John Baron

Conservative Party | Billericay and District

Points of View

Bus Passes

Local residents recently instigated a petition asking the Government to give Councils extra funding to allow free bus passes to residents over 60. I wrote to Tony Blair on behalf of local pensioners, enclosing the petition, and have received a response saying the Government cannot help.

I have therefore questioned the Council but it is already subsidising each full fare pass by £71 a year which it does not have to do, and this is costing council tax payers over £500 000 a year – the equivalent of 4.5% onto the Council tax. If this subsidy were not in place, such a pass would cost pensioners over £200. If the Council were to subsidise the whole pass, this would add a further 9% onto council tax bills and hit all pensioners whether or not they used the buses – which would be unfair.

The Government’s unwillingness to help over bus passes is naturally disappointing, for paying for a bus pass takes a big chunk out of a state pension. This is why I am supporting the proposal put forward by various pensioner groups and the Conservatives, but opposed by the Government, to increase the state pension faster by breaking the link between pensions and inflation when it comes to yearly pension increases and re-link pensions with wages – this will mean pensions will rise faster year on year as wages rise faster than inflation.

Under these proposals, over a four year period the basic state pension will rise over and above inflation by an extra £7 a week for a single person and £11 a week for couples – this would more than compensate for the cost of a bus pass and would help all pensioners irrespective of whether they use the buses or not.

It would also help to significantly reduce the number of pensioners who presently have to suffer the indignity of means-testing.   

Cruelty to Dogs

It is very wrong that we still allow hand-held remote control electric shock collars and spike choke collars to be used in this country to train and control dogs – these devices are unnecessary and cruel, with considerable potential for abuse.

A visit to the Billericay Dog Training School serves as a reminder that there are excellent alternative training methods available, which are being employed by the police, prison services and armed forces.

The draft Animal Welfare Bill is now being considered by Parliament but it presently contains no measures to ban this practise. Therefore, I have lobbied the Government  to listen to organisations such as the RSPCA and the Kennel Club, and to ban the use of these collars. I hope the Government responds.