Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Department has considered alternative forms of verification for transport concessions for rough sleepers.

Concessionary travel legislation for the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme requires that applicants must have their sole or primary residence in the local area in which they apply for a bus pass, but it does not stipulate the types of evidence which are acceptable as proof. Whilst it is ultimately up to local authorities to ensure that they comply with the law, the Department for Transport would urge them to consider making alternative arrangements, where required, to ensure that otherwise eligible older or disabled people who only have non-standard proofs of residency are still able to access the statutory concession.