THE Welsh Government has been accused of misleading the public over an announcement around funding for bus services.

Last month the Welsh Government put out a press release stating local authorities across Wales had been handed £25 million for public transport under its Bus Services Support Grant scheme.

The statement said "(the grant) is allocated annually to Wales' local authorities" and did not suggest there has been an increase in funding on previous years.

But director of the Welsh arm of the Confederation of Passenger Transport, which acts as the voice of the bus and coach industry, John Pockett, has branded the notice "very misleading", and claimed it gave an "unhelpful impression" that funding for the sector would increase.

In a letter to local authority leaders across Wales, Mr Pockett said: "There is no new or extra money or special ‘boost’ in the funding this year.

"It is no more than the normal annual support provided for the bus industry here."

He added, although the level of funding had been maintained at £25 million since 2013, inflation meant this represented a real-terms cut.

"We of course recognise that there have been challenging financial conditions in recent years," he said.

"But the recent highly misleading release and headlines give the wrong impression to our local authority partners and our stakeholders, and I hope this clarifies the true position."

Responding, a Welsh Government spokeswoman said: “Our press notice made it absolutely clear that Welsh Government funding for bus services is allocated to local authorities on an annual basis.

"In it the economy secretary (Ken Skates) stressed that he is pleased to have been able to maintain Welsh Government investment levels in this vital public service despite increasingly challenging financial settlements.

"We make absolutely no apology for protecting this vital budget in the face of huge UK Government cuts to our budget.”

The grant is handed out to Wales' 22 local authorities based on a formula calculated according to population and the urban or rural characteristics of the area.

It is intended to supplement local authority's own spending on bus and community transport services.

In the original press release Mr Skates said bus services are "vital to Welsh life and actually account for around 100 million passenger journeys each year."