Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:46 pm on 14 February 2023.
As the Member knows, the bus service, unfortunately, was privatised. We're looking at unprivatising, if that's the correct word. We've got the bus Bill, which will be probably the most far-reaching plan across the UK, and I think it really will be a vital step to reversing the damage of deregulation. We do have to make sure that people have a bus service they can rely on that is easy to use and puts people before profit, but, of course, legislation doesn't happen overnight. We're taking steps at the moment to try and address the issues that have been caused by the pandemic. The extra three months of emergency funding has been very welcomed; it gives the Deputy Minister some breathing space. But I go back: the budget is the budget. It's very easy for Members of the opposition to spend non-existent funding. As a Government, we've had to look very carefully. As part of the co-operation agreement, you know just how difficult our budget is.