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Concessionary Bus Travel Bill [HL]

I thank the Minister for that reply. I totally accept that the overall cost is very extensive. There are parts to this—for example, extending the scheme to the use of buses at peak times and using the Tube rather than buses. There is no doubt that for some journeys the Tube or a short train journey might be more suitable for disabled people than buses. They would not be using the provision twice; it would be an alternative use. I can think of various places where a short train journey from one town to another might be better or more accessible than a bus journey, which does not actually cover those two small towns. So sometimes it would be an alternative use. Certainly the use of the provision at peak times in the morning is my main plank, as I said in my introduction of this, that I would like the Government to consider. I know that my own party would consider some of these things because they might be a priority. Before we next discuss them, perhaps the Minister could give us a breakdown of how that money is calculated because there are, as I say, some areas of higher priority. I wonder if, for example, he could estimate how much it would cost to extend the provision. Obviously it is extended in London to peak times, and London is an enormous conurbation with a lot of use at peak times. That does not seem to have bankrupted London. Therefore, that is one part I would particularly like to look at more than others. Perhaps they could give me a break down of how that £300 million comes about, so that I might consider before further stages what areas we might look at in more detail.