Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:50 pm on 24 September 2019.
Well, I don't think that is a fair characterisation of what has been suggested and which is still being discussed and debated. Any person who holds a concessionary bus pass, should the law be changed, would not lose their entitlement to that pass in any circumstances. We have to think at least about the way in which things around us are changing, including the changes that have been made to eligibility for free bus travel across our border by the Member's own Government. When free bus passes were introduced in 2002, then the state pensionable age for women and men was 60 for women and 65 for men. That has changed over time. The pensionable age next year will rise to 66. What we are doing is making sure that this part of what the Welsh Government offers keeps pace with other changes in older people's lives, and it's a conversation we are keen to continue to have with the older person's commissioner and others who represent older people in Wales.