Can I thank Mike Hedges for his two questions and for the contribution that he’s made to this discussion? There are 9,200 drivers with licences operating across Wales. There are many more people who are employed in the sector, whether it be as telephone operators or within human resources of the larger firms. So, it is an important contributor to the Welsh economy, particularly to the night-time economy, and for that reason I think it’s important that we do give it sufficient time and consideration to ensure that there are high-quality standards applied right across the length and breadth of Wales. And the Member is absolutely right: I touched on it earlier that many people will not distinguish between what a taxi is and what a minicab is. There are 5,000 taxis that operate across Wales and there are 4,000 minicabs. Many people will just refer to one or all as a taxi or taxis, and so it’s important that those national standards are introduced across all of the vehicles.

In terms of regional working and the first question the Member asked, yes, but it will be up for consultation. I would ideally seek to have a consistent approach taken to the charging for national standards and licensing of all drivers, and this is something that should be considered as part of the consultation that will begin on 12 June, because I think regardless of whether you’re in Swansea or in Powys, you should have a very clear and transparent regime that is consistent across local authority areas.

In regard to the second question and the provision for wheelchairs and whether quotas should be set, particularly for those companies that operate a minimum number of vehicles, again, we want to work with both the sector—with the industry—and with passengers and with user groups, and so as part of the consultation we’ll be considering any views that are expressed in this regard.