HL Deb 11 July 2000 vol 615 c131

3.2 p.m.

Lord Islwyn asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether any further consideration has been given to the starting time for the proposed minimum half-fare concession for pensioners on public transport.

The Minister of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Lord Macdonald of Tradeston)

My Lords, as some noble Lords may recall, the issue was addressed on two occasions yesterday during the Committee stage of the Transport Bill. To repeat what I said then, the Bill provides that the starting time for the statutory minimum concession is 9.30 a.m. That reflects representations from local government. It is open to local authorities to set an earlier time if they think it appropriate. If they already have an earlier start time, there is no need for them to change it because of anything in the Transport Bill.

Lord Islwyn

My Lords, although the introduction of concessionary fares in the Transport Bill is welcome, it is a very restricted measure. Even the 9.30 a.m. start is unacceptable to pensioners' organisations and the disabled. They are particularly concerned about getting to hospital appointments. Does the Minister also accept that the 9 a.m. start has operated in London for many years, where free passes are available? Why not at least make the 9 a.m. start uniform throughout the country? That would be welcomed as fair by pensioners and the disabled.

Lord Macdonald of Tradeston

My Lords, in the other place, we introduced a free bus pass. In your Lordships' House, we extended the concessions to the disabled. We accepted a Liberal Democrat amendment in Committee in the other place to change the morning start time from 9 a.m. to 9.30 a.m. The passenger transport executive group had called for that later starting time because considerable numbers of school and college journeys are undertaken between 9 a.m. and 9.30 a.m. and in larger cities transport operators have to recover from the congestion of the morning peak during that time. It is also true that 9.30 a.m. is the usual starting time for concessionary fares and for off-peak season tickets. I stress that local authorities are free to provide a scheme that is better than the statutory minimum.