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STATES OF JERSEY
CONCESSIONARY BUSFARES FOR THE DISABLED: COSTS TO BE MET BY THE STATES
Lodged au Greffe on 14th February 2017 by Deputy M. Tadier of St. Brelade
STATES GREFFE
2017 P.9 (re-issue)
PROPOSITION
THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion
to request that the Minister for Infrastructure should not implement a £15 administration charge for disabled bus passes and that any costs of issuing the card should instead be met from within his departmental budget.
DEPUTY M. TADIER OF ST. BRELADE
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P.9/2017 (re-issue)
REPORT
The main reasons for this proposition are as follows:
- The States asked the Minister to come forward with a free bus pass for disabled people who cannot drive. This is not free – it costs £15.
- The cost is for applying for the pass, not for the issuing of the pass. Presumably, it is possible that someone will apply for the pass, but not be successful. It is not clear whether an unsuccessful applicant would be entitled to their money back?
- It is not clear what the charge relates to. Whilst it has been described as a payment towards the cost of administration', it is not clear that there will be any additional cost to LibertyBus or the Department for the administration of this scheme, other than a notional one. The paperwork will, presumably, be processed by the staff without them receiving any more pay. Currently, there is no charge made to customers for the issuing of the plastic AvanchiCard.
- The Old Age Pensioner's pass (quite rightly) has no such charge. It is inconsistent, and arguably discriminatory, to charge one group to apply for a concessionary pass, but not the other.
- The charge is likely to act as a disincentive for some potential beneficiaries of the scheme from applying.
Financial and manpower implications
Any cost arising from the adoption of this proposition will depend on whether the Minister is successful in using his diplomatic skills to request LibertyBus to drop the administration fee regarding the application process (if indeed, it is LibertyBus who receive the fee). If he is successful, there will be no financial or manpower implications. In the event that the Minister needs to pay the fee to LibertyBus, there will be a one-off fee of £15 per (successful) application to be met from within his departmental budget.
_____________________________________________________________________ Re-issue Note
This Projet is re-issued because the words "to request" were inadvertently omitted from the beginning of the Proposition.
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P.9/2017 (re-issue)