Can I thank Jenny Rathbone for her contributions and her questions? I think she makes very many interesting points, and I’m looking forward to seeing those reflected in the response from the Member. I do think that it’s essential that we need to protect those who have the existing passes, but I also think it’s essential that we futureproof this particular provision in light of the challenges that I’ve now identified on a number of occasions.

I think it’s also essential that we look at making bus services a greater enabling vehicle for those who currently face difficulties in connecting with goods, services, and, for leisure purposes, who struggle to connect with their friends and family. In doing that, we need to ensure that we are identifying those groups who are currently marginalised. The Member identified one particular group, the children of those who simply cannot afford to pay for public transport. Certainly, that’s something that we would wish to take an opinion on.

But I also think we need to look at other areas of service provision that are currently not covered by the scheme, for example, other modes of transport, particularly in rural areas where you don’t have buses. So, for example, do we need to look at extending the scheme to include taxi services?

I’m also particularly keen to ensure that we examine the role of the administration and the cost of administrating the passes. At the moment, although you may be eligible for a pass, you may not be using the pass, and so the question will be: should there be a contribution to administering the pass? It costs us about £3 per pass at the moment. It’s a question that I think is right to ask.

I also think it’s right to ask whether there should be limits on usage in terms of time. At the moment, we know that about a quarter of journeys are taken in peak travel time, and, therefore, three quarters—the vast majority—of journeys are undertaken outside of those peak periods. The scheme has essentially maintained bus services outside of peak travel times. That’s been an important factor in ensuring that many bus companies have stayed afloat in what has been the very challenging environment in which they are operating.

Local authorities, I think, if they wished, could examine the charging structure for car parks, and it’s my view that if we are to get modal shift and get people out of their cars and onto more public transport, we need to make sure that we’ve got sufficient interchanges. This is a question that Mike Hedges raised. I do think that the metro and the transport hubs that we can create through metro will deliver those opportunities for people to park their cars, get out of their cars and get onto local buses or onto rail solutions, and I think that has to be right for the environment. That’s good for individuals, who will become more physically active, and it’s also more productive for society because we’re going to have more contact with one another. We can’t live in a society where our contact is all virtual. It’s absolutely essential for our well-being that we connect with one another more regularly in person rather than just virtually.