An MHK has told the infrastructure minister to ‘stop being mean’ to people with disabilities.

Chris Thomas was asked in the House of Keys this week about recent changes made to Go Gold passes for people with profound learning disabilities and severe autism.

They will now be charged to take the train instead of riding it for free, however their bus travel will remain without charge.

Garff MHK Daphne Caine labelled it a ‘departmental whim’ and asked: ‘Could the minister stop being mean to the most vulnerable in our society, reverse that policy decision while there’s ongoing consultation, and enable Go Gold card users to use the railways this summer with the railways just starting?’

She also felt there hasn’t been considerable consultation with those affected.

Mr Thomas said: ‘It might obviously be huge for some people and I appreciate the engagement some people have had with us in terms of individual use and situations.

‘We will review that information.

‘We have a much better arrangement for disabled travel on our railways than any other heritage railway I’ve found in the UK. Our railway fares still offer exceptional value.’

The minister explained his department has had engagement with a number of charities and organisations ahead of the change and there was publicity when they were introduced.

There are currently 808 Go Gold cards issued. In 2022, 1,221 individual journeys were made on the steam railway using a Go Gold card.

‘It’s impossible to know how many people who have been issued a Go Gold Card will be affected because not all Go Gold users use the steam railway,’ Mr Thomas said.

Mrs Caine argued this could be in breach of the public sector equality duty, to which Mr Thomas said if anyone has any issues they can go to the Office of Fair Trading.

He added that the department can ‘make small changes’ and it wants to work closely with the people who are affected to understand their requirements.

Mrs Caine felt this was too little, too late and people with these disabilities often require one or two carers in order to have access to leisure activities.

She said it was wrong the carers would also need to pay.

Asked why the changes had been introduced, Mr Thomas said there were three reasons. One is ‘it’s important to recognise we must ensure the railways provide value for the taxpayer’, he said.

The second comes after a 2017 Tynwald report on free train and tram travel, which concluded it should be considered a leisure activity.

The third is railway fares still offer exceptional value.