The Act Procedure for making a partnership plan or scheme - Part 1 of inserted schedule A1
131.To make a partnership plan and scheme or a partnership scheme or schemes in respect of an existing plan, the local transport authority must follow the procedure set out in Part 1 of schedule A1. That procedure involves giving notice to and consulting a range of interested people at different stages in the process. The process also gives operators of local services a right to be involved in the preparation of the partnership plan and the scheme. This collaborative working element recognises the intrinsic role that operators have in delivery of service improvements under any partnership plan and scheme that is put in place. Operators do not, however, have to participate in the preparation process if they do not want to.
132.Another significant aspect of the procedure is that the operators of local services in the area of a proposed partnership plan or scheme are given an opportunity to object to a draft partnership plan or scheme (paragraphs 4 and 5 of schedule A1). If a sufficient number of such operators object, the scheme cannot proceed and the local transport authority will either need to revise it and go through the process again or start again with a new proposal.
133.What will constitute a sufficient number of operators to prevent a partnership proposal from progressing will be set out in regulations (see Part 4 of schedule A1). This reflects that there will be a wide range of possible circumstances that need to be covered, taking into account both the number of operators and their share in the market, and that there may need to be regular updates to reflect different trends in how bus services operate.
134.The process also includes an opportunity for the local transport authority to modify the proposed partnership plan or scheme before formally making the plan or scheme. This is likely to arise where the consultation that has been carried out has raised issues that need to be addressed. Paragraph 7 of schedule A1 governs the procedure for this. Again the local transport authority must give notice of the modifications to persons with an interest and give the operators of local services an opportunity to object to the partnership plan or scheme as modified.
135.Finally, once the partnership plan or scheme has been made, the local transport authority must give a notice confirming that fact within the period of 14 days starting on the day after the partnership plan or scheme was made. The plan or scheme will not have effect if this notice is not given within the time period.