As usual, Minister, your comprehensive answers to many of the questions before leaves very little room for me to bring any unique angle to the debate, but I have to say that we must all realise that the ageing population means all aspects of public service will come under increasing strain over the coming years and therefore free bus passes must be affected by these changes.

I believe the course of action outlined in your statement is a fair and sensible measure, but can I express a note of caution, which you have indicated yourself that you understand? It is imperative that the general public and, in particular, those of the older generation who will be affected by the changes are fully informed of its implementation. In particular, that those now in receipt of a bus pass will, without exception, retain their passes.

You referred in the second part of your statement to the recent problems regarding the necessity to register with Transport for Wales for existing bus pass holders. Quite apart from the inability to register for technical reasons, there was widespread concern as to whether people would lose their passes entirely, and that was expressed to me on many occasions by people coming to my office. So, would the Minister confirm to us that there will be a suitable and comprehensive exercise in informing existing pass holders and those about to join the scheme exactly what the procedures and the timeline will be?