A DECISION on a £270k bus service contract for Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council is set for approval at a meeting this week.

Torfaen County Borough Council procures "socially necessary"local bus services on behalf of Blaenau Gwent CBC - with their current contract expiring on Saturday, March 31.

The process of awarding replacement contracts is managed by Torfaen CBC’s integrated transport unit - which obtains and manages contracts for both local authority areas.

The ‘Tredegar Locals’ contracts were advertised from December last year, with two operators submitting bids ranging from £89,995 to £99,999 per year.

On February 21, Torfaen CBC’s chief officer of neighbourhoods, planning and public protection will be asked to approve recommendations for the £89, 995 contract - equating to £269,985 over three years.

The report states that the preferred operator has the “necessary resources to operate the contracts” and if they withdrew, other operators who submitted bids would be approached for the contract to “ensure that there is no disruption to the public”.

As part of this agreement, Blaenau Gwent CBC will pay £52,647.08 per annum - or £157,941.24 over three years.

The report adds that Caerphilly CBC are “happy to proceed” with the contract award and will provide a balance of the contract value as a “cross boundary contribution” - a figure equating to £112,043.76.

If the recommended contract awards are given the go ahead, Blaenau Gwent CBC’s 2018/19 expenditure from their bus subsidy budget will decrease by £8,571.34.

The report also outlines future risks including the “uncertainty” surrounding bus operator funding - from concessionary fare schemes beyond 2018 to the bus service support grant - which could affect the “long term viability” of contracted bus services.

As a result, decisions would need to be taken on which services should be funded based on “social necessity within budget,” the report adds.

Other future risks include neighbouring local authorities being unable to support a “cross border service” due to budget reductions.

The meeting starts at 9am and for more, visit moderngov.torfaen.gov.uk