The National Bus Travel Concession Scheme for Young Persons (Scotland) Order 2021

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order is made under sections 40(1), (3), (4), (7) and 52(4) of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005 (asp 12) which enables the Scottish Ministers to make national travel concession schemes. This Order makes provision for a National Bus Travel Concession Scheme for Young Persons (“the scheme”). The Order comes into force on 1 April, meaning that Ministers will be able to formally admit operators to the scheme and put in place the necessary administrative arrangements to begin running the scheme, from this date.

Article 3 establishes the scheme for the provision of travel concessions to eligible persons travelling on eligible services on eligible journeys.

Article 4 provides that the scheme is to operate throughout Scotland and that the Scottish Ministers shall administer the scheme.

Article 5 provides for the rate of travel concession in the scheme to be a waiver of the normal fare applicable.

Article 6 outlines the conditions for operators to whom the scheme applies.

Article 7 details which operators the Scottish Ministers may admit to the scheme.

Article 8 provides for matters relating to admission to the scheme. Where the Scottish Ministers refuse to admit an operator to the scheme then the operator may appeal against that decision.

Article 9 provides that an operator may seek to withdraw from the scheme provided 56 days written notice is given to the Scottish Ministers. On receiving such a notice the Scottish Ministers may serve the operator with a compulsory participation notice, requiring the operator to participate in the scheme. An operator may appeal against a compulsory participation notice on cause shown.

Article 10 provides that the Scottish Ministers may exclude an operator of an eligible service from the scheme in relation to any eligible service. The operator concerned may appeal against the decision to exclude them from the scheme.

Article 11 details the information that operators must provide to the Scottish Ministers in terms of the scheme.

Article 12 makes provision as to the reimbursement of operators participating in the scheme and the basis of reimbursement calculations.

Article 13 details how reimbursement will be paid to operators.

Article 14 provides that information as to the adult single fare used in reimbursement claims shall be verified by compliance audits and surveys and by means of any other verification activity agreed between the operator and the Scottish Ministers.

Article 15 makes provision as to travel cards for the purposes of the scheme.

Article 16 specifies who is an eligible person for the purposes of the scheme. To be eligible a person must be resident in Scotland and fall within both of the classes of person described in article 16(a) and (b). These classes include those persons who are 5 or over (article 16(a)), or 18 or under (article 16(b)) meaning that only a person aged 5 to 18 years old will be an eligible person for the purposes of the scheme.

Article 17 specifies which services are eligible services for purposes of the Scheme.

Article 18 amends article 12 of the National Bus Travel Concession Scheme for Older and Disabled Persons (Scotland) Order 2006 to set the capped level of funding and the reimbursement rate for the financial year 2020/21. Article 18 also amends article 13 of the National Bus Travel Concession Scheme for Older and Disabled Persons (Scotland) Order 2006 to provide that any claims for reimbursement made by operators more than 1 year after the end of the relevant payment period will not be considered for reimbursement.

Article 19 amends the list of eligible persons for the purposes of the scheme contained in article 3 of the National Bus Travel Concession Scheme for Older and Disabled Persons (Eligible Persons and Eligible Services) (Scotland) Order 2006. The eligibility criteria for people with sight impairments, and for travel companions of such people, are changed to reflect the different means of confirming the impairment for the purposes of the scheme, depending on the age of the person with the sight impairment. A travel companion of a child aged under 5 years old becomes an eligible person for the scheme where the child meets the criteria of receiving certain benefits, or is diagnosed as being severely sight impaired.

A Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (“BRIA”) has been prepared in relation to this Order and placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. Copies of the BRIA are available from Transport Scotland, Buchanan House, 58 Port Dundas Road, Glasgow G4 0HF and on line at www.legislation.gov.uk.