Treat TfL the same as train companies, says Assembly

During the Covid-19 pandemic, train operating companies received continuous financial settlements, totalling up to 24 July 2021, more than £10.4 billion.

Transport for London (TfL) has received three short term funding settlements from Government, totalling around £4 billion.

The London Assembly has today agreed the Chair of the London Assembly should write to the Secretary of State for Transport calling for TfL to be treated in a similar manner to the train operating companies in terms of the level and length of funding they have received since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. It also wants the taxpayer-funded KPMG report into TfL finances to be finally published.

Caroline Pidgeon MBE AM, who proposed the motion, said:

“It is time TfL was no longer treated like a political football.

“The shenanigans over the last 18 months must now end. TfL should be allowed to maintain a full range of services and properly plan ahead. This is vital for Londoners, the capital’s economy but also UK plc as well.

“Refusing to publish a taxpayer funded report into TfL’s finances or consider a long-term finance settlement for the organisation is not how it should be treated by central Government.

“Treating TfL with the same respect as the Government provides to the train operating companies is not much to ask for.”

Elly Baker AM, who seconded the motion, said:

“The situation facing TfL is incredibly serious and urgent. Without a fair and long-term funding deal from the Government before 11^th December, Londoners will not only face cuts to bus and tube services, but key infrastructure projects will be cancelled, and jobs put at risk.

“It is only right that TfL is treated in a similar way to the private train operating companies who were provided with a no-strings attached, blank cheque by the Government at the start of the pandemic.

“Questions still surround the Government’s transparency over a report that it commissioned into TfL’s finances over a year ago. This was taxpayer-funded, but it still hasn’t been published.

“It is wrong that Londoners are being kept in the dark by Ministers in this way, but we already know that the continuing financial pressures being faced by TfL are directly down to the impact of the pandemic on passenger numbers”.

The full text of the motion is:

This Assembly notes that since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Transport for London (TfL) has received three short term funding settlements from Government, totalling around £4 billion, which have allowed TfL to continue to operate London’s transport network and that the current settlement only runs until the 11^th December 2021.

This Assembly notes the ‘Implications of reduced funding for TfL’ paper submitted to the 24 November 2021 TfL Finance Committee and the serious concerns it contains, detailing a potential managed decline of TfL’s services without long term funding.

This Assembly further notes that during the Covid-19 pandemic train operating companies received continuous financial settlements, totalling up to 24 July 2021, more than £10.4 billion.

This Assembly notes the Department for Transport commissioned and funded a KPMG report into TfL’s finances last year, which has not been published to date.

This Assembly believes that TfL should be treated in an open and fair manner and that long-term financial support is vital for maintaining transport services serving Londoners, commuters and visitors, but also ensuring vital supply chains are maintained for businesses across the UK.

This Assembly calls upon the Chair of the London Assembly to write to the Secretary of State for Transport calling for the taxpayer-funded KPMG report to be finally published and for TfL to be treated in a fair and similar manner to the train operating companies in terms of the level and length of funding that they have received since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.