Written question asked by Mark Todd (Labour) on Wednesday, 18 April 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 20 April 2007. It was answered by Baroness Merron (Labour) on Tuesday, 24 April 2007 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Fares: Derbyshire

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from (a) Derbyshire county council and (b) Derbyshire bus operators on the use of the toolkit to determine the cost of concessionary fare schemes; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: The toolkit is part of guidance issued by the Department to travel concession authorities to help them calculate concessionary fare reimbursement. It was put together following consultation with the Concessionary Fares Working Group, which consists of representatives from local authorities and the bus industry. Derbyshire county council was represented on the group.As of 23 April 2007, two bus operators have lodged appeals to the Secretary of State for Transport against the Derbyshire county-wide concessionary travel scheme for 2007-08, disputing the level of reimbursement offered by the authority. No representations have been received from Derbyshire county council. However, during the appeals process, the bus operators and the authority will be given opportunities to provide evidence and to respond to each other's submissions. Determinations of the appeals will be made in due course.

Secondary information