Concessionary Bus Travel Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 4: 4: Clause 1, page 2, line 20, at end insert ““, and (c) that is compliant with the ITSO standard, as detailed under Crown copyright in 2004.”” The noble Lord said: My Lords, we have already debated the proposed national smart card scheme at length, and there is cross-party consensus that such a scheme is imperative. On Report, there was a dispute about whether the legislation should formalise the intention to implement the scheme using the ITSO standard to ensure uniformity across the country. The Minister assured me that the Government are committed to introducing a national smart card and have taken steps to achieve that goal. However, he was reluctant to amend the Bill to formalise that intention. As it stands, there is provision for the specification of the permit in regulations, which the Minister suggested could permit an ITSO-compliant smart card. However, the provision remains ambiguous: the ITSO standard is not robustly specified, so the Government would be able to change the specification if they wished. I accept that thatis unlikely, but local authorities, which will be responsible for delivering the scheme, would welcome the clarity created by this amendment. This debate has featured heavily throughout the passage of the Bill, and I hope that the Minister will be willing to act on the reasoned and extensive argument he has heard regarding the amendment. I beg to move.