§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what percentage of persons of pensionable age currently have access to a concessionary fares bus pass. [62419]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonI understand that 11 local authorities have no concessionary fare scheme for their resident pensioners. The number of pensioners in those local authority areas represents about 2.6 per cent. of the total number of pensioners in England.
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§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has made of the number of concessionary fare bus passes(a) currently issued and (b) which will be issued when the nationwide £5 bus pass is introduced; and if he will make a statement.[62418]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonNo such estimate can be made, because my Department does not hold statistics on the number of passes issued; that is a matter for the individual local authorities concerned. Without that information it is 129W not possible to calculate any likely change in numbers of passes issued due to our proposal for a national minimum standard for concessionary fares for pensioners, based on a £5 bus pass and half fares on buses.
§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will estimate the extra cost to the public purse from the introduction of a nationwide concessionary fare bus pass at(a) £5 and (b) £10 assuming (i) a continuation of the present number of passes issued and (ii) his estimate of the increased number of passes which might be issued.[62420]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonIt is not possible to give such an estimate, because the cost and the number of passes issued would depend not only on the price of the pass, but also on the level of concessionary fare with which the pass was associated.