From April 2008, the Department for Transport has provided additional special grant funding to local authorities to cover the extra cost of providing the extension to the concession; which now guarantees free off-peak local bus travel across England to all eligible older and disabled residents:
(a) £275,041 in 2008-09 and £281,528 in 2009-10 to Chorley borough council;
(b) A total of £5,608,371 in 2008-09 and £5,740,644 in 2009-10 to all of the travel concession authorities (TCAs) in the county of Lancashire (which includes Blackburn with Darwen council borough council and Blackpool council);
(c) A total of £212 million in 2008-09 and £217 million in 2009-10 to the whole of England.
The Department for Communities and Local Government continues to provide the bulk of concessionary travel funding to local authorities through formula grant. Before 1 April 2008, funding for the statutory minimum bus concession was provided exclusively through the formula grant system.
The Department for Transport did however provide £31 million of grant to England in 2007-08 for the cost of producing and issuing the new England-wide bus passes to all those eligible, of which a total of £1,121,352 went to the TCAs of Lancashire; this includes Chorley's allocation of £69,004.