REPLACING lost bus services is the purpose behind a £588,000 pot of money awarded to Oxfordshire County Council by the government.

Yvonne Constance, OCC's cabinet member for the environment, will be considering how to spend £588,403 given to the council from a new supported bus services fund provided by the government at a meeting on Thursday.

The supported bus services fund has been offered to help restore lost services, to improve ones which are struggling, or to put on new bus routes.

To make sure the council can keep hold of the funding, Ms Constance will be expected to sign off on a statement of intent for the money.

The statement sets out how the council plans to spend the money.

Under the council's plans, it would divide the money up into £125,000 to improve current bus services, £253,400 to restore lost bus routes, which and £210,000 to support extensions to existing bus services.

The council needs to send its statement of intent to the government by Friday, March 13, the day after the meeting.

It will then have a response by the end of the month from the government about whether or not it can go ahead with its plans.

Approval for schemes like the supported bus service fund would usually need to be discussed by the council, but because of the tight deadline of March 13, the council's chairman has agreed it should be signed off quickly by Ms Constance.

Delegated questions for the cabinet member for the environment takes place at Oxfordshire County Hall at 2pm on Thursday.