|
|
Rt. Hon. Sir Alan Beith MPLiberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Berwick Upon TweedWorking for you and the Berwick upon Tweed Constituency all year roundin Northumberland and in Westminster |
|
Cross-border bus pass - Beith keeps up pressure on ministers
December 3, 2007 3:30 PM
The confusion over cross-border bus passes for pensioners could easily be resolved but ministers have not even started talking about the problem, according to Liberal Democrat MP Alan Beith.
From next spring, pensioners will be entitled to a bus pass which can be used on local services throughout England free of charge. At present, pensioners can only use buses in their own local authority area, such as Berwick Borough or Alnwick district. Pensioners who live north of the border are already able to travel throughout Scotland free of charge.
However, there is no arrangement yet in place to allow pensioners to use cross-border services free of charge.
Alan Beith says
"Ministers have the power to negotiate with the Scottish Executive to make passes interchangeable between England and Scotland, but they have failed even to begin negotiations, despite repeated calls from me and other members in the borders area to do so.
"There is a real danger that some pensioners will be worse off with the new passes."
Mr Beith added that pensioners in the Cornhill area, who travel to Kelso or Coldstream for medical and dental services, could be badly affected unless agreement is reached. He said
"I will continue to put pressure on ministers to sort out this mess. I do not want to see pensioners in our area suffering financially when these new passes are meant to help them."
What would you like to do next?
-
Subscribe for updates
Follow the party's activity on...
- Twitter:
- Liberal Democrats
- Facebook:
- Liberal Democrats
- YouTube:
- Liberal Democrats