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Concessionary Bus Travel Bill [Lords]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that clarification, but I am sure the House will accept that inquiries of that nature are normally assumed to indicate an interest in the means, not least because they have been made many times before. However, as I have said, we do have the information: £84 million is the estimated cost of extending the scheme to peak-time travel in the early mornings. As for the extension of the national concession to community transport, I have listened closely to representations from the Community Transport Association. Our initial estimate of the annual cost of such an extension is at least £25 million, and it is purely indicative: the cost could be higher. But, as I said earlier, it is not just a matter of cost. This is about the ability to provide a service. If we were to go down this route, there would be no assurances that the community transport sector could meet the extra demand and we would run the risk of disappointing many vulnerable people who would not be able to access the services that they would expect. I would not want to do that.