NDM8229 - Opposition Debate
Tabled on 14/03/2023 | For debate on 22/03/2023To propose that the Senedd:
1. Notes that the Government's written evidence to Senedd scrutiny committees on allocations within each main expenditure group specified that the £28 million that constituted the bus emergency scheme in 2022-23 would be matched in 2023-24, but that bus operators were then informed that there was no guarantee of any funding from 1 April 2023 for the bus emergency scheme.
2. Notes that the 3-month extension to the bus emergency scheme offers little certainty to bus operators to maintain key services and routes in their area in the long-term.
3. Expresses concern that failing to extend bus emergency scheme funding would result in mass cancellations of services, leaving communities across Wales - primarily rural communities - isolated.
4. Calls on the Welsh Government to extend bus emergency scheme funding for at least 18 months to provide longer-term financial security to bus operators across Wales.
5. Calls on the Welsh Government to bring forward longer-term secure funding options to maintain bus services, as opposed to emergency funding schemes.
Ministers' written evidence to Senedd scrutiny committees on allocations within each MEG
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To propose that the Senedd:
1. Acknowledges that the Welsh Government has made over £150m of additional funding available to the bus industry throughout the pandemic and to support its recovery from it.
2. Notes that bus passenger numbers have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels and patterns of usage have changed.
3. Notes that the initial 3-month extension to the bus emergency scheme offers short-term certainty to bus operators to support the development of a base bus network.
4. Supports the Welsh Government’s longer term plans to reform the bus industry through regulation.
5. Supports the Welsh Government’s intention to move away from emergency-style funding at the earliest opportunity to a funding package that supports the transition to franchising.
