Introduction
The National Bus Strategy (Bus Back Better), published by Government in March 2021, sets out a high level of ambition for the improvement and development of bus services in England, to reverse the historic decline in patronage overall in England, and to provide the means for bus services to recover from the significant reductions in patronage as a result of the restrictions imposed to control the COVID-19 pandemic.
As part of the National Bus Strategy, Local Transport Authorities were required to produce a Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) and to choose to either develop an Enhanced Partnership with local bus operators (as defined in the Bus Services Act 2017) or pursue Bus Franchising.
Lancashire Combined County Authority (LCCA) was established in February 2025. On 1 April 2026 it became the sole Local Transport Authority for the area covering Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, Blackpool Council and Lancashire County Council which are the LCCA's constituent councils. Lancashire Combined County Authority agreed to create an Enhanced Partnership (EP) on 6 November 2025.
Both the EP Plan and the EP Scheme have been prepared by Lancashire Combined County Authority, in consultation with the bus operators, under the Transport Act 2000 (c.38).
Definitions
In this Enhanced partnership plan and any schemes made pursuant to it, the following capitalised terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them:
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1985 Act | Transport Act 1985 |
| 2000 Act | Transport Act 2000 |
| 2017 Act | Bus Services Act 2017 |
| 2025 Act | Bus Services Act 2025 |
| BSIP | Bus Services Improvement Plan - document which sets out LCCA's vision for bus services, current state of the market and how the objectives could be met. |
| Bus operators (or operators) | All operators running Qualifying Bus Services taken collectively. |
| Constituent council(s) | Refers to one or all of Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, Blackpool Council and Lancashire County Council, which are the Constituent Councils of Lancashire Combined County Authority. |
| Enhanced Partnership Scheme Variation | This comprises either:
or
Each of which will then constitute a formal variation of the EP Scheme for the purposes of s.138E(1) of the 2000 Act. |
| Executive Board (EB) | The committee of selected Lancashire Bus Operator representatives, Lancashire Combined County Authority and constituent council representatives, responsible for considering recommendations put forward by the Management Board and making decisions including specific Enhanced Partnership Scheme Variations. |
| Enhanced Partnership | The Enhanced Partnership covering the geographic extent of the administrative boundary of the LCCA, shown for identification purposes only on the plan at Figure A. |
| Facilities | Those facilities referred to in Schedule 1 which shall be deemed such for the purposes of s.138D(1) of the 2000 Act. |
| Forum | A stakeholder group convened and chaired by LCCA, responsible for bringing forward ideas and suggestions about improvements to the public transport network in Lancashire, to be considered by the Management Board for future work. The Management Board will feed back to the Forum on the outcomes and on what will be taken forward to the Executive Board for future decision making. The Forum will help monitor the achievements of the Partnership against its objectives and monitor delivery against the targets set out in the EP Plan. |
| Large, or other operator | Any operator providing 5% or more of total scheduled bus service mileage within the LCCA area set out at Figure A (excluding tendered services which are not operated under a de minimis agreement) is classed as a large operator. All other operators are other operators. Where qualifying bus services are provided by multiple operating companies or subsidiaries of the same owning group, they are to be considered to be provided by one operator. For the avoidance of doubt, a list of large and other operators is included in Appendix B. |
| LCCA | Lancashire Combined County Authority |
| Management Board (MB) | The committee of Lancashire Bus Operators, LCCA representatives and constituent council officers, responsible for considering all issues affecting the Enhanced Partnership, and making recommendations to the Executive Board in line with the Enhanced Partnership governance arrangements. |
| Measures | Those measures referred to in Schedule 1 which shall be deemed as such for the purposes of s.138D(2) of the 2000 Act. |
| Non-qualifying bus service | Services excluded from classification as qualifying bus services. |
| Operator objection mechanism | As defined at The Enhanced Partnership Plans and Schemes (Objections) Regulations 2018 |
| Qualifying bus service | A registered local bus service with one or more stopping place within the geographical area of the Enhanced Partnership, with the exception of:
For the avoidance of doubt, a list of qualifying bus services is included in Appendix A. |
| Requirements | Those requirements placed upon bus operators identified as such within Schedule 2 which shall be deemed as such for the purposes of s.138C 2000 Act. |
| Task and Finish Group | A group appointed by the Management Board to research and assess proposals for facilities, measures and requirements and to prepare business cases setting out feasibility and costs on behalf of the Management Board. |
Competition test
Lancashire Combined County Authority has undertaken an assessment of the impacts of the EP Plan and Scheme made on 1 April 2026 on competition for the purposes of Part 1 of Schedule 10 of the Transport Act 2000. The authority believes it will or is likely to have a significantly adverse effect on competition. However, the authority believes the EP Plan and Scheme(s) is justified because:
- it is with a view to achieving one or more of the following purposes:
- securing improvements in the quality of vehicles or facilities used for or in connection with the provision of local services
- securing other improvements in local services of benefit to users of local services; and
- reducing or limiting traffic congestion, noise or air pollution
- its effect on competition is or is likely to be proportionate to the achievement of that purpose or any of those purposes
- the Competition and Markets Authority has also been consulted on the proposals as required by section 138F of the Transport Act 2000