Well, let's just be clear; the major threat to the bus industry is Tory austerity. So, let's not get away from that fact, and I'm not going to let the party opposite shift the blame for the situation we are facing. It's their Government's economic policies that have led us to this position.

Now, I don't accept his characterisation of the communication we've had with the bus industry, which we've worked very closely with through the pandemic and beyond. After the publication of the budget, officials met with operators to discuss its contents and its implications. This was followed up in writing, where it was made clear that the budget was draft and was subject to change prior to finalisation. Officials also made it clear that underspends from mandatory concessionary fares, because older people haven't come back in the numbers that we saw before the pandemic, may not be available to bus support because of other budget pressures across the Government, and industry was asked to plan for a reduced funding package during these meetings. So, I don't think it's fair to say that this was sprung on them. We knew that BES was coming to an end, we were doing our best to try and find resource to extend it for as long as possible, and we're in the position that we are in, but we've talked to the industry throughout.