Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to enable concessionary fare passes from different parts of the UK to be recognised and usable throughout the UK.

Concessionary travel is a devolved policy area so the administrative arrangements in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland differ from those in England. Integrating these separate concessionary travel schemes would not be straightforward, due to the different benefits and restrictions for the concessionary bus pass which exist in each of the devolved nations. Travel Concession Authorities (TCA) in England that border Wales or Scotland can use their existing powers to offer travel across the border on a discretionary basis, but these would need to be agreed between the relevant TCAs in England and the relevant Welsh or Scottish authority. Whilst the Concessionary Bus Travel Act 2007 does include a power to allow for mutual recognition of concessionary bus passes across the UK through regulations in the future, there are no plans at present to introduce such an arrangement on a national scale.