PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Bus Services: Care Leavers (12 July 2022)

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Independent Review on Children’s Social Care response, if he will meet with the hon Member for Stockport and Barnardo’s to discuss the potential merits for providing greater access to bus travel for care leavers 18 to 25- year-olds in England.

Asked by:
Navendu Mishra (Labour)

The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme is enshrined in legislation and was introduced in April 2008 to provide free England-wide off-peak bus travel to eligible older and disabled people. The current scheme costs around £1 billion annually and any changes, such as introducing free statutory bus travel for other groups, must be carefully considered for their impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability. Such changes would also require changes to the relevant legislation.

Local authorities in England have the power to offer concessions in addition to their statutory obligations, such as extending free bus travel to other eligible groups. Discretionary concessions are funded by authorities through local resources such as Council Tax, based upon their assessment of local need and funding priorities. Bus companies also understand that helping young people to use the bus now may encourage them to use the bus in the future as they move from education and training into full time employment, and offer concessions of their own.

Answered by:
Karl McCartney (Conservative)
20 July 2022