A COUNCIL has been accused of being untransparent and letting down rural villages over a multi-million pound bus contract deal.

Labour-led Durham County Council is poised to re-tender £3.3m-worth of bus contracts later this year, plus school bus deals worth several millions more.

Today, its cabinet agreed to award contracts in June, to begin in September.

However, opposition members claimed councillors were being excluded from the process and bus operators were letting passengers down.

Mark Wilkes, Lib Dem councillor for Framwellgate Moor, said: "We’re spending £3.3m of taxpayers’ money but there’s no mention of service quality.

"Why have we never had an opportunity to discuss this before it’s gone out?"

Later, he said he was deeply concerned at the ‘lack of transparency’, poor bus services was one of residents’ biggest complaints and called for tougher penalties for failing operators.

John Bailey, a Local Liberal councillor for Crook North and Tow Law, said one in ten County Durham buses now ran late, he had received a huge number of complaints and was concerned about the future quality of services.

Earlier this year, changes were promised after it emerged a £4.2m contract to make and distribute 225,000 bins had gone to France despite a UK firm bidding £250,000 cheaper.

Couns Wilkes and Bailey both questioned why members had not been involved in the latest tendering exercise.

The council provides financial support for about 20 per cent of bus services.

About 80 per cent of these contracts are due to be renewed this year, with the rest following next year.

Councillor Neil Foster, cabinet member for regeneration and economic development, said councillors would be ‘fully involved’ in any changes.

The council fined operators £30 for each poor service – totalling a few thousand pounds each year, he added, but bigger fines would only be passed on to customers in increased fares.

Coun Foster said the debate highlighted the cuts to bus subsidies forced on councils by the Department for Transport (DfT).

Durham withdrew £322,000 in funding last year, while Darlington cut £100,000.

But last month the Commons Transport Committee said such cuts were unnecessary because the money was sitting in a Whitehall budget.