CASE-SUSSEX-BUS-REFORM

Sussex Bus Reform

What are the reform options, costs and governance?

FOI ACKNOWLEDGED — AWAITING RECORDS

CURRENT POSITION

WATCH sent Brighton & Hove City Council an information request on 2 September about bus-franchising reviews and feasibility studies. The council has now formally acknowledged it as case 26340525, records the request as received on 3 September 2026, and says a response is expected by 1 October 2026. No substantive records have yet been disclosed.

NEXT ACTION

Await the council response and compare it against the 2021 local study, later planned local work and the 2026 regional appraisal. Check how earlier evidence is reused; no duplicated expenditure has been established.

RESPONSIBLE BODY

Sussex & Brighton Strategic Authority; Brighton & Hove City Council (request recipient)

REFERENCE / TIMING

BHCC FOI case: 26340525

Request recorded received: 3 September 2026
Expected response: 1 October 2026

Status checked: 4 September 2026. The acknowledgement is not a substantive response. Research questions are not findings of wrongdoing.

Public sources

EVIDENCE / DOCUMENTS →

← ALL INVESTIGATIONS

Following the existing evidence

The regional authority announced £564,000: £500,000 for studies and £64,000 for an officer. That allocation does not prove a contract award or actual expenditure.

WATCH is tracing three stages: the completed 2021 Brighton & Hove appraisal, later planned local feasibility work, and the 2026 regional funding. The question is whether existing work is being reused and what genuinely additional work is needed. No duplicate spending has been established.

Brighton & Hove records matter here because of their potential use in the Sussex-wide reform programme. This request is separate from the Digital Twin work and the Rustington bus-corridor case.