Clause 7 - Provision of public passenger transport services
Transport (Wales) Bill
12:45 pm
Huw Irranca-Davies (Ogmore, Labour)
Clause 7(4) clearly states:
“the Assembly may not enter into an agreement under subsection (3) unless the service in question would not be provided without a subsidy.”
Is the hon. Gentleman suggesting with his hypothetical question that we should identify six months down the line whether a route may no longer be profitable? Subsection (4) allows us to enter discussions with the Assembly about it. If the amendment were accepted and if the Conservatives were in control of the National Assembly, could he envisage the Conservative Administration giving taxpayers’ money to commercially viable routes—not to give money to profitable operators, but to put more money into profitable routes?