Report to follow.
Minutes:
Steve Warrener, Finance and Corporate Services Director outlined a proposal to introduce an annual charge of £10 for ‘older people’ (those who qualify for English National Concessionary Scheme (ENCT) Pass) to access the local concessionary travel scheme which currently enables free travel on Metrolink and train within Greater Manchester.
Under the 2007 Act, eligible older and disabled people are entitled to free off-peak travel on all local bus (only) services anywhere in England from 9:30 until 23:30 on weekdays and all days at weekends and on Bank Holidays via the use of an ENCT pass. The Act stipulates that the travel permit for the ENCT pass must be issued free of charge. The only charge that TfGM is able to levy is to cover the cost of the replacement of lost, stolen or damaged passes. This currently stands at £10.
In addition to the national scheme ENCT, TfGM currently offer an enhanced scheme which offers free travel for older and disabled people:
· on Metrolink trams between 09:30 and midnight, Monday to Friday, and all day at weekends and on public holidays; and
· on trains on journeys scheduled to run at or after 09:30, Monday to Friday, and all day at weekends and on public holidays.
The report proposed that TfGM introduce a £10 charge per annum for older people for access to the enhanced local concessionary scheme. Should older people not wish to pay the £10 charge and opt out of the enhanced scheme they would still be entitled to free off-peak travel on all local bus services as outlined in the 2007 Act.
It was reported that to enable the continued use of the ENCTS cards in circulation, and therefore to implement the proposal at the lowest possible cost, TfGM would issue an ‘entitlement product’ that would be loaded on to a concessionaire’s existing card once they have paid the £10 annual charge. It was highlighted that the proposal would align the charges for older people with the charges for other discretionary concessionary travel schemes in Greater Manchester.
This proposal is to be presented to the GMCA on 26th July for approval.
Members provided the following questions and comments
· Members expressed concern that the charge may present financial difficulties to some individuals from accessing their travel pass, potentially creating a barrier to take-up. It was acknowledged that the sum of £10 will not be an issue for all, but there are those that may find covering this extra charge challenging.
· A Member stated that that the older generation have already made large contributions to tax and national insurance with transport highlighted as already being funded via council tax levy. This demographic had also been recently affected with other recent rising costs such as the removal of free TV licensing for over 75s.
· The point was made that there are reliability issues with public transport in GM, and asking for an additional payment for the current quality of service is a challenging message.
· A Member noted concern that any reduction in travel pass take-up could have detrimental health associated impacts. This includes restricting access to area based health care specialist centres and hospitals which was noted as being vital for some older people. Knock-on impacts of creating any barrier to take up of the travel pass could include Isolation leading to mental health problems.
· The point was made that this charge should be introduced with something ‘positive’ which may improve the reception and public perception of introducing the charge. Adding the specific benefits of what aspects of the GM bus service will be improved by introducing this was given as an example. The importance for making a case for the added value to those affected by the charge was stressed.
· A Member made the point that this charge could be offset by ‘giving something back’, such as lifting restrictions to free travel before 09:30.
· A Member asked around the administration cost for collecting the annual £10 fee which being a 12 month renewal rolling process could potentially have viability impacts on the return of that sum.
· A Member noted that GM should have an aspiration to promote mobility in all ages, with concern that introducing this charge is at odds with this message.
· Concern was expressed that some elderly individuals struggle with application processes, particularly with payments requiring bank details, requiring assistance with this process.
· It was noted that the report was deficient in terms of details of administration and methodology, making it challenging for Members to pass a considered opinion at this stage.
· A number of Members of this Committee wanted it stated on record that they were not in favour of implementing the Charge.
The following was given in response to Members questions and comments:
· Following Member queries around the policy of concessionary travel being restricted nationally to post 09:30 as this is not adopted in London, it was clarified that this is national policy and that London has lifted the restriction as an ‘enhancement’ for their constituency.
· It was clarified that the £10 Charge is not associated with bus travel which is offered nationally free to those of pension age and irrespective of opting to pay the fee. The £10 charge is only for the additional ‘enhancement’ transport modes which GM offers above the national offer, namely the addition of concession access to train and tram transport, as such this will not hinder those individuals who rely on bus services to access health care.
· It was stated that funding raised from the scheme is to be ring-fenced towards investment to improve and enhance bus services and to protect concessions in GM via bus reform. This is forecast to be around an additional £1.2 million funding.
· In terms of providing details of some of the proposals upfront to reinvest the revenue from this scheme back in to bus reform, due to the nature of the consultation and budget sign off process, it is not possible to present proposals of this nature at this stage, but these would be presented to Members as part of the budget process in the future subject to sign-off of this proposal.
· In relation to concerns around elderly constituents finding the annual fee renewal challenging, It was stated that TfGM have undertaken an equality impact assessment to identify and address these issues. It was clarified that there is to be various means of paying the fee such a travel shops, or cheques.
· It was highlighted that take-up forecasts of the pass are difficult to predict for reasons such as, some individuals use the bus over tram and train anyway due to their geographical proximity.
· In relation to the question around offsetting the charge against allowing free concessionary travel before 09:30, this isn’t something that had been considered
· It was clarified that the proposal is for passes to be renewed on a rolling basis, with the vast majority of estimated additional cost of the renewal process being absorbed into what TfGM are already doing with current pass renewal. The Charge is to be made in the same way as the young people persons IGO card. Although a cost-to-benefit calculation is not fully detailed, the cost is predicted to be marginal and the benefit is the £1.25 million based on 30% take up being the final figure with any administration cost already factored.
· It was clarified that TfGM can bring colleagues to future meetings of this Scrutiny to provide more operational detail of the scheme if necessary.
RESOLVED:
· That on the basis of the information in the report, the Committee do not support the current proposals to introduce a £10 per annum levy charge for older people for access to the enhanced local concessionary travel scheme and request that the comments outlined in the minutes are considered by the Combined Authority at their meeting on 26th July.
For the remainder of this meeting, this Committee was inquorate with 9 Members present