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Pensioner Travel (Tyne and Wear)

My right hon. Friend, who knows much better than I do about the problems of distributing money through formula grant, makes a valid point. The Government recognise that the amount of money distributed to Tyne and Wear is not adequate to meet the needs of the scheme as proposed or the current demand for pensioner bus travel in his area. We have moved, through consultation, to ensure that £1.7 million has been allocated to Tyne and Wear through the Department for Transport grant for the metro system. We support the idea of a co-ordinated, integrated transport system in Tyne and Wear, as elsewhere. That money has been granted in recognition of the point that my right hon. Friend makes. The Government also have to ensure that distribution is fair among all local authorities. That is why the cost of the statutory minimum half-fare scheme was previously supported through the formula grant settlement. However, many local authorities were providing a service above the statutory minimum for their residents—for example, by extending the concessions across the whole county or by enabling their residents to buy a pass to enable them to travel on buses free of charge. Those extensions to the statutory scheme were not taken into account when allocating formula grant. Some areas already offer free travel—Greater London, the west midlands and Merseyside are cases in point. It was right that those areas, too, should benefit from the extra resource so that council tax payers did not bear the burden of an authority’s prior decision to offer what is now Government policy.