Local Bus Services to the Afan Valley

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Economy and Transport – in the Senedd at 2:06 pm on 16 January 2019.

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Photo of Ken Skates Ken Skates Labour 2:06, 16 January 2019

I am not yet confident that the guidance is being fully followed by all, and the extent of local authorities' commitment to maintain their own budgets for bus subsidies will therefore increasingly be reflected in my decisions about each authority's bus services support grant allocation, the reason being that I want to make sure that we use taxpayers' money that comes to Welsh Government to incentivise enhanced services in our communities, and we will only do that within the current arrangements on a short-term basis, by ensuring that local authorities contribute to the bus services support grant funding. Longer term, of course, through the reforms, as we use more of the tools that are currently available, but as we develop more tools and levers, I think we will be able to deploy a service across Wales that is not just more effective for meeting passenger needs, but one that is also more sustainable in terms of costs.