Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to provide funding for tram concessions in Nottingham, similar to the funding provided to bus concessions in that city.

The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age to ensure that no older or disabled person in England need be prevented from bus travel by cost alone.

Funding for this is provided through the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ Revenue Support Grant: a Grant that supports a wide range of activities to ensure that each local transport authority receives the funding that they need. This funding is not ringfenced to enable local authorities to make spending decisions that more closely align with local needs and circumstances.

This means that local authorities can use this funding to provide further discretionary concessions in addition to buses. Nottingham City Council has already chosen to extend this to their tram system.