Croydon's draft budget would stop new discretionary disabled Freedom Passes to save £140,000. Who is affected, who is not, and how to respond by 30 November.

Croydon Council plans to stop issuing discretionary disabled Freedom Passes to new applicants. The proposal is in the draft budget now out for public comment, which closes at 11.59pm on Monday 30 November.

The discretionary pass is Croydon’s own extra scheme. It gives free London travel to some disabled residents who do not meet the national rules for a Freedom Pass. Closing it would save £140,000, according to the council’s budget papers.

People who qualify for a Freedom Pass under the national criteria are not affected. The council’s papers say so in terms: “No impact on residents who meet national disabled criteria.”

What the budget papers say

The proposal appears twice in the draft budget that Cabinet agreed to put out for comment on 14 October.

The list of policy decisions describes it as: “Close discretionary disabled freedom pass for new applicants.” It is marked as agreed in principle, with an estimated saving of £140,000. The same line notes that “not all London boroughs provide the discretionary offer” (Appendix E, Policy Decision Considerations).

The savings table shows when the money comes in (Appendix C, Savings and Growth Proposals):

Year Saving
2027/28 none
2028/29 £90,000
2029/30 £50,000

So the saving builds over two years rather than landing in April.

The same table shows the other side of the Freedom Pass budget. Croydon expects to pay £1.35 million more towards the London-wide Freedom Pass scheme in 2027/28, rising in later years. That is the money every borough pays TfL and the train companies for the passes its residents use.

Who has a discretionary pass now

A Freedom Pass is normally issued to people who meet one of the national disability tests. Croydon lists them on its Freedom Pass page. They include people who:

  • are blind or partially sighted
  • are profoundly or severely deaf in both ears
  • cannot speak
  • have a long-term condition or injury that seriously affects their ability to walk
  • have no arms, or long-term loss of the use of both arms
  • have a severe learning disability
  • have been, or would be, refused a driving licence because of their condition

The discretionary pass covers residents who fall just outside those rules. To get one now, a resident must:

  • be aged 18 to 59
  • have a physical disability or a severe mental illness
  • be supported by Croydon social services or by South London and Maudsley (SLaM) services
  • be able to use the pass to meet the goals in their care plan

A discretionary pass works only in London. It stops being valid if the holder moves out of the borough.

The council’s concessionary travel assessment policy says these passes are reviewed every year, rather than every five years, and “can be withdrawn at any time”.

What the papers do not say

The budget papers do not say how many Croydon residents hold a discretionary pass. They also do not say what happens to current holders at their next annual review. The proposal is worded as closing the scheme to new applicants, but a pass reviewed every year could in practice end at its next renewal.

If the council publishes either figure or answer, we will add it here.

What it means for you

  • If you hold a full Freedom Pass on disability grounds, nothing changes under this proposal.
  • If you hold a discretionary pass, the proposal as written applies to new applicants. Ask the council’s travel service how your next review would be handled: travel.service@croydon.gov.uk or 020 8726 7100 (option 1, then option 4).
  • If you were planning to apply, nothing has been decided, and the council’s page still takes applications. It says assessments currently start after an 18-week wait.
  • If you want to comment, the budget survey is open until 11.59pm on Monday 30 November. Nothing is final until full council sets the budget in February 2027.

The Freedom Pass plan is one of many savings in the draft budget. Our guide to the 2027/28 budget covers the council tax rise and the other proposals.

Sources