Concessionary Travel consultation Ignored?

Liberal Democrat Councillors have renewed their concerns about the future of the Leicestershire Concessionary Travel scheme which they believe the Conservative run County Council is preparing to abandon.

Although a limited consultation is currently taken place, the recently released 'draft' Council Budget gives a clear indication that the Conservatives are planning to cut the scheme back to the statutory minimum required by legislation. The discretionary elements have been operating in Leicestershire for many years and are highly valued by many elderly and disabled people alike.

Cllr David Bill, Lib Dem Transport spokesman: "We predicted that the Council would look at reducing the current service, and this short consultation launched a few day before Christmas was the only way for people to ask for the discretionary elements to be retained. I am shocked that Conservatives appear to be planning to ignore the consultation and remove the funding for the discretionary elements such as pre 9:30 half fares, travel on trains within the County and tokens for people in rural areas without a bus service. These discretionary elements allow our elderly and disabled residents to retain the flexibility they need to get around, especially as the funding relating to this discretionary element of the service will be transferred to the County Council from April 2011.

The loss of these discretionary services will affect thousand of pensioners and the disabled people who need to get to hospital appointments for example. I urge the Conservatives to think again and not impose these cuts on the elderly and vulnerable."