03 October 2023 , 10:53
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The Government has been told to "revise" its response to an online petition calling for free train travel for people over state pension age.
Last month, the Department for Transport (DfT) rejected a petition which called for the pensioner's free bus pass to be extended and cover free train travel too. This petition only received 21,000 signatures and not the 100,000 one needs for the topic to be debated in Parliament.
The transport department did issue a formal response to it. The Government needs to do this when a petition hits 10,000 signatures. However, the Petitions Committee - the group of MPs who oversee the petitions system - have requested a revised response from the Government.
The Department's response in August explained that in England, concessionary travel costs sit at around £1billion a year and that “any changes to the minimum statutory scheme, such as free travel on rail, would therefore need to be carefully considered for their impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability”.
The Department also noted that “local authorities in England have the power to go beyond their statutory obligations, such as offering free travel on rail as part of the ENCTS (English National Concessionary Travel Scheme) pass”.
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It then concluded that the help old Brits with rail travel the department offers individuals aged 60 and over Senior Railcard, which gives them a third off rail travel costs. This costs £30 for one year or £70 for three years.
However, the Petitions Committee said they felt that the response “did not directly address the request of the petition” and have told the Government to “provide a revised response”. The revised response has not yet been published - when a response is given, it will be published on the petition website here.
Just because the Parliament Committee has asked the Government to issue a new response, it does not mean the petition will be considered. Currently, all it means is that the Government needs to give a new response, although many are hopeful the move could lead to a change.
You can subscribe to updates on the petition website. The Petitions Committee said: "When the Committee have received a revised response from the Government, this will be published on the website and you will receive an email." The Mirror has contacted the DfT for comment.