Clause 2
Concessionary Bus Travel Bill [Lords]
11:45 am
Stephen Hammond (Shadow Minister, Transport; Wimbledon, Conservative)
The purpose of clause 2 is to amend the definition of the travel concession authority as defined by section 146 of the Transport Act 2000. Currently, the definition includes non-metropolitan district councils, county councils and passenger transport executives, but the clause will extend it to the London authority and the Isles of Scilly. So far, so good. However, there are no eligible services on the Isles of Scilly. The intent behind the clause is that eligible residents of the Isles of Scilly could access eligible services on the United Kingdom mainland.
That raises two questions for the Minister. There are no eligible services on the Isles of Scilly and access to those services on the mainland is desirable, but residents need to get to the mainland. As we explored in our discussions on the previous clause, what is the rationale behind excluding from the Bill services that allow access to eligible services? The same point was raised in regard to residents of the Isle of Wight. I look forward to her explanation.
Furthermore, she has claimed several times that £250 million is being made available to implement the scheme, but several documents published by the Department have stated that figure followed, in brackets, by “£212 million for England”. The difference is £38 million. Will she confirm how much of that £38 million is for the concession to the residents of the Isles of Scilly?