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Pensioner Travel (Tyne and Wear)

I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, East and Wallsend (Mr. Brown) on securing an Adjournment debate on such an important subject. As he intimated, I have taken a great deal of interest in the matter from the beginning. Like him, I have received representations from pensioners in Tyne and Wear who, for the first time in my 20 years’ experience as a Member of Parliament, have said to me that they reject something that the Government have offered: free transport. They do not want free transport at the expense of transport for young people and others who currently receive concessions. Additionally, they do not want free transport at the expense of services, which will also be on the cards unless the problem is resolved. My right hon. Friend referred to a possible long-term solution and reminded the House that the matter was initially raised by the Chancellor in last year’s Budget. When the Chancellor announced the scheme, it was widely welcomed, not least by those of us in Tyne and Wear who had concessionary fares, but welcomed the idea of free fares for pensioners. However, we did not anticipate such an unintended outcome. The long-term solution might well lie in next week’s Budget. Even at this late stage, I urge the Minister to talk to the Chancellor and the Treasury about what that Budget might contain. It might well be that the Chancellor can resolve the problem by introducing a national scheme for free transport, rather than a local one. As I understand it, such a scheme would not cost a massive amount. It would be much easier to administer and would certainly resolve our problems in Tyne and Wear. It might also resolve the problems that are anticipated in other parts of the country. The existing scheme is restricted to local government boundaries. A national scheme could be introduced at low cost, so I ask my hon. Friend the Minister to raise the matter with the Treasury in the anticipation that next week’s Budget might bring a resolution to the problem.