Ms Miriam Flynn:

I reiterate Mr. Kent's comments and apologise if there was a delay in responding to the Deputy's query. We do not always have the information about what way the routes will go, what the capacity is and what the level of demand is for particular routes. I do not know the exact details of this route, but I am happy to look at the details. Routes are planned to facilitate pupils who are deemed eligible under the scheme, and that is what would drive a change to a route. If there is an increase in the number of eligible pupils, the route may need to be looked at in that context and reconfigurated to ensure pupils are given a service within the guidelines. I am certainly happy to look at this particular one, as I said, with the local manager to see whether any configuration of local routes is ongoing. In some cases, we may be looking at additional capacity and that could be the reason the Deputy has not received a definitive response at this time. We will certainly look at it.

To answer the Deputy's general point about what would result in a change in pick-up point or a change to a route, it would be if a rerouting was required to cater for pupils who were deemed eligible under the scheme. That would be the primary reason for something like that. We get these requests and I commend the local team. They really do look at every option, such as trying to swap people from one service to another or to find some kind facilitation to provide services for people as close as possible to a pick-up point.