 Felly, rydw i'r cymdeithasol, mae'n gweithio'n galei i gyhoesu, yn cymdeithasol, i gael i'n gwybod i'n gweithio, fel y cyfnod hynny, o'n cymdeithasol, o'r ddyfodol yn ddebyg o'r moysgwyl 2194, o'r antysocial rhaglion o'r busiau. Mae'n ddifigel sy'n hynny, ond mae'n ddiddordeb yn gyfnod. I invite members wishing to participate, to press the request-to-speak buttons now, and I invite Graham Simpson to open a debate, Mr Simpson, around seven minutes please. Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I thank all the members who signed the motion, and I'm looking forward to hearing all the contributions today. We're having this debate on the day that the Government has issued its evaluation report into the scheme's first year. Unfortunately, that was nearly a year ago, so the report is somewhat out of date. However, we should be clear that the scheme has been a success, and as we heard earlier, over 100 million journeys have been taken using the scheme. Parliament was and is united over the scheme. It's a good thing to encourage young people to use public transport. It's a good thing to help them get to school, college, university and to work, and if nothing else gets them into the habit of using a bus. We would hope that they would continue to do so once they have to pay. When they do have to pay, it's our view that fairs should be cheaper with a cap on how much they pay and that it should be simpler. But back to the under-22 scheme. While it has been a success overall, there have been issues with a minority, and it is a minority, of those using it. Now, you would expect that. Not everyone knows how to behave, and today's report recognises this. In focus group discussions, there was evidence that 90% of respondents who experienced antisocial behaviour experienced excessive, loud shouting and or swearing. 67% of respondents who experienced antisocial behaviour experienced people under the influence of alcohol or drugs. We know from bus operators who have reported issues which include physical and verbal assaults on drivers, physical and verbal assaults and threatening behaviour towards other passengers, broken windows, emergency doors being opened and damaged and vandalised buses. Damage and vandalism results in increased costs to operators with vehicles being taken off the road for repairs. Passengers and potential passengers may be deterred from travelling by bus, and at a time when driver recruitment still remains a key industry challenge, could contribute to people leaving the industry or not joining it at all. In addition to incidents on board buses, there is a perception that the scheme may have also contributed towards increased antisocial behaviour in and around bus stations or in other locations, such as shopping centres. The Scottish Government's behaviour in Scottish schools 2023 report identifies that and I quote, the ability of young people to travel for free on buses had in some cases led to young people travelling to other areas of the city to take part in fights or meeting up on buses and engaging in antisocial behaviour. Local authority representatives also raised safeguarding concerns that young people may be travelling far from their homes to meet with people without their parents' knowledge." There was a recent briefing that I am aware of for elected members in Edinburgh, in which they heard of teenagers from Motherwell, Glasgow, Inverness and Fife who had been travelling to the capital to carry out antisocial behaviour using their under-22s free bus passes. Business owners, retail staff, shoppers and residents in Brunsfield and Morningside have experienced vandalism, theft, intimidation, physical and verbal abuse. During operation crackle in the capital between November 3 and November 5, Lothian buses suffered £1,700 worth of broken windows. That is just in three days. In Livingstone earlier this year, councillors claimed that the under-22 free bus pass scheme had fuelled a rise in disorder with young people travelling to the centre, the town centre, from Edinburgh and Fife intent on causing trouble. They say that this has been a particular problem on Friday afternoons when schools have finished early. There have been reported issues elsewhere. The boss of the Overgate shopping centre in Dundee said that youths travelling in from outside had caused mayhem. The shopping centre suffered £80,000 of damage in 18 months. I've seen a quite shocking video of an horrific attack on a bus passenger in Preswick in which he was dragged off the bus and kicked and punched to the ground. The issue has been raised by other members in this chamber. In October last year, Willie Coffey raised an attack on a 14-year-old boy in Kilmarnock. Justice Secretary Keith Brown said at the time that the Scottish Government is open to considering all options for tackling antisocial behaviour. For example, I will raise the issue with those who are responsible for the bus pass scheme to gather views on whether the option of withdrawing bus passes, which has been mentioned elsewhere, might present a solution. Of course, nothing has happened, and that can have serious consequences for communities. We've seen bus companies, quite understandably, removing services altogether. In fact, in Edinburgh, all services were removed for a night in 2021, which did have the desired effect for a while, but only for a while. The Government's argument, and we'll hear from the minister at the end, is that it's too difficult to remove the free travel element from the national entitlement card. However, under the national bus travel concession scheme for young persons, Scotland Order 2021, ministers can withdraw or suspend a travel card if a holder allows someone else to use it, or—and this is quoting from the order—in other such circumstances, as they may determine. I would have thought that committing antisocial behaviour while on a bus or having used a bus could fall into that category. Abuse it and you should lose it. The minister should not rule out taking action. It doesn't have to mean a permanent ban. She could look at suspension. Remember, that's in the order, or perhaps a curfew. Other members may well touch on these ideas. Deputy Presiding Officer, some bus companies and drivers have simply given up on recording data. Lothian buses do keep figures, and what they show is that there's been a significant increase in antisocial behaviour since the introduction of the scheme. There are record levels throughout the country. Operators have reported staff being assaulted, drivers being spat on, physical assault and racial harassment. Bus companies, staff and passengers should not have to tolerate that. If the culprits hold a free travel card, they are abusing a privilege paid for by the taxpayer, and that should not continue. Mr Simpson, we now move to the open debate. I call first Ben Macpherson to be followed by Sue Webber around four minutes. I also welcome this debate. I think that it's a very serious issue, and it's something that we should be discussing together, building on an important debate just a number of weeks ago on considerations around antisocial behaviour in our schools. I recognise the problem from my case work, from my engagement with Lothian buses, which are headquartered in my constituency on Anandale Street. I'm also conscious that members may be aware that I take the bus and other public transport very often, and that it applies to ScotRail, too, for longer trips out of the city. Over recent months and years, I have seen antisocial behaviour on our buses and our trains, whether that is lots of noise, feet on seats, people eating food that has odours that aren't very pleasant to be around, people leaving litter, people listening to music or watching TV on their mobile devices without headphones, people under the influence and behaving in a way that's not respectful to those around them and intimidation to others. I've seen that behaviour from a lot of people over the age of 22. I want to make that point because, not discounting the concerns that we have collectively in our constituencies and regions about antisocial behaviour from a minority of young people, I think that in our country, particularly post-pandemic, there's a wider consideration that we need to think about together and think really carefully about solutions and about behaviour change with regard to antisocial behaviour more generally. Given the examples that are reported around a minority of young people on our public transport on occasion engaging in antisocial behaviour, it's antisocial behaviour more widely and a concerning increase in that that I think collectively we need to be engaged in focusing on what solutions might make a difference as a Parliament. If we are going to consider the potential suspension or removal or temporary suspension of entitlement to travel cards for young people, I think that it would actually only be right to consider that if it also applied to those of other ages who use our public transport and have entitlement. We can't single out young people. Although that might be a solution that we might want to think about and keep under review, there are wider and deeper questions that we need to ask ourselves about support for our young people, making sure that there's adequate youth work provision and helping our young people to engage in better behaviour and looking at how we engage role models, how we engage popular culture to encourage young people to do what the majority of young people do, which is to contribute positively to society and to be respectful of those around them. It's an important debate, but let's not single out our young people. Let's keep this under review and think carefully about how we make a positive difference and remember the good behaviour of the majority of young people. Thanks, Presiding Officer. It doesn't come as any surprise to see as many Lothian MSPs here today. We have the best bus service that is the envy of many across the country, but there are serious issues. I, too, get the bus regularly. On Tuesday night, I was subject to what I would call anti-social behaviour, targeted at me by an elderly man who started blowing kisses and all sorts of noises and harassment towards me. Frankly, I didn't quite know what to do. I put my headphones on and just kept my head down, so there needs to be something for all of us to be able to do when those things happen. I really want to thank my colleague Graham Simpson for bringing this debate before Parliament today. I spoke there about what I was subject to this week, but a number of years ago I was on the bus on Princess Street where I got on and, quite reasonably, there were a number of youths on that bus that were making me feel quite intimidated. This was on the first floor of the double decker at the ground floor—I don't know what you call that—but they were vaping quite publicly on that bus in front of a very pat bus, because it was Christmas time. I asked them to stop, and they then proceeded to make a big show of inhaling that vapour, puffing it in my face and saying that I was exactly the sort of person who is a Karen. Drivers and passengers on Lothian buses should not have to endure abuse from disrespectful, intimidating youths. You can see how incidents like that could easily turn into something more serious. I was concerned as to making sure that they were getting off the bus before I got off the bus, because I didn't want to have to get off the bus and then follow me. It was a very, very scary incident. We have heard teenagers from other parts of Scotland are using their free bus passes to come to Edinburgh to cause trouble. Police officers have recently attended a meeting with retailers in the south-west of Edinburgh to discuss a spate of antisocial behaviour in the area. They have said that individuals are coming from Motherwell, Glasgow and Inverness, as Mr Simpson said, to come to the capital, causing problems, criminality and antisocial behaviour. They are using their bus passes whereas before this did not happen, because they did not have the means to get there. Unfortunately, police said that there was nothing more that they could do to stop them. I have heard these concerns from two of my council colleagues in Edinburgh. They have raised concerns of youths coming to the Craig Leith retail park and stop bridge from across the city and further afield to cause trouble. Those incidents are often organised by social media apps like Snapchat and parents do not know where their children have been or where they are going. We have already heard again from Graham Simpson about the situation in West Lothian where youths were coming from Edinburgh and Fife using their bus passes to come to Livingston and the Centre. Ultimately, the centre was closed on Friday afternoons to anyone under the age, if I recall correctly, when it was 18. That is not where we want to be because there are so many young people who are not abusing that. That sort of blanket ban is not helpful for anyone. In Edinburgh, in October, several buses were forced to divert from a very busy neighbourhood. The buses were unable to serve Nidry Mains Road and Perfyr Mill Road for nearly two hours on a Saturday night. The impact across the entire community to everyone, to all ages, those who are vulnerable and really rely on public transport in Edinburgh is critical to how we all get around the city. Lothian buses have said that there is a zero tolerance approach to antisocial behaviour and will not hesitate to remove services from particular areas for a period of time to keep our colleagues and customers safe, but customers are not then able to use the services. There needs to be another way to tackle that. I am conscious of time, so I will cut to that. I am a bit of a believer that we have young people who use the buses, particularly in Edinburgh, their Lothian buses, to get to school, to get to jobs, to get to colleges. I think that a curfew is an answer, not a cull or a ban, because we need them to still get to school and take part in education and employment. With that, I will close my speech and remarks. I apologise to you in the chamber, but I will need to leave early from this debate, because I have a group of young people waiting for me. I assure everyone that they are not caught up in any of this, but modern studies people are very conscientious. I thank Graham Simpson for bringing the debate forward, but I also thank every member who has spoken so far. There is a bit of a usual band of suspects of people who are calmly and unflinchingly looking at the problem. That is exactly what is required. I do not think that it does any service to anyone to be histrionic or alarmist about that, but neither does it do anyone any good if we do not actually look and examine in a calm manner what is going on and what we might be able to do about it. That is what I hear so far this afternoon, and that is very encouraging. We need to do a few things. We need to be clear about the problem and to think about the options that we have to deal with it. We need to look at who that might be, but perhaps the most important point is that there are elements of this, and I think that Ben Macpherson alluded to this, that are not new. I remember antisocial behaviour when I was a teenager. I remember people smoking at the back of the bus, swearing, graffiti and those sorts of things. Those are perennial problems, and nor are the problems confined just to young people. It strikes me that there is an emergent problem off the back of what? The Grimmsom is absolutely right. We have to say first and foremost that free bus travel for young people is undoubtedly a good thing. It is an empowering thing, but it has also led to a phenomenon of young people travelling quite far and wide in order to carry out antisocial behaviour. We should also be very clear that that does not necessarily mean that it is even a proportion of young people, but it is not. It is a very, very small group of people when they talk to the police and when they talk about those groups being measured in the dozens that are carrying out that sort of behaviour. However, as Sue Webber pointed out, that is leading to consequences that impact everyone. Bus routes being closed down, under-18s being banned from leisure venues such as bowling alleys and so on and so forth, causing real issues in local areas. That is why I have now held two different meetings with police and local retailers in my constituency. That is because of that problem. We need to look at the interaction between the use of bus passes and social media, and it is a complex problem. The next thing is that we need to look at the options. I am definitely someone who believes that you have to couple rights with responsibilities. I think that what we would be interested in is to peel apart a little bit that principle. Possibilities such as curfews are temporary withdrawals. I completely agree that we do not want to make the situation worse by punishing people and then perhaps tipping them into patterns of behaviour that exacerbate the problem. Nonetheless, we should be thinking about there being consequences, but we need to think about that separately in terms of the principle that is separate from the practicalities, because I recognise that the two are not necessarily the same. It would be interesting to hear from the minister discussing that. Secondly, we also need to look at that in broader issues. I think that there is an issue about the balance of policing between response and community officers and specialist-centralised divisions. I wonder whether we need to look at that. I think that more broadly, I am keen on looking at what we can do to expand the range of non-criminal interventions. I am not a fan of criminalising people, but I am keen to look at what we can do that might just deter people, inconvenience them and create consequences for behaviour that is not acceptable. Finally, I would just say this. I think that Ben Macpherson has also highlighted another issue. That is part of a wider societal problem around antisocial behaviour, because it is not just bus travel and news. There is also retail crime and violence against retail workers. We are seeing a spiralling issue of antisocial and, indeed, at times violent behaviour that we all need to take seriously. Thank you very much and thank you for your forbearance in allowing me to leave early. Thank you, Mr Johnson. I am sure that the modern studies pupils will be very grateful for the collective character reference that you have put on the record. I now call Sharon Dowey to be followed by Fulton MacGregor around four minutes, Mr Dowey. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and thank you to my colleague Graeme Simpson for bringing such an important issue forward for debate. There is no doubt that antisocial behaviour in buses has increased dramatically since the introduction of the free bus travel scheme. This has been an issue locally in my region. The Scottish Government transport minister was contacted by the community council on behalf of the residents of Dindonald in South Ayrshire. Local people said, and I quote, that our village has seen a dramatic rise in youth disorder with several residents being attacked, fires being raised and many residents, some elderly and some disabled, being verbally abused and threatened by groups of youths. He added that evidence from our area would suggest that there is a direct correlation in the rise of youth disorder and free bus travel. I am sure that MSPs across the chamber have similar examples from their own areas of physical assaults, verbal abuse, threatening behaviour, broken windows and vandalism. In each case, there is strong evidence of a link to the free bus travel scheme. We do not know the full extent of the problem because the SNP Government does not appear to collect the data. In responses to parliamentary questions, I have only been told that they collect general crime statistics and an evaluation of the scheme will consider the impact of antisocial behaviour. However, the Confederation of Passenger Transport Scotland, the trade association for the bus and coach sectors, has confirmed that there is no currently official dataset to capture incidents of antisocial behaviour on buses. The Government must start again to gain a better understanding of the problems related to the scheme. At the moment, the SNP does not seem to want the true extent of antisocial behaviour to be uncovered, but we do know what is happening. The Scottish Government's own behaviour in Scottish Schools' 2023 report said that the ability of young people to travel for free on buses had, in some cases, led to young people travelling to other areas of the city to take part in fights or meeting up on buses and engaging in antisocial behaviour. We also note that the Government has not acted to stop those incidents. It seems to be saying that they are powerless to prevent those crimes. Despite all the evidence of this antisocial behaviour, despite the increasing costs to bus operators, despite the buses taken off the roads, despite the passengers being driven away from services, despite drivers being attacked, despite all that, the SNP is still not taking this issue seriously enough. They have stalled and delayed instead of finding a way to withdraw access to the scheme, to the minority of people who are abusing it. I thank my colleague Graham Simpson for raising awareness of this issue and now it is up to the SNP Government to act on what they have heard today and take action. I call Fult McGregor to be followed by Alexander Burnett. I apologise to the chamber because I did not intend to speak today, but I feel compelled when hearing Graham Simpson's completely unbalanced opening speech and backed up by his colleagues, although other speakers, Ben MacPherson and Daniel Johnson, were completely different. It is fair to say that the behaviour described by Mr Simpson is not tolerable and, of course, we should do something about it, but Ben MacPherson is right. It is not just confined to our young people, it is, and I think that Daniel Johnson raised it as well. This behaviour on buses or public transport is something that has been inherent in Scotland and probably worldwide for a long time. But why I want to speak today, Presiding Officer, is because Mr Simpson's speech and I expected it to be more balanced, completely vilified a group in society, an already marginalized group in society, without a voice, and he was quite generalised in that, as our young people. Happy to. Graham Simpson. I thank Fulton MacGregor for taking the intervention. I was very clear, and other speakers have been very clear that we're only talking about a very small minority of people who are abusing this scheme. We've been very, very clear about that, and we also agree with Ben MacPherson who says antisocial behaviour is not confined to young people, it can be older people as well. I made those points in my speech that was not unbalanced. Fulton MacGregor. I accept Mr Simpson's saying, but I didn't think he was very clear, and I wonder what young people and organisations that support young people might think. I'll tell you why I didn't think he was very clear. He might have said those words that we're talking about in minority, but let me develop the point. Antisocial behaviour is on the rise, and that has been discussed today, but it is indicative of bigger issues in our society. My experience in my previous job before becoming an MSP as well tells me that nine times out of ten, the root issue, and this was what Mr Simpson didn't mention, and had he mentioned it, I wouldn't have been standing up to speak today. The main issue that leads to these societal disorders is poverty. Poverty caused by his UK Government has sent a sense of hopelessness and helplessness amongst our young people. It's not excusing the behaviour. I've said that and I'm happy to go back to that, but if we're going to have a conversation in this, the conversation can't be devoid of that. Then add Covid into the mix. That is a group of young people that have experienced nothing like—we've not experienced anything like they have—he'd probably have to go back to the Second World War to find a generation that has experienced such disruption to their lives. No mention of it, so that's why I'm saying that I don't think you made it clear, because had you brought in those factors, I would have said, okay, it's something that he's quite passionate about, but he's made reference to these. I think that any actions that we take here, any actions that we take as a Government or as a society must have solutions in mind. We must be thinking about what our young people can do, what they can invest in, because they've got nothing. They've got absolutely nothing just now. Youth work is an answer. I'll take this opportunity. I know it's not this minister's portfolio, but I'll take this opportunity to say that I think that in the upcoming budget, youth work has to be looked at as a possible solution here, enhancing the services around youth work. It is something that we could possibly do, because when youth work is done well and it's done good, it does keep young people away from getting involved in bother. I want to say that I put my money where my mouth is. I've been contacted by supermarkets in my constituency who are experiencing anti-social behaviour—it's not the same as buses, I agree—but it is anti-social behaviour. I'm calling a meeting early in the new year, but part of that meeting I've been very clear on in bringing in the agencies and organisations. Those meetings aren't going to vilify young people who are going to have to find solutions. Councils and other people are going to need to find solutions for our young people. I didn't, as I said, intend to speak, but I'm glad I have, because it's important that young people's voices are heard in this Parliament as well. Ben Macpherson and Daniel Johnson did bring that in, and I accept that, but I'd already pressed my button at that point. However, I think that it's really, really important that we see that in the context that it deserves. It's a serious problem, it's a serious issue, and folk shouldn't need to put up with issues on public transport, but we need to see it in the round, and young people's voice needs to be heard to. I thank my colleague Graham Simpson for bringing this issue to debate. As other members have raised, so many of us have heard about examples in our constituencies of young people travelling around to cause havoc under the Scottish Government's three bus travel scheme for those ages under 22. I'd like to recognise with my colleagues that we are talking about a minority of young people. We are accepting that it is not confined to young people, and we are looking to find remedies to manage the behaviour of a minority of people. We are not talking about the wider benefits to young people that the scheme has brought. Now, I only wish to raise one point, which I recently wrote to the Cabinet Secretary about, detailing a recent incident at the Sir Rugbyia club that I've long had an interest in. A group of teenagers had travelled out from Aberdeen taking advantage of the SNP's free travel scheme, but with no productive or beneficial purpose in mind. They barged into the clubhouse, banged on the windows, and threw insults at members. They moved on to other facilities in the area, including the church, and were clearly only intent on a troublemaking spree. Due to social media trends, we are seeing an increase in the behaviour of young people. Some and a minority of young people travelling simply to cause carnage in areas that they previously could not access. That is all at the same time, as our rural communities are being disadvantaged with low police numbers and station closures, and police officers across the north-east are stretched thin enough and simply do not have the resources to respond to these vandals who are effectively only out to cause disruption and havoc. I join my colleagues in asking the Scottish Government what repercussions will they be putting in place to disturb, deter this rising trend in anti-social behaviour by a small minority, and what will they do to support Police Scotland to keep our communities safe from this kind of behaviour? I thank Graham Simpson for bringing this debate to the chamber and everyone who has taken part with thoughtful contributions. I appreciate the support from members for the popular and much-used policy of free bus travel for under-22s. I would like to be very clear at the outset that the vast majority of young people use the free bus pass travel responsibly. I want to start by outlining the very important benefits that the young person's free bus travel scheme is delivering. This morning, I visited Westerhales High School to celebrate over 100 million bus journeys that have been made through the scheme since its launch. I had the pleasure of hearing directly from young people how free bus travel is opening doors for them, helping their families to save money and embedding sustainable travel choices for the next generation. Those young pupils told me that they could go to more sports training sessions, improve performance, get part-time jobs, visit family members and their grandparents more often. Today sees the publication of the launch evaluation of the scheme. The review shows that it is reducing travel costs, encouraging a shift towards public transport from private car use and improving access to social, leisure, education and employment opportunities. That is encouraging and important progress during the cost of living crisis and the global climate emergency. I am sure that you will join me in encouraging young people right across Scotland who have not yet applied to do so now and joined the over 700,000 under-22s who are already benefiting. It is important to remember that the vast majority of young people are using the scheme appropriately. It is not my intention to minimise the concerns that are raised today, which deserve attention and collective action. Anti-social behaviour is unacceptable in all contexts and I am grateful to members for sharing how their constituents have been impacted today. I note the number of people who have spoken in the MSPs. Everyone has the right to travel safely and I recognise some of the issues that members have spoken about that involve unacceptable behaviour by a minority in our society. I think that Fotan Mackay was appropriate in trying to address the underlying issues of anti-social behaviour, and I think that that was a considered contribution. The Scottish Government is committed to tackling all anti-social behaviour. We want everyone to be and feel safe in their community, but no single approach will tackle every incident. That is why we support a range of options that include a strong focus on positive diversionary and early intervention activities as appropriate, alongside use of formal warnings, fixed penalty notices and anti-social behaviour orders. However, we must remember that the police, local authorities and other local agencies are responsible for tackling anti-social behaviour at the local level, working with communities, including young people and their carers. Partnership working between those agencies can be very successful in tackling incidents involving buses. An example of that is effective work to tackle anti-social behaviour in Kilmarnock, bus station and on-going collaboration between the council and the health and social care partnership. East Ayrshire's council's youth action team continues to engage with young people and a multi-agency resilience group meets fortnightly to monitor intelligence and community concerns regarding the bus station and the town centre. I am reassured that the approach continues to support safety in the local community. Although the young person's free bus travel scheme changes how travel is paid for, it does not affect operators' conditions of courage that all passengers must follow. I would encourage anyone who is witnessing anti-social behaviour to notify bus operators or their local council's anti-social behaviour team and report all criminal behaviour to Police Scotland. I think that we would all agree that there is no easy solution to reducing the type of incidents that we have heard about today. Members have raised the possibility of removing national entitlement cards from young people implicated in anti-social behaviour. However, free bus travel is just one of several services provided through the card. There is also a real issue of how and when entitlement would be removed, and I do not believe that it would be appropriate for our bus drivers themselves to do so. I can assure members that I have asked officials to look at what temporary digital blocking measures could be used. However, I understand that that would require police time and co-operation or identification of offending individuals, increased administrative time and expertise and technological fixes, which are not yet apparent. Nonetheless, I undertake to advise members what may be possible, but I also would want to emphasise the point that Ben Macpherson made. I want to be clear that that would not be age-specific, because anti-social behaviour occurs amongst the population more generally. In addition, the legislation, and depending on the current national concession travel scheme, does not provide a clear mechanism for consideration of removal of travel cards for anti-social behaviour. It states that a card may be removed if an eligible person of any age knowingly allows their travel card to be used by another person or, as Graham Simpson said, is also relayed in such other circumstances, as the Scottish Government ministers may determine. Each case would require to be considered on its own merits. Given the nature of the scheme and the original purpose of those powers, which did not include dealing with anti-social behaviour, there will be limits to what can be done. Again, police time and co-operation would be required, and there may be complex interactions with other agencies and frameworks, specifically tasked with dealing with anti-social conduct. I will continue to look at what may be possible and appropriate in terms of providing a deterrent or sanction, including looking into some of the suggestions that are made by colleagues today. I just wanted to get on record that I welcome the comments from the minister that she commits to looking at this and coming back to Parliament, or having discussions in the manner in which the debate has been conducted. I have been looking at it, and that is why I am relaying to Parliament today. I recognise the on-going interest that there will be in this area. We will not succeed in reducing anti-social behaviour by focusing on bus-related incidents and neglecting the root causes. Over the last year, the Scottish Government and Scottish Community Safety Network engaged nationally to build a robust picture of anti-social behaviour. The findings that reviewed Scotland's approach to anti-social behaviour were published on 7 November, with the recommendation to focus on prevention through a long-term, strategic and sustainable approach. An independent working group on anti-social behaviour has been set up and reports to ministers by the end of 2024, and Transport Scotland will be close engaged with that. Last week, if you can indulge me, I took part in the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence with a workshop on women and girls' safety on public transport, and together with over 40 stakeholders we discussed taking forward improvements for women and girls. I thank everyone for their valuable contributions today. I want to provide assurance that the Government and partners are working to tackle the issues and the findings of the young person's free bus travel scheme published today will inform that. I will be working with bus operators and other key partners to ensure that negative behaviour does not overshadow the truly transformative impact that free bus travel is having and will continue to have. As the young people at West Ahill's high school said to me today, it gives them more chances, more choices, more opportunities and does help change lives. Let's make sure that the experience of the majority is not harmed by the experience of the very small minority.