Concessionary travel passes

Thank you for your request which is receiving attention

Kevin Carr
Legal and Democratic Services

show quoted sections

Dear Sir

Further to your request for information (reproduced below) I now set out
the Council's response ;

If you have any further queries do not hesitate to contact me

Kevin Carr
Legal and Democratic Services.

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 Council's criteria for a disabled Bus Pass is as follows;
Eligibility for a Disabled Bus Pass'

. Provide proof of Registration as Blind, Death e.g. Registration
Card;
. Higher rate of the Mobility or the Care component of the DLA
(Disability Living Allowance);
. Letter from Social Services confirming Registration as a
Disabled person;
. Current Disabled persons Blue Badge;
. Letter from DVLA giving notice of refusal or withdraw of
Licence;
. Letter from a Medical professional confirming a medical
condition that would prevent a Licence examples as below: -

o Epilepsy;
o Severe Mental Disorder;
o Liability to sudden attacks of giddiness or fainting;
o Another Medical condition that would cause a Licence to be
withdrawn or refused;
o War Pensioner's Mobility Supplement (WPMS).

 Customers can apply for a pass if they have a disability, proof of which
would be; being in receipt of one of the above benefits/criteria, if the
customer does not hold one of these then we would send a questionnaire to
their doctor for proof of disability, this can include mental health
issues (customers may be registered with social services and as stated
above can apply for a bus pass on proof of receipt of a letter from social
services showing they are registered as disabled).

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 criteria are set by government legislation which can be viewed on
[1]www.direct.gov web site. The scheme has not been extended any further,
Crawley Borough Council took the steps to include the above criteria from
the Government when the scheme was set up in Crawley.

. 11. Who assesses eligibility?

Local authorities are responsible for assessing eligibility against
the legal definitions and taking into account guidance issued by the
Secretary of State.

Taken from the following document;
[2]http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/buses...

This link is from the United Kingdom Parliament web site
[3]http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa...

3. If your authority does have such arrangements does you authority have
some other arrangement beyond the statuary minimum to provide passes to
those with mental health issues?

We do include people with a mental health issue following one of the seven
disability areas as per Government legislation. As per our eligibility
criteria, see question 1, that if a person has a letter from the social
services that states they are registered disabled.

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?

Certain Mental Health conditions are included in out criteria and if a
person does not hold proof we will send a questionnaire to the customers
GP to confirm disability. There are 7 conditions on the disability
questionnaire, the relevant condition for mental health (f - is high
lighted) is as follows;

9. What are the eligible categories of disability?
There are seven categories of disability under which a person can be
entitled to concessionary bus travel. An eligible person is someone who:
(a) is blind or partially sighted,
(b) is profoundly or severely deaf,
(c) is without speech,
(d) has a disability, or has suffered an injury, which has a substantial
and long-term adverse effect on his ability to walk,
(e) does not have arms or has long-term loss of the use of both arms,
(f) has a learning disability, that is, a state of arrested or incomplete
development of mind which includes significant impairment of intelligence
and social functioning, or
(g) would, if he applied for the grant of a licence to drive a motor
vehicle under Part III of the Road Traffic Act 1988, have his application
refused pursuant to section 92 of that Act (physical fitness) otherwise
than on the ground of persistent misuse of drugs or alcohol.

[4]http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa...

Concessionary Travel: Mentally Ill People

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will
make people with mental health illnesses eligible for the national
concessionary fares scheme; and if she will make a statement.
[190049]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The Transport Act 2000 (or for those resident in
London, the Greater London Authority Act 1999) makes provision for
concessionary travel for a wide range of disabled people including
people with severe learning disabilities. We have no plans at present
to change the eligibility criteria for statutory concessionary bus
travel to include people with mental health illnesses. Local
authorities retain the ability to offer discretionary concessions
over and above the statutory minimum at their own expense. This can
include offering concessionary travel to other categories of people,
such as those with mental health problems.

Our current focus is on the successful implementation of the new
all-England off-peak bus travel concession
6 Mar 2008 : Column 2753W
from April this year. Any changes to the scope of the statutory
minimum concession, such as extending the eligibility criteria, would
significantly increase the number of people eligible for
concessionary travel at any time and would have to be fully funded.
The impacts would need to be considered carefully following
consultation with all the interested parties.

At this point in time we are not looking to include any further
concessions to including more mental health conditions, as it is up to the
local authorities discretion. However I can look to take this under
advisement and look into any possibility in the future, assessing
eligibility against the legal definitions and taking into account guidance
issued by the Secretary of State.

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

I have included the relevant links to the documents that have guided the
original decisions in the criteria for concessionary travel.

References

Visible links
1. file://www.direct.gov
2. http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/buses...
3. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa...
4. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa...