News
Threat to Freedom Pass funding.
Added: 10 December 2009 | Updated: 17 December 2009
On 4th November, Transport Minister, Sadiq Khan announced proposals that the governments would reopen the third year of the funding settlement for the national bus concession – which could result in London losing around half of this funding (just under £30 million).
The Government claim that the initial allocation was over-estimated in London in particular. A Special Grant was given to all local authorities in England, to cover the National Freedom Pass Scheme – this allows older and disabled people to use local off peak bus services for free when visiting other areas in England. In the capital, this special grant was therefore meant to cover the expected cost of older and disabled visitors to London. This grant was always to be in addition to the pot of funding seperately allocated to the Freedom Pass .
According to the Government after a recent review it has become apparent that London Boroughs had a surplus from the Special Grant, which the Department of Transport now says it wants to redistribute to those authorities outside of London where the funding did not cover the costs of their concessionary travel needs.
There is confusion as to how much this surplus amounts to in each borough – and indeed where it ended up. However what is certain is that Boroughs set their budgets for next year without ever considering the government may ask for the surplus money back.
London Councils argue: “Boroughs have already budgeted for this funding and now London is facing having the amount of funding it was promised almost halved. Under this funding regime London is already disadvantaged, compared to other parts of England, and the decision could impact on the services boroughs provide.“
As the boroughs have already budgeted for concessionary travel 2010/2011, the re-allocation would in effect be a funding to cut to the London boroughs.
If the special grant ‘re-allocation’ happens, this will undoubtedly affect disabled people in every borough as councils attempt to deal with anything up to £1million funding hole. Some Council leaders have declared that the Freedom Pass and who is elegible for one will not be effected. Others have declared the move may lead to increases in Council Tax.
The confusing picture is a worry as it could also lead to the tightening of eligibility criteria for the Disabled Person’s Freedom Pass in particular– making the application process even more stringent and intrusive. This could happen in some boroughs as they attempt to save money by reducing the numbers of people eligible for a Freedom Pass.
There is even the fear that Freedom Passes issued on ‘discretionary’ basis would be under threat in some boroughs.
The Freedom Pass provides just that, Freedom, for disabled and older Londoners. It allows us to travel for free on the bus, tube and rail networks within London. Without this vital benefit, many of us would not be able to afford essential travel to hospitals, community centres, to local shops or engage in our social lives. This would severely affect the quality of our lives. With the steep increase in bus and tube fares coming into force in January, the Freedom pass becomes even more essential.
Transport in London is becoming more accessible – The Mayor’s Transport strategy lays out plans for more improvements over the next few years – however what is the point if we can’t afford to use it?
Islington MP, Jeremy Corbyn questioned Transport Minter Sadiq Khan on this news last month. You can view the questions and their responses here: