Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of removing the requirement to renew disabled bus passes for those with lifelong conditions.

The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme provides free off-peak bus travel in England to people with eligible disabilities and those of State Pension age.

For security reasons, legislation sets out that the expiry date of concessionary passes must be no more than five years from the date of issue. Local authorities are responsible for administering disabled persons’ bus passes, including application and renewal arrangements. While there are currently no plans to remove renewal requirements nationally, the Department recognises that some disabilities are permanent while others may change over time. The Department is aware of a number of local authorities which operate automatic or light touch renewal processes for passholders whose disabilities have been assessed to be permanent.