Concessionary travel passes

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Dear Mr Eriksohn

Thank you for your request for information below.

Redditch Borough Council is a member of the Worcestershire Concessionary
Travel Partnership which consists of Worcestershire County Council and
the six Worcestershire Districts. I attach a copy of the Partnership's
Concessionary Fares Scheme issued in March 2008. This sets out the
eligibility criteria and additional concessions (pre-9.30 a.m. travel
and companions for pass holders unable to travel by bus unaided).

The Scheme will be reissued in March 2009 but no changes are envisaged
to the eligibility criteria.

If you have any queries or concerns then please contact me.

The Concessionary Fares Scheme which has been disclosed to you under the
Freedom of Information Act is subject to copyright protection. If you
wish to use this in a way that would infringe copyright, for example by
making multiple copies or issuing copies to the public, a licence will
be required from the copyright holder.

If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to
your request and wish to make a complaint you should follow the
Council's complaints procedure, details of which are attached for your
information.

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint you may apply
directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the
ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the Council's
complaints procedure. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at
The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane,
Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely

Pat Bellamy
Policy & Data Protection Officer
Redditch Borough Council
01527 64252 extension 3193

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Dear Mr Eriksohn

Thank you for contacting Worcestershire County Council.

Your request for information has now been considered and the information
you have asked for is below.

While Worcestershire County Council is a member of the Worcestershire
Concessionary Travel Partnership, the Travel Concession Authorities for
Worcestershire are responsible for all matters relating to concessionary
travel in Worcestershire.

It must also be noted that the Department for Transport is about to
undertake a consultation on the future administrative arrangements for
concessionary travel schemes within England as it is widely accepted that
there are far too many Travel Concession Authorities for efficient
delivery of concessionary travel.

I will answer your request as regards to the concessionary travel
arrangements in your authority under the terms of Freedom of Information
Act.

1. Does your authority provide concessionary travel passes to those
individuals registered with their local Social Services department as
disabled on the grounds of being a mental health user or survivor?

The Travel Concessions Authorities within Worcestershire provide
Concessionary Travel passes to disabled residents and residents aged over
60 under the provisions of the English National Concessions Scheme
implemented on 1st April 2008.

The Transport Act 2000 provided for the introduction of a national minimum
standard for local authority concessionary travel schemes for elderly and
disabled people by 1 June 2001, further amended by the Travel Concessions
(Eligibility) Act 2002 and the Travel Concessions (Extension of
Entitlement) (England) Order 2005. The Concessionary Bus Travel Act 2007
extended the scope for statutory minimum requirements from 1 April 2008.

Under the legislation a disabled person is defined as someone who has one
of following characteristics:

- is blind or partially sighted.

- is profoundly or severely deaf.

- is without speech.

- has a disability or injury affecting ability to walk.

- is without arms or long term use of arms.

- has a learning disability impairing intelligence.

- is not eligible to drive on medical grounds i.e. epileptic
(excludes misuse of drugs or alcohol)

As a local enhancement available to residents of Worcestershire, certain
pass holders will be eligible to be accompanied by a COMPANION who is
eligible for the same free travel benefits as the pass holder on journeys
commencing in Worcestershire. This facility is available to Disabled
persons who meet additional eligibility criteria. The additional criteria
are set by the Travel Concession Authorities although a common policy has
been established across the county. A copy of this policy is attached.

Under a separate local enhancement, free travel is available to
Worcestershire residents who hold a concessionary travel pass, before
09:30 on Mondays to Fridays although a number of Travel Concession
Authorities may withdraw this facility from 1st April 2009.

The county council also sponsors an Independent Travel Training Scheme for
individuals with Learning Disabilities to encourage greater use of public
transport and reduce dependency.

2. If your authority does have such arrangements why was the decision
taken to extend the scheme in this way and what arrangements are in place?

The decision was taken to extend the scheme to include eligibility for
free travel by Companions to certain pass holders in order to improve
accessibility to vital services. In order for the scheme to work there are
three categories of passes issued to Worcestershire residents

1. For those residents who qualify on the basis of being aged 60 or
over

2. For those residents who qualify as being disabled under the criteria
established under the English national Concessionary Travel Scheme

3. For those residents who qualify for 2 above but also meet the
additional local criteria and qualify to be accompanied by a companion who
may also access free travel for journeys commencing within Worcestershire.
This latter right is granted to the disabled person in whose name the pass
is issued, the companion is not limited to one named individual and the
right to free travel is not a right granted to the companion as an
unrestricted right for free travel.

3. If your authority does not have such arrangements does your authority
have some other arrangement beyond the statuary minimum to provide passes
to those with mental health issues?

Not applicable

4. If your authority does not have such arrangements why was the decision
taken not to extend the scheme in this way and has consideration been
given to extending the scheme in this way in the future?

Not applicable

5. Would it be possible to provide copies of any relevant policy documents
you may have?

A copy of the criteria for assessing eligibility for disabled and
companion passes is attached.

I draw your attention to the copyright statement and the Reuse of Public
Sector Information section at the bottom of this page.

If you have any queries or concerns then please contact me on 01905
763763.

If you have a complaint about the handling of this enquiry then in the
first instance please contact:

Consumer Relations Department

Worcestershire County Council

County Hall

Spetchley Road

Worcester

WR5 2NP

01905 766364

You can then also contact the Information Commissioner at:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 01625 54 57 45
[1]www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

Yours sincerely

Lucy Capel

Worcestershire County Council

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended) and

Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005

The enclosed documents are supplied to you by Worcestershire County
Council pursuant to its statutory duties under the Freedom of Information
Act 2000 and/or the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and are
subject to copyright protection. In most cases Worcestershire County
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fact that some or all the documents may be the copyright of another person
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The copyright owner of the information contained within the documents
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Access Officer, Worcestershire County Council, County Hall, Spetchley
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