Consultation on the discretionary freedom pass

In Lambeth, we have started a second phase of consultation on the use of discretionary freedom passes. This phase of consultation finishes on 16 January 2012. Please note that this consultation will not affect those who use the older people's freedom pass (these are the freedom passes issued to people who are 61 years and over).

What did the council previously consult on?

Lambeth, in line with other local authorities, use national eligibility criteria when awarding freedom passes to disabled people. However, we have also been providing passes to people who do not meet these national criteria, mainly to people with mental health problems.

Because of the current financial situation, Lambeth proposed to stop issuing these discretionary freedom passes.

What did the council decide?

All of the feedback from consultation was submitted to the Council's Cabinet meeting on 25 July 2011, together with recommendations for Cabinet members to consider.

The council agreed that Discretionary Freedom Passes will continue to be provided to service users with severe mental health needs whose travel is essential to ensuring the delivery of their therapeutic plan.

Reports were submitted to Cabinet including the Cabinet report and consultation report, plus an Equalities Impact Assessment.

Access information around the decisions made during the Cabinet meeting.

What we have been consulting on

We developed a  draft eligibility criteria for the discretionary Freedom Pass which we consulted on to find out what people thought about this suggested criteria.

Please note that no decisions have been made yet. Lambeth Council's Cabinet will meet on 6 February 2012 to decide which savings proposals are to go ahead. They will see a report back from this consultation to assist them in making a decision. Therefore, discretionary Freedom Pass holders may continue to use their discretionary Freedom Pass in the usual way during the consultation process. If the proposals in the eligibility criteria are accepted by Cabinet we will be reviewing all discretionary Freedom Pass holders.

Consultation end date

The consultation deadline passed on Monday 16 January 2012. Many thanks to those who submitted feedback for the consultation.

Any questions?

If you want to ask questions about these proposed changes, you can contact us as follows:

• send an email to acs-consultation@lambeth.gov.uk
• text us on: 07772 103 628
• phone us on freephone: 0800 013 1497
• write to us at: Freepost RSKJ-YSKA-AUSA
  ACS Consultation
  Lambeth Adults' and Community Services
  Phoenix House
  10 Wandsworth Road
  London SW8 2LL