Question reference: S6W-00625
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 11 June 2021
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Current status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 21 June 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on extending the concessionary travel scheme to apply to asylum seekers accommodated in Glasgow under the Home Office Dispersal Programme.
Answer
There is no specific eligibility criterion for asylum seekers in either the current Concessionary Scheme for Older and Disabled Persons or the new National Bus Travel Concession Scheme for Young Persons. We do not plan to extend either scheme in this way.
However, asylum seekers resident in Scotland, like all others who are aged over 60 or meet the disability criteria, are able to apply for free bus travel under the Older and Disabled Person’s Scheme. Young asylum seekers meeting the eligibility criteria for the Young Persons Scheme will also be able to apply for free bus travel when the scheme is launched later in this financial year.