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It is, but I go back to the point that Mr Matheson made. We have a timescale in which to get things done, so I would much prefer that we get the SSI passed now to allow us to progress the work on franchising and to ensure that we continue making progress such as we have already made.

There might well be such a risk, but my focus right now is on where we are and how we take the proposals to the next stage in order to ensure that franchising actually has the opportunity to go ahead.

Sitting in this room is one thing. We are on the cusp of giving local authorities or transport authorities all the powers that they need to do the thing that we want to happen. There is no guarantee that the policy will continue in the next session of Parliament, and there is no guarantee that the primary legislative process will occur. We are where we are, and I understand the committee’s concerns about the panel. I have given commitments on how we can give surety that the guidance with regard to the panel’s remit is robust and fair. However, if we stop the measure going ahead, we will potentially place a huge delay on the processes that SPT, or anyone else, wants to continue with, because they would not have certainty.

I do not know whether it is appropriate for me to check the dates or ask Bridget Bryden to take part.

You are asking when the panel is to be created?

We would not be minded to change just this provision. We would have to change the act, which would take us beyond 2026.

Yes, there is.

Because it is set in primary legislation. It is part of the 2019 act, so we would have to go back to the beginning and start again.

Such a scheme could still be challenged legally but, if it has gone through a panel, that panel will have looked at the requirement for a franchise to be established, the financial model and the business case, as well as consulting other local authorities. It is about crossing every t and dotting every i and making sure that all the processes that we agree with the traffic commissioner are in place and have been fulfilled, so that the case for a franchise is as robust as possible. A scheme could still be legally challenged.

Under that approach, a scheme is robustly scrutinised by an independent body that has no political input and is separate from the organisations and the authorisers who want to put the franchise in place.