The Government Has Agreed To Extend Its Financial Support Of Transport For London TfL For Two Weeks While Negotiations On A New Bailout Continue

The Government has agreed to extend its financial support of Transport for London (TfL) for two weeks while negotiations on a new bailout continue.
Ministers are demanding that London's congestion charge zone is extended and free travel entitlements for children and older people are downgraded in return for what would reportedly be a £1 billion package.
Earlier today, Sadiq Khan was accused of 'playing games' after claiming that ministers are demanding he extends the congestion zone to get a £1billion bailout.
The London mayor faced fury over suggestions that the government had made the move a condition of the latest extraordinary cash injection to keep Transport for London from grinding to a halt, amid fears that could happen as early as this weekend.  
After the latest agreement, Deputy mayor of London Heidi Alexander said there remain 'differences to resolve' between both sides, and expressed hope that 'cooler heads can prevail over the next 14 days'.
She told a meeting of TfL's finance committee: 'Neither the mayor or I can see how it would be right to charge people £15 to drive a mile from Wandsworth to Clapham, or from Catford to Lewisham, from October next year if the congestion charge was to be extended out to the North and South Circular.
'That is in effect what the Government have said to us that they want.
'We can't see why we should take free travel away from under 18s or over 60s when lots of people in London are actually facing some genuine hardship over the coming months.'
It is understood negotiations have stalled because of ministers' insistence that any such cash injection depends on the Mayor extending the congestion zone to the North and South circulars
There is 'collective responsibility' in Whitehall as well as City Hall to ensure Tubes and buses continue to run, she added.
TfL boss Andy Byford described the two-week extension as a 'sensible pragmatic solution' that 'keeps people's minds focused'.
He added: 'We can now get this deal done.
'We really are very close, and it's absolute top priority for all of us to get this thing across the line, and I believe that the two weeks will suffice.'
A spokesman for Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: 'The two-week extension will enable TfL to continue running safe, reliable and frequent transport services - which is more critical than ever as the capital enters Tier 2 and with Covid cases on the rise.
'Sadiq will continue to fight for appropriate longer-term funding for TfL, and a fair deal for Londoners.'
A Department for Transport spokesman said: 'We have agreed an extension to the support period and to rollover unspent funding from the Transport for London Extraordinary Funding Agreement, allowing further time for negotiations for a new settlement.
'These discussions will ensure London has a safe, reliable network.

It would be inappropriate to disclose further details at this stage.'
TfL's finances have been severely hit by the drop in travel caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
A £1.6 billion bailout agreed with Mr Khan in May put funding in place until Saturday.
It was reported last month that Mr Khan was seeking a £5.7 billion bailout to keep London's transport system going for the next 18 months.
Sadiq Khan (left) is locked in urgent talks with the Government to secure a £1billion funding package before TfL burns through the last of its reserves, threatening to grind transport in the capital to a halt as early as this weekend.  Tory mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey (right) said: 'Under no circumstances would I back an extension of the congestion charge zone, regardless of who proposes it'
It comes as Sadiq Khan had been accused of 'playing games' after his claim that ministers are demanding he extends the congestion zone to secure the bailout. 
Sources close to Mr Khan have been briefing that he was bravely resisting spreading the congestion zone to the North and South circulars, which would force up to three million citizens to pay £15 to use their cars. 
But senior Tories raged that actually the mayor had gone to the Treasury with a 'begging bowl' and merely been told he needs to find some savings to help balance the books after years of mismanagement.

They insisted and it was up to him how the money was found. 
A senior Conservative source said: 'The fact of the matter is that he has been presented with a list of options. He is welcome to come up with his own.
'But he needs to say how he is going to make savings.

Instead he is playing games in the media.'
They added: 'We have said how are you going to do it, these are some of the things you can do. He needs to find some ways of saving some money.'
The government has extended its emergency funding of TfL by two weeks to give more time to resolve the bitter wrangling over the huge sums needed to keep the transport system afloat. 
The squabbling has been going on for months,  with London Tory MPs increasingly frustrated about Transport Secretary Grant Shapps' refusal to take on the mayor's dire threats in public. 
In May Mr Khan accepted a £1.6billion funding agreement with Government, which came with the condition of a hike in the congestion charge to £15.   But he branded the injection a 'sticking plaster' and is calling for a £5.7billion long-term solution for the next 18 months. 
However, government sources say they are determined that Mr Khan will not get a free pass after 'bankrupting' TfL with mismanagement during his tenure. 
Tube and bus drivers have been warned that crucial transport services may stop running if the impasse is not broken over the coming days. 
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