Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a reduced rate bus pass for women born in the 1950s who have had their state pension age changed.

Concessionary travel is a devolved policy area, so the administrative arrangements in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland differ from one other. All local authorities in England have the power to introduce local concessions, including the extension of concessionary travel to those who are yet to reach the qualifying age.

The age of eligibility for concessionary travel in England has been rising in line with the changes to the state pension age. Equalising the age difference between men and women addresses the current position of non-disabled citizens of working age receiving free bus passes. This in turn will help the financial sustainability of the scheme, which currently costs around £1 billion annually