Wokingham Lib Dems Call for Increased Benefits on Concessionary Fares for Elderly and Disabled Residents (Wokingham Liberal Democrats)

Wokingham Liberal Democrats <info@wokinghamlibdems.org.uk>

Wokingham Lib Dems Call for Increased Benefits on Concessionary Fares for Elderly and Disabled Residents

February 14, 2005 12:00 AM

With the Wokingham District Council budget being decided at the Council meeting on Thursday 24th February, Councillor Coling Lawley (Leader of the Wokingham District Council Liberal Democrat Group) says, "The Liberal Democrats will be calling for the Concessionary Fares scheme to be enhanced for elderly and disabled residents.

"The current scheme gives £40 of free travel tokens per person per year, or £80 for those on the lowest incomes, and we want to see this increased to £45 (and £90).

"It is quite clear that the Conservatives made a massive misjudgment when they attempted to scrap the free travel tokens altogether. The Conservatives were forced to re-instate the free travel tokens at the eleventh hour in the face of massive public outrage.

"Although the Conservatives had no idea just how much the travel tokens mean to the elderly and disabled in our district, the Lib Dems know exactly how highly they are valued - that's why the Liberal Democrats introduced the scheme in the first place.

"Wokingham District Council has an extra £11.5 million to spend on services this year, so I'm asking the Tories to use a small fraction of this extra money to increase the benefits of the scheme, not axe it."

Councillor Prue Bray (Deputy Leader of the Lib Dem Group) said, "The Conservatives have proved yet again that you can't trust them with the Concessionary Fare scheme. They've cut it before, they've attempted to axe it this time, and they'll try to cut it again. Frank Browne (Tory Leader of the Council) told the people of Wokingham district that the Concessionary Fares scheme is "a waste of taxpayers' money". He must now regret saying that, but his last minute re-instatement of the travel tokens does not reassure me that the scheme is safe in his hands."