That's it for our live coverage today.

You can watch the full debate below. For full coverage of Thursday's election, you can look here.

The debate has come to an end and we have heard from the six candidates who are in the race to become the next Weca mayor.

So what have we learnt from today's debate?

Some of the candidates have different opinions about the priority of the Weca mayor - with some saying the mayor has almost no power at all.

However, all six candidates agree that transport is a massive problem for the region. Several candidates have proposed franchising buses - but most agreed it can be expensive and time consuming.

Some candidates have proposed removing the Birthday Bus scheme and replacing it with other money saving initiatives.

The candidates also addressed the housing crisis in the region, acknowledging that housing costs are "phenomenally" high and that more houses needs to be built. Most of the candidates say that more brownfield sites need to be developed and some say we need more social housing.

In terms of education, some of the candidates would like to see more funding for skills which can enable young people to learn vocational skills such as bricklaying and construction - which can also help with more housing in the region.

The debate has ended as the candidates give their 30 second pitch for your vote.

You'll be able to watch it back in full shortly.

We'll have key points from the debate next.

Helen Godwin, Labour

"I plan on working with schools, colleges, employers, young people and their families to give young people an aspiration.

"This is about kids that don't want to go to university that can see a way through to a job that they actually want which is ultimately going to contribute to our economic growth."

Steve Smith, Conservative

"The funding for skills and the way these programmes are run are really fragmented. That makes it really hard for the combined authority to do the kind of programmes that Helen talked about.

"The first thing that we can do is to bring together people through the Local Skills Improvement Plan. We can start working with providers to make sure that we're teaching people those skills that they need."

Ian Scott, Independent

"I would speak to the principals at the colleges and headteachers at secondary schools and discuss with them the best way to spend the £5m Youth Guarantee Trailblazer fund."

Mary Page, Green

"We need to get better results for those kids who are leaving school without the education they deserve or need. Too many people have not got basic English, Maths, digital skills, and don't understand the opportunities of green tech, because in green tech, the average salary is £43,000. There's a huge opportunity here."

Arron Banks, Reform

"Not everyone wants to go to university. You've got to spend the money on giving people skills."

Oli Henman, Liberal Democrat

"The key thing is the pathway from the colleges into work. The best colleges are currently losing their funding. We need to bring business together and we need to bring those jobs of the future together."

Steve Smith, Conservative

"We all understand that housing costs are phenomenally high. We simply have not built enough houses in the West of England. I am pushing for a more intensive brownfield led development plan. It's a choice between [building tall] or spreading out across our green belt."

Helen Godwin, Labour

"We need to make the most of the brownfield sites that we've got. We have to work with developers, find a way to build more social houses, speed up the planning system, and get more young people into construction."

Arron Banks, Reform

"Over the last 10 years, we've imported eight million people into the country. That's led to a housing crisis, it's led to a problem with services and doctors.

"Directly as Weca mayor, you can do very little. Really it needs the planning system to be completely reformed to enable you to build on brownfield sites."

Oli Henman, Liberal Democrats

"It's simply not true that houses aren't being built. But I also agree with prioritising brownfield first. Making sure that sites that have already been earmarked do get developed.

"Crucially, we need to have that joined up approached with the three local councils."

Mary Page, Green

"We have to have better control over the planning system, it needs reform. In Lawrence Weston there are five plots of council land.

"I would want to ensure that community and neighbourhoods could do their own neighbourhood plan. By the end of the first year, we'd be able to start matching up those local plans with the region."

Ian Scott, Independent

"I grew up on a south Bristol council estate built in the 1930s. We need to build council houses, but it's the government that needs to do that. As mayor, I wouldn't be able to do that, but the government can and they need to get on with it."

Several people have asked questions on the cost of housing in Bristol - and the wider West of England.

These are now being put to the candidates.

Mary Page, Green

"My first week in transport would be to ask the officers to get on with franchising the buses - that means taking control of the fares, the schedules and the routes.

"By the end of that first year, I'd get rid of the birthday bus, but combine it with the freedom pass, meaning we could give everybody one day a week free travel on the bus."

Helen Godwin, Labour

"We know the network is unreliable and that rural communities are not being served.

"I am really interested in how we do franchising, [but] this is a long process that costs a lot of money."

Ian Scott, Independent

"The reality is it's going to cost too much to do franchising. People get the impression it means public control - but it doesn't.

"We won't be able to use that money in a sensible way to make bus fares cheaper."

Oli Henman, Liberal Democrat

"It's clear that we need to look at the overall structure of the buses. What we need is reliable buses in rural areas. I would absolutely look at franchising as a way to do that. We also need to look at the potential of integrated tickets and bus passes for young people."

Steve Smith, Conservative

"First thing I would do is cut out the waste and gimmicks that we've seen over the last four years.

"Same with the birthday bus pass - it's costing an enourmous amount of money. If you live in rural areas with no buses, it's an insult to take peoples money and give them a free pass for a service that doesn't exist. I'd take that money and put it back into frontline bus services."

Arron Banks, Reform

"I hate the concept of a massive multi-national bus company getting giant contracts. We need to massively expand the bus network, particularly into rural areas. We need to give these contracts to local bus companies, it doesn't have to be to one company."

Ian Scott, Independent

"This is your money. The West of England is a net contributer to the British economy and that is the biggest issue at the moment. We're not getting enough of that money back here.

"My priority is to get your money back."

Arrons Banks, Reform

"The power of the mayor is almost nil," says Mr Banks.

"That's why over the last ten years, nothing has been achieved. The previous mayor cited his only achievement as 'handing out free bus passes."

Mary Page, Green Party

"This is a person who is there to represent us - to be the voice to government and to spend that money wisely.

"This is a proper job. It has million of pounds to spend on transport, making sure on buses are actually turning up, franchising buses and looking at housing."

Steve Smith, Conservative

"I think the point of the mayor is to be a public servant and to represent the interest of people across the West of England.

"The mayor doesn't have huge amounts of personal power. But the mayor, working with the council leaders, does have huge influence over working towards things that really matter to the people in the West of England."

Helen Godwin, Labour

"The priority area is transport. People are fed up with the transport system that is not comparable to other cities of our size.

"There's a lot of soft power that comes with this role and businesses that I'm speaking to are telling me that there's a vacuum there - and they are looking for somebody who can make that case to government and investors overseas and pull our region together."

Oli Henman, Liberal Democrat

"This role should be a champion for the region. The role needs someone who can connect between those three different local authorities and who can bring businesses and stakeholders around a shared vision."

The first question is being put to the candidates.

Weca was created in 2017 when the government wanted to give more power to the region.

But do people know what Weca is?

Well it was a problem for Boris Johnson in 2021 when he couldn't name the Conservative Weca Mayor Tim Bowles.

In fact, someone on a Radio Bristol phone-in even called him Tim Voles.

Reporter Claire Cavanagh asked some local people if they knew what Weca was - and several people said they didn't know what the organisation does.

The debate is starting shortly. Radio Bristol's John Darvall will be asking the Weca mayoral candidates questions over the next hour.

Hit watch live at the top of this page to see the debate, or you can listen on BBC Radio Bristol.

Weca makes decisions for the region about transport, housing, adult education and skills.

These responsibilites have been moved away from central government, who will provide £30m a year towards Weca.

The authority will be held by the Weca mayor - sometimes referred to as the Metro Mayor - and elections will be held every four years.

So, you might be asking what on Earth is Weca? Let us explain.

The West of England Combined Authority (Weca) is a local authority encompassing the council areas of Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) and South Gloucestershire. The authority is led by the West of England Mayor.

Weca is made up of three different authorities:

• Bristol
• Bath & North East Somerset
• South Gloucestershire

Nort Somerset is not currently part of Weca - but has expressed interest in joining.

• Arron Banks, Reform UK
• Helen Goodwin, Labour
• Oli Henman, Liberal Democrat
• Mary Page, Green
• Ian Scott, Independent
• Steve Smith, Conservative

You can find more about them here.

Candidates are listed in alphabetical order.

Welcome to our live coverage of the West of England mayoral election debate.

The debate kicks off at 10am and you can watch it live on our online stream.

You can also follow this live page for updates.