Welsh Labour and Lib Dems close to deal - sources

A deal with the Liberal Democrats to pass the Welsh Labour government's budget is close, BBC Wales understands.

Labour needs to do a deal with one of the other parties in the Senedd as they have only half the seats.

As expected funding for childcare, social care and councils have formed part of the negotiations.

Sources have also indicated that the Heart of Wales rail line, bus fares for under 21s, and burying power cables underground are also being discussed.

The Welsh budget for 2025-26 will allocate £26bn of funding to public services such as the NHS and local councils.

Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford had an extra £1.5bn as a result of the UK government's budget last October.

The Lib Dem leader Jane Dodds, the party's only MS, has campaigned against cuts to services on the Heart of Wales line.

The final budget is due to be published on 25 February before a final debate and vote in the Senedd on 4 March.

The Welsh government won an indicative vote on its draft budget on Tuesday, after it emerged that Welsh Conservative group leader Darren Millar and Montgomeryshire MS Russell George were in Washington DC for a prayer breakfast attended by Donald Trump.

Jane Dodds abstained in the vote.

If the budget is not passed then ministers would have to revert to a percentage of the previous year's budget, which would see Wales potentially lose more than £4bn in funding.