To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many appeals bus operators have made in respect of the rate of reimbursement for concessionary fares since April 2008; how many of these appeals (a) have been successful, (b) have been rejected and (c) are still outstanding; and what estimate he has made of the average cost to his Department of (i) processing and (ii) resolving an appeal of this type. (249539)

There were 100 appeals by bus operators about reimbursement arrangements in 2008-09, of which five were not valid and 52 were later withdrawn. Of the 43 appeals remaining, by 19 January, 11 appeals have been determined by independent adjudicators appointed on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport. Of these appeals, five were upheld and six were dismissed. A further 32 appeals remain to be determined. It is intended to issue the majority of those determinations by the end of January.

The average cost of processing and resolving an appeal takes account of four officials working full-time for about half of the year on casework, the fees of consultants and the two independent adjudicators. The cost per appeal determined is estimated to be approximately £6,000.