I thank the Deputy Minister for his statement today, and I'd like to start off by saying that I do believe that it's important to reverse the decline in bus services across Wales. It's fact that the number of bus journeys in Wales has fallen from 100 million a year in 2016-17 to 89 million in 2019-20. With almost 25 per cent of people in Wales not having access to a car or van, this decline needs to be reversed to encourage commuters out of their cars, combat the isolation and loneliness of people, many of whom are elderly and vulnerable, who do not have a bus service, and also to ultimately fight climate change. I accept state intervention in the market through franchising has a role to play if it improves the quality and number of bus services across Wales.

So, Deputy Minister, do you agree with me that, going forward, any new model for the delivery of bus services needs to be affordable, sustainable and deliverable? As such, do you also agree there needs to be certainty about long-term financial support, after years of underfunding of buses in Wales? And how will you ensure that unprofitable but socially desirable services will, indeed, be retained? Will bus franchise contracts, for example, contain clauses to ensure that vital facilities, such as hospitals, are served by bus routes as a priority, which many of my colleagues across this Chamber have said time and time again? How will your proposals, going forward, help those people in remote and rural areas of Wales who have an infrequent or non-existent bus service?

If the new model is to work, it will require greater co-ordination between operators' timetables to ensure seamless journey times to make valuable connections. I'd like to know how will you ensure this is achieved. And could you update the Senedd, moving forward, on progress delivering one of my passions, the all-Wales travel card, to assist passengers to move from one part of Wales to another with ease and in a seamless manner? Previously, you've mentioned the creation of a supervisory board, to include a bus operator representative, to co-ordinate the regional bus networks devised by a corporate joint committee. Who will this board be accountable to? Who will scrutinise its actions? And how will it ensure consistent good service standards are, indeed, maintained going forward?

Finally, Deputy Minister, moving people out of their cars and on to buses obviously benefits the environment. If this new model works, it will increase the number of buses on our roads. So, do you intend to maximise the benefit to the environment by supporting the use of electric buses by operators bidding for the franchise? These are all invaluable questions, Deputy Minister. We, alongside the public, would like to have those answers sooner rather than later. Thank you.