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Concessionary Bus Travel Bill [HL]

I intervene to offer an explanation of why I have not supported the amendments concerning disabled people moved by noble Lords. We are very unhappy about the funding of the scheme as it is and we want that put right before we talk about extensions to it. Like the noble Lord, Lord Hanningfield, I am very uneasy about whether there is enough money, or whether such money as there is is properly targeted to those who need it. That is why I emphasise the need to move as quickly as possible to a better scheme based on smartcards, which would enable us to direct the funding to where it is needed and to pay it directly. Like the noble Lord, Lord Hanningfield, and my noble friend Lady Scott, I am extremely anxious to hear what the Minister has to say about investigation of a scheme which is showing huge promise in its first few months in terms of the number of people using it. In my locality, an increase in bus use of 43 per cent has been far more dramatic than that of any other initiative taken by the Government. The cost implications of such a scheme merit further careful consideration.