In England, the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme allows disabled people to obtain a free bus pass through their local council.
Full list of people who are eligible for free bus pass in England under new DWP rules (Image: Getty)
Millions of Britons could still qualify for a free bus pass even if the proposed cuts to disability benefits are approved by Parliament. The Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill, labelled “catastrophic” by charities, is designed to cut £5 billion from the welfare budget by 2030.
A significant number of Labour MPs are expected to oppose the sweeping reductions when the bill is brought to a vote in the coming weeks. Under new rules from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), travel schemes linked to disability benefit eligibility may still allow individuals who have lost their benefit claim to access free travel. In England, the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme allows disabled people to obtain a free bus pass through their local council.
could still be accessible to people who lose their benefit claim with the DWP (Image: Getty)
Amid growing concerns that many disabled individuals could lose access to free bus passes due to changes in the Personal Independence Payment (PIP), reports indicate that the Green Paper’s wording suggests eligibility for concessionary travel scheme passes may remain—potentially allowing access even for those who lose their PIP entitlement.
As part of the revamp, Liz Kendall informed MPs that the reforms would save £5bn by the end of the decade, reports Chronicle Live.
Her plan is to achieve this by making individuals with ‘lower needs’ ineligible for the daily living component of PIP in the future through alterations to the PIP scoring system.
Other routes to a cost-free travel card include being of State Pension age, being a caregiver, or falling under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme banner. For those with disabilities, snagging a pass spells savings, benefits cuts notwithstanding.
Eligibility for a reduced cost or free travel pass includes:.
-an older person who has reached their 66th birthday (current state pension age)
-someone with a learning, speech, visual or physical disability under pensionable age
-a carer companion to someone who couldn’t travel without your help
-qualify under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme
If you want to qualify as a disabled person for the scheme, here are the eligibility specifics:
-chronically sick and disabled and suffering from any disability which permanently and seriously impairs your ability to walk
-permanently blind and unable to perform any duties for which sight is required
-assessed as having learning disabilities
-registered as profoundly deaf, with or without speech
-without the use of both arms, whether through the absence of limbs or otherwise
-unable to drive having had a driving license refused or revoked on medical grounds
-registered as partially sighted (where disability can be assessed by a Consultant Ophthalmologist)
