DfT accuses TfL of failing to provide recommendation for pension reform
The Department for Transport (DfT) has accused Transport for London (TfL) of failing to provide a recommendation for its pension reform just as the latest round of government funding is set to expire next Friday.
DfT permanent secretary Bernadette Kelly told TfL commissioner Andy Byford last week the government had launched a formal dispute period against the public body after it didn’t produce the recommendations required, Sky News first reported.
Pension reform has been at the heart of the dispute between DfT and TfL and is one of the causes behind the latest wave of tube strikes, which were called on by unions RMT and Unite for 21 June.
“We also do not consider the subsequent responses, indicating that a recommended approach will be delivered in approximately 18 months, to be in line with our previous agreement, nor do they represent an ambitious timeline to resolve this issue,” Kelly wrote in a letter seen by the outlet.
The news comes as London mayor Sadiq Khan pleaded with the DfT to hold urgent talks over a long-term funding.
“Without a long-term capital deal in two weeks’ time, TfL will be forced to start work on enacting its managed decline scenario,” Khan wrote to transport secretary Grant Shapps last week.
Under the managed decline scenario, the public body would be forced to cut an additional 80 buses after it pledged to cut or alter 78 of the current 620 routes.
While talks are still ongoing, TfL told Sky News it remained essential “that the agreement is also reached on longer term capital support.”