Mr. Richard Dolan:

There are more than 450 waiting at the moment. It is very hard to give a definitive number because we have received 270 applications since 1 September. In total, it is about 470 but we can supply more detailed statistics if required. The figure effectively changes on a daily basis. There was a time when we tried to have a cut-off point for the special needs scheme around 1 May to enable us to ensure that children had transport on 1 September but we are very conscious of the pressures that families are under and will now accept a special needs application at any time of the year and will try to get the child onto a service as soon as possible.