investigation related to rental property interests involving Devon & Cornwall Police and Crown Prosecution Service withheld by Devon County Council while councillor campaigned for re-election to Exeter City Council.

University of Exeter students 2001-2023 Freedom Of Information Act responses vs published Full-Time Equivalent numbers line chart

PLANNING & PLACE

University comes clean on true Exeter campus student numbers over past two decades

Figures obtained under Freedom of Information Act confirm between 7,500 and 12,000 more students based in city each year than university numbers suggest – until this year – with major implications for council planning policy.

Harry Johnson-Hill Exeter Duryard & St James and Winchester Alresford & Itchen Valley candidate local elections campaign leaflets

DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE

Exeter local elections candidate is also standing in Winchester

University of Exeter student Harry Johnson-Hill hopes to represent voters both in Duryard & St James and at home in Alresford & Itchen Valley, 100 miles away.

All News
Comment
Exeter City Council annual meeting

DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE

Labour councillors again appointed to all thirteen committee chairs at annual council meeting

Council leader finally quits planning committee alongside other remaining Executive member but persists with secret board that enables scrutiny evasion.

Satellite image showing two minute pedestrian route from The Cottage, Nadderwater to Newbery car breakers, Redhills

DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE

How far does the council leader have to go before he sees a planning committee conflict of interest?

Phil Bialyk led charge against application to develop site 160 yards from his house despite conduct codes and LGA planning probity guidance.

Exeter City Council community grants budgets including 2023-24 virements bar chart

DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE

Councillor falsely labels community grants cuts story "misinformation"

Labour's Martin Pearce brands Exeter Observer "opposition propaganda" at full city council meeting, earning rebuke from Lord Mayor and putting council at risk of code of practice breach during pre-election period.

All Comment
On the agenda

EXETER CITY COUNCIL is inviting reactions to its proposed amendments to its existing planning policy restrictions on the conversion of residential housing to multiple occupancy dwellings, frequently lived by students, near the university. There are exhibitions from 1-7pm on Wednesday 7 June at Exeter Guildhall, 1.30-7pm on Tuesday 13 June at Newtown Community Centre in Belmont Park and 1-7pm on Tuesday 20 June at St James Church Hall in Mount Pleasant Road. Printed copies of its plans will also be available at the Civic Centre and in libraries until the consultation concludes on 3 July.

A public consultation on a draft DEVON, CORNWALL AND ISLES OF SCILLY CLIMATE ADAPTATION STRATEGY which will attempt to minimise the impact of climate change on the South West peninsula is under way until 30 June. The full draft strategy is here. Publication of a revised, final version of the plan is expected in August before partnership organisations will be invited to endorse it during the autumn, four and a half years after Devon County Council convened the Devon Climate Emergency Response Group to “act now to tackle [the] climate emergency”.

On our radar
All topics

ACCOUNTABILITY & TRANSPARENCY ACCOUNTABILITY & TRANSPARENCY ACCOUNTABILITY & TRANSPARENCY   AIR QUALITY AIR QUALITY AIR QUALITY   COP26 COP26 COP26   COVID-19 COVID-19 COVID-19   CITYPOINT CITYPOINT CITYPOINT   CLIFTON HILL SPORTS CENTRE CLIFTON HILL SPORTS CENTRE CLIFTON HILL SPORTS CENTRE   CLIMATE CRISIS CLIMATE CRISIS CLIMATE CRISIS   CLIMATE CRISIS CLIMATE CRISIS CLIMATE CRISIS   CO-LIVING CO-LIVING CO-LIVING   CONGESTION CONGESTION CONGESTION   COUNCIL TAX COUNCIL TAX COUNCIL TAX   CROWN ESTATE CROWN ESTATE CROWN ESTATE   CYCLING & WALKING CYCLING & WALKING CYCLING & WALKING   DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT   DEVON & CORNWALL POLICE DEVON & CORNWALL POLICE DEVON & CORNWALL POLICE   DEVON CARBON PLAN DEVON CARBON PLAN DEVON CARBON PLAN   DEVON COUNTY COUNCIL DEVON COUNTY COUNCIL DEVON COUNTY COUNCIL   DEVON PENSION FUND DEVON PENSION FUND DEVON PENSION FUND   EAST DEVON DISTRICT COUNCIL EAST DEVON DISTRICT COUNCIL EAST DEVON DISTRICT COUNCIL   EXETER AIRPORT EXETER AIRPORT EXETER AIRPORT   EXETER CATHEDRAL EXETER CATHEDRAL EXETER CATHEDRAL   EXETER CITY COUNCIL EXETER CITY COUNCIL EXETER CITY COUNCIL   EXETER CITY FUTURES EXETER CITY FUTURES EXETER CITY FUTURES   EXETER CITY LIVING EXETER CITY LIVING EXETER CITY LIVING   EXETER CLIMATE ACTION HUB EXETER CLIMATE ACTION HUB EXETER CLIMATE ACTION HUB   EXETER COLLEGE EXETER COLLEGE EXETER COLLEGE   EXETER CULTURE EXETER CULTURE EXETER CULTURE   EXETER DEVELOPMENT FUND EXETER DEVELOPMENT FUND EXETER DEVELOPMENT FUND   EXETER LIVE BETTER EXETER LIVE BETTER EXETER LIVE BETTER   EXETER LOCAL PLAN EXETER LOCAL PLAN EXETER LOCAL PLAN   EXETER PHOENIX EXETER PHOENIX EXETER PHOENIX   EXETER PRIDE EXETER PRIDE EXETER PRIDE   EXETER SCIENCE PARK EXETER SCIENCE PARK EXETER SCIENCE PARK   EXETER ST DAVID'S EXETER ST DAVID'S EXETER ST DAVID'S   EXETER TRANSPORT STRATEGY EXETER TRANSPORT STRATEGY EXETER TRANSPORT STRATEGY   EXETER CITY CENTRE EXETER CITY CENTRE EXETER CITY CENTRE   EXTINCTION REBELLION EXETER EXTINCTION REBELLION EXETER EXTINCTION REBELLION EXETER   FREEDOM OF INFORMATION FREEDOM OF INFORMATION FREEDOM OF INFORMATION   FRIDAYS FOR FUTURE EXETER FRIDAYS FOR FUTURE EXETER FRIDAYS FOR FUTURE EXETER   GENERAL ELECTIONS GENERAL ELECTIONS GENERAL ELECTIONS   GUILDHALL GUILDHALL GUILDHALL   HARLEQUINS HARLEQUINS HARLEQUINS   HEART OF THE SOUTH WEST LEP HEART OF THE SOUTH WEST LEP HEART OF THE SOUTH WEST LEP   HOUSING CRISIS HOUSING CRISIS HOUSING CRISIS   LGBTQIA+ LGBTQIA+ LGBTQIA+   LIBRARIES UNLIMITED LIBRARIES UNLIMITED LIBRARIES UNLIMITED   LIVEABLE EXETER PLACE BOARD LIVEABLE EXETER PLACE BOARD LIVEABLE EXETER PLACE BOARD   LIVEABLE EXETER LIVEABLE EXETER LIVEABLE EXETER   LOCAL INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY LOCAL INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY LOCAL INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY   LOCAL ELECTIONS LOCAL ELECTIONS LOCAL ELECTIONS   MAKETANK MAKETANK MAKETANK   MARSH BARTON MARSH BARTON MARSH BARTON   MET OFFICE MET OFFICE MET OFFICE   MID DEVON DISTRICT COUNCIL MID DEVON DISTRICT COUNCIL MID DEVON DISTRICT COUNCIL   NET ZERO EXETER NET ZERO EXETER NET ZERO EXETER   NORTHERNHAY GARDENS NORTHERNHAY GARDENS NORTHERNHAY GARDENS   OXYGEN HOUSE OXYGEN HOUSE OXYGEN HOUSE   PARIS STREET PARIS STREET PARIS STREET   PARKING PARKING PARKING   PENINSULA TRANSPORT PENINSULA TRANSPORT PENINSULA TRANSPORT   PLANNING POLICY PLANNING POLICY PLANNING POLICY   PRINCESSHAY PRINCESSHAY PRINCESSHAY   PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT   PUBLIC CONSULTATION PUBLIC CONSULTATION PUBLIC CONSULTATION   PUBLIC HEALTH PUBLIC HEALTH PUBLIC HEALTH   PUBLIC PARKS PUBLIC PARKS PUBLIC PARKS   PUBLIC REALM PUBLIC REALM PUBLIC REALM   PUBLIC TRANSPORT PUBLIC TRANSPORT PUBLIC TRANSPORT   RAMM RAMM RAMM   REFUSE & RECYCLING REFUSE & RECYCLING REFUSE & RECYCLING   RETROFIT RETROFIT RETROFIT   ROYAL DEVON NHS TRUST ROYAL DEVON NHS TRUST ROYAL DEVON NHS TRUST   SIDWELL STREET SIDWELL STREET SIDWELL STREET   SOUTH WEST EXETER EXTENSION SOUTH WEST EXETER EXTENSION SOUTH WEST EXETER EXTENSION   SOUTH WEST WATER SOUTH WEST WATER SOUTH WEST WATER   SOUTHERNHAY SOUTHERNHAY SOUTHERNHAY   SPORT ENGLAND LOCAL DELIVERY PILOT SPORT ENGLAND LOCAL DELIVERY PILOT SPORT ENGLAND LOCAL DELIVERY PILOT   ST SIDWELL'S COMMUNITY CENTRE ST SIDWELL'S COMMUNITY CENTRE ST SIDWELL'S COMMUNITY CENTRE   ST SIDWELL'S POINT ST SIDWELL'S POINT ST SIDWELL'S POINT   STAGECOACH SOUTH WEST STAGECOACH SOUTH WEST STAGECOACH SOUTH WEST   STUDENT ACCOMMODATION STUDENT ACCOMMODATION STUDENT ACCOMMODATION   TEIGNBRIDGE DISTRICT COUNCIL TEIGNBRIDGE DISTRICT COUNCIL TEIGNBRIDGE DISTRICT COUNCIL   UNIVERSITY OF EXETER UNIVERSITY OF EXETER UNIVERSITY OF EXETER  

More stories