Local MP, Huw Merriman, is supporting the Rail Delivery Group’s initiative, on behalf of Britain’s train companies, to raise awareness about a travel discount card that helps lower the cost of finding work.

The Jobcentre Plus Travel Discount Card is available to eligible people in England, Wales and Scotland who have been out of work for 12 weeks or longer.  It offers jobseekers a 50% discount on train fares as they travel to interviews, to the Jobcentre or to and from training, for up to three months at a time.

Nationally, between March 2017 and March 2018, 518,822 discounted journeys were made by jobseekers, with 876 jobseekers having taken advantage of the discount card’s benefits in the Bexhill and Battle constituency.

Huw said: ‘It is great to see the train companies and Jobcentre Plus working together to give jobseekers a helping hand. The cost of travel can sometimes be a barrier to getting to interviews and training, however it is initiatives like these that are making the difference in getting people into work. I will continue to support the Rail Delivery Group in raising awareness for this scheme.”

Paul Plummer, chief executive of the Rail Delivery Group, which brings together train companies and Network Rail to enable a better railway, said: “Getting more people into work is part of our long‐term plan to change and improve. The partnership railway is committed to spreading economic prosperity across the country. Over half a million discounted journeys were made in the last year but we want to make sure that everyone who is eligible to discounted journeys, in all parts of the country, know about the discounts available.”