§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will fund(a) free old age pensioner travel and (b) free television licences for all old age pensioners at the next budget. [179525]
§ Ruth KellyThe Chancellor of the Exchequer receives many proposals for measures to include in his Budget.
The Government are committed to ensuring that older and disabled people have full opportunities to maintain their independence and utilise our public transport network while improving local transport for all.
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§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Shaun Woodward dated 21 June 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about jobs created in the North West. (178113)
While statistics of new jobs created are not available explicitly, statistics from surveys enable comparisons to be made of net changes in numbers of jobs from year to year.
The attached table shows the information requested, relating to jobs in St Helen's South Parliamentary Constituency, St Helen's unitary authority, the Merseyside Government office region and the North West Government office region for 2000 to 2002.
The majority of the increase in jobs in St Helen's South seen between 2000 and 2002 occurred in the real estate, renting and business activities sector. At least one major business site in this sector was opened in the area during the period.
The Transport Act 2000 brought in the statutory minimum requirement for local authority concessionary fares to ensure that older and disabled people are entitled to half fares or better on their local bus services, with no additional charge being levied for the pass.
Anything provided above the statutory minimum is a matter for local authorities.
We believe that in England the current system offers the best combination of ensuring that pensioners receive a full opportunity to benefit from public transport, while also allowing decisions to be made that fully reflect local circumstances.
The Chancellor announced the introduction of free TV licences for those aged over 75, in his pre-Budget report in November 2000. Over 3.5 million pensioner households benefit from access to free TV licences, at a cost of some £380 million a year.