5. Member Debate under Standing Order 11.21(iv): Bus services

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:00 pm on 23 June 2021.

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Photo of Hefin David Hefin David Labour 4:00, 23 June 2021

I'm pleased to say, Dirprwy Lywydd, that throughout the pandemic I was able to make contact with Stagecoach and their director for south Wales, Nigel Winter, who is a very, very good person to talk to. One of the things he said was that the bus emergency scheme that the Welsh Government introduced saved the bus industry in Wales through the pandemic. I think the Dirprwy Weinidog, and also the former Minister, Ken Skates, should take credit for that, because without that service, without that scheme and its successors, we wouldn't be talking today about a public transport service, because we wouldn't have that base on which it would exist.

I was also a member, in the previous Senedd, of the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee, and we did numerous reports—I think the Deputy Minister was a member of the committee for a period of time, before he was promoted to the current level of stardom he currently occupies, and a very good committee member he was. One of the things that he, as part of that committee, instituted were reports on things like traffic congestion, on the structure and role of Transport for Wales, and on the decarbonisation of transport. These reports are in the Senedd archive for us to read, and they are key, I think, to the direction of thinking in which the Welsh Government needs to go. I'm particularly pleased about flexibility.