THE number of Somerset residents claiming free bus passes remains steady – but the funding needed to pay for these passes is continuing to fall.

Disabled and elderly people in England have been eligible for free off-peak local bus travel since 2007, under the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme.

The Department for Transport (DfT) announced on April 10 that it had changed the law to ensure that the scheme could continue without the need for a review every five years.

But the cost of the concessionary travel in Somerset has to be met by the county council, which is already having to find further savings in light of its grant from central government falling.

Announcing the changes to the scheme, buses minister Nusrat Ghani MP said: “Being able to get out and about is hugely important for older and disabled people to keep their independence and play a role in their local community.

“Buses help connect people, homes and businesses and nearly 10 million people in this country are already benefiting from free off-peak bus travel.

“The legislation underpinning our important bus pass scheme is now set for the future, meaning this group will be able to access their local services and amenities.”

The DfT provides £250 million per year for bus services across England, including £40m to subsidise routes which are not commercially viable but are deemed to be “socially necessary” in connecting people with local services.

However, each local authority has to meet the cost of free bus passes out of its overall budget – there is no special central government grant to cover it.

In Somerset, 113,436 residents have been issued with passes in the last financial year (2017/18).

The number of people claiming these passes in Somerset is relatively stable with 116,302 claiming it in 2016/17 and 115,931 doing so in 2015/16.

When the council set its budget in February, it agreed to find more than £8.8m in savings for the coming year – which it will have to do while finding money for bus passes and other public services.

The council has not confirmed which services could be directly affected by the need to meet bus pass funding.