National Entitlement Card
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The Scottish National Entitlement Card (NEC) is a
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
-wide smart card scheme run by Scottish Local Authorities on behalf of the Scottish Government. It is predominantly operated as a concessionary travel pass, but can also act as Proof of Age for young people (
Young Scot Young Scot is a national information and citizenship organisation supported by the Scottish Government for young people aged 11–25 in Scotland. The declared aim of the organisation is to make young people informed, incentivised and active ci ...
NEC) and give access to civic services such as libraries and leisure centres depending on the local authority.


History

In 2000, the then Scottish Executive assigned budget for a Modernising Government Fund intended to improve public services; part of this budget was targeted towards the development of a voluntary public sector smartcard, an initiative that in 2003 was highlighted as an area to be developed further by local authorities. In parallel, s.40 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005 provided for the introduction of national travel concession schemes that would be funded centrally rather than by local authorities, and it was decided that what was by then known as the National Entitlement Card would be used to administer the travel scheme when it was introduced in 2006.


Privacy concerns

The parallel development of a local authority administered Citizen Account under the Modernising Government Fund had by 2006 articulated a need to assign their records a Unique Citizen Reference Number or UCRN, and envisaged associating the Account with "nationally compatible smart cards as service access tokens". The UCRN is maintained as part of Scotland's National Health Service Central Register (NHSCR) data; access to a subset of the Register by Scottish Local Authorities was enabled by s.57 of the Local Electoral Administration and Registration Services (Scotland) Act 2006 (the LEARS act). Each Scot on NHSCR is assigned a Unique Citizen Reference Number (UCRN) which local authorities have access to under certain conditions. As the UCRN itself may be linked to NHSCR data and used for verification purposes, a proposed expansion of its use in 2014 raised fears that the UCRN will form the backbone of a Scottish identity register and persistent identification of individuals across Scottish state datasets. The
Open Rights Group The Open Rights Group (ORG) is a UK-based organisation that works to preserve digital rights and freedoms by campaigning on digital rights issues and by fostering a community of grassroots activists. It campaigns on numerous issues including ma ...
accused the proposal of creating "a national ID system by the backdoor", despite the Scottish Government's opposition to the UK's previous identity cards scheme. In February 2017 it was announced that the proposed expansion was not to go ahead.


National concessionary travel


Older and Disabled Persons

The Scottish NEC allows those Scottish residents with certain disabilities or aged over 60 years old to access free travel within Scotland on nearly all local bus and scheduled long distance coach services (including the morning rush hour) but excluding premium fare night buses and City Sightseeing Buses. Travel is also valid on bus services that start/terminate in Carlisle and Berwick upon Tweed so long as the service travels to/from Scotland.


Eligibility Criteria - Disabled Cardholders


=Main Cardholder

= Entitlement for free bus travel with the NEC is dependent on being a Scottish resident, at least 5 years old, and meeting one of the following criteria: * Receiving
Disability Living Allowance Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is a social security benefit in the United Kingdom paid to eligible claimants who have personal care and/or mobility needs as a result of a mental or physical disability. It is tax-free, non-means-tested and non-c ...
under the higher rate of mobility or higher/middle rate of care. * Receiving the standard or enhanced rate of
Personal Independence Payment Personal Independence Payment (abbreviated to PIP and usually pronounced as one word) is a welfare benefit in the United Kingdom that is intended to help working age adults with the extra costs of living with a health condition or a disability. ...
. * Receiving
Attendance Allowance Attendance Allowance is a non-contributory Social Security benefit paid to elderly disabled people in the United Kingdom. It was introduced in the National Insurance (Old Persons' and Widows' Pension and Attendance Allowance) Act 1970 . The benefit ...
. * Living in a care or residential home or hospital. * Being a Blue Badge holder. * Being profoundly or severely deaf. * Having a visual impairment. * Been told not to drive based on medical grounds. * Having a mental illness, learning difficulty or personality disorder recognised under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 which has lasted for more than 12 months. * Having a terminal illness. * Having a progressive degenerative condition. * Having lost one or more limbs. * Being an injured veteran with mobility problems. * Receiving a War Pensioner Mobility Supplement.


=Companion to Cardholder

= If the main cardholder meets any of the following criteria, they are also entitled to have a Companion travel with them, usually attracting the same discount as the main cardholder: * Main cardholder receives the higher or middle rate of the care component of Disability Living Allowance. * Main cardholder receives the standard or enhanced rate of daily living component of Personal Independence Payment. * Main cardholder receives Attendance Allowance * Main cardholder is registered blind. * Main cardholder lives in a care or residential home and receive the higher or middle rate of the care component Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance.


Eligibility Criteria - 60+ Cardholders

To get a National Entitlement Card you must be: * Aged 60 years or older and * Resident in Scotland


Young People

Until 31st January 2022, all Scottish residents aged 16-18 years old and full-time volunteers aged between 19 and 26 years old were able to get discounted bus and rail fares, via the Young Scot NEC. After 31st January 2022, all Scottish residents aged 5-21 years are able to travel on access free bus transport in Scotland using either the Young Scot NEC or the National Entitlement Card. Children under 5 already get free bus fares. In
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, all residents living within
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
are also entitled to free travel on the
Edinburgh Trams Edinburgh Trams is a tramway in Edinburgh, Scotland, operated by Edinburgh Trams Ltd. It is a line between St Andrew Square in the New Town and Edinburgh Airport, with 15 stops. Construction began in June 2008, and after encountering delays ...
. Despite the Edinburgh Trams being included, the Glasgow Subway has not been included for Glasgow residents. This is due to local councils having the say on whether these schemes are included in concession travel. Full-time volunteers from 22-26 years old are still able to get discounted bus and rail fares and, 16-18 years old are able to get discounted rail fares, as this carries on from the previous scheme.


Ferry Concessions

Residents of the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland also receive two free return ferry trips to the Scottish mainland if they receive free bus travel or the Young Scot travel discount.


Local concessionary travel

In some areas of Scotland, additional concessionary travel options are available. For example, the NEC issued to those residing in the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) area gives access to additional rail and
Glasgow Subway The Glasgow Subway is an underground light metro system in Glasgow, Scotland. Opened on 14 December 1896, it is the fourth-oldest underground rail transit system in Europe after the London Underground, Liverpool's Mersey Railway and the Budapes ...
concessions. Similarly, residents of Edinburgh can travel free on the Edinburgh tram using an NEC.


Young Scot NEC

Young Scot Young Scot is a national information and citizenship organisation supported by the Scottish Government for young people aged 11–25 in Scotland. The declared aim of the organisation is to make young people informed, incentivised and active ci ...
is the national youth information and citizenship charity, supported by the Scottish Government, for 11-25 year olds in Scotland. All young people of this age in Scotland are eligible to receive a Young Scot National Entitlement Card. The Young Scot NEC is issued under the
Proof of Age Standards Scheme PASS (the Proof of Age Standards Scheme) is a government-backed scheme in the UK that gives citizens a valid and accepted form of proof of age identification. The scheme is supported by the Home Office, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute ...
and can therefore be used by a young person to access to age-restricted goods and services. In addition to the travel concessions for
Young People Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. You ...
when they are eligible, the card also entitles the holder to a number of services and discounts that Young Scot provide.


Other local NEC uses

The NEC has been used for a number of different additional purposes since its introduction. Common uses include access to cashless catering in schools, a means of providing library or leisure membership, or discounted admissions on the basis of age or disability. In other local authority areas, the card may only be used for the national purposes outlined above. Local authorities will normally issue the NEC when a valid application for a service using the NEC is received.


Card issuing authorities


See also

*
National Health Service Central Register (Scotland) The National Health Service Central Register (NHSCR) is a Scottish Government database accessible to public bodies approved by the Scottish Parliament. The register was established in the early 1950s to facilitate the transfer of patients between ...
*
Identity Cards Act 2006 The Identity Cards Act 2006 (c. 15) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was repealed in 2011. It created national identity cards, a personal identification document and European Economic Area travel document, linked to a ...


References

{{reflist Public transport in Scotland Authentication methods Identity documents of the United Kingdom Youth in Scotland Databases in Scotland