Can I thank the Member for his questions and, again, thank him for welcoming the statement today? He is absolutely right to say that the south Wales metro is vital in alleviating some of the congestion—much of the congestion that we see in the region. It’s my belief as well that the metro initiative will be a great driving force for social mobility.

In terms of contingency planning during the referendum, we were assured during the referendum there would be no need for a plan B because those who were arguing for exit were promising us that every single penny of the cost of this programme would be provided for. I did, in my answer to Dai Lloyd, outline what will happen in the event of the UK Government failing to honour that promise.

In terms of the cost, and the Member raised the proportion of the cost that can be allocated to the European funding, it’s about 20 per cent in terms of the capital for the infrastructure of the overall cost of the south Wales metro, being £734 million for the actual capital for the infrastructure. So, it’s approximately 20 per cent.

In terms of the roles, functions and delivery of Transport for Wales, I can run through, in brief, as brief as I can, some of those questions that the Member raised. Transport for Wales, as the Member may be aware, has been established as a not-for-dividend wholly owned subsidiary company of the Welsh Government to provide the expert advice that we will need to prepare for the procurement of the Wales and borders franchise and the metro. The company is often compared to Transport for London, which was set up by a specific Act of Parliament and has a wider executive competence than Transport for Wales.

Transport for Wales can only carry out functions on behalf of the Welsh Ministers and cannot deliver local authority transport functions or operate commercially. This currently limits its ability to deliver services such as trams or river buses. There are no existing secondary powers that could create such a body in Wales, and it would require primary legislation, which could be a UK Bill or a National Assembly Bill, depending on whether items for inclusion and their remit are within competence.

Transport for Wales advises on and supports delivery of the south Wales metro phase 1 and will procure and deliver the next Wales and borders rail franchise and south Wales metro phase 2.

Transport for Wales has been engaging with suppliers in the market to explain the approach before the start of the formal procurement process for the south Wales metro phase 2 and the Wales and borders franchise. Transport for Wales is not for profit, and any surplus funds will, therefore, be returned to the Welsh Government or will be reinvested.

The development and procurement of the metro phase 2 is being linked with the procurement of the Wales and borders franchise, and Transport for Wales has been engaging with the market to explore possible options for delivering the next Wales and borders franchise and rail infrastructure works to support delivery of the south-east Wales metro.

Its discussions with the market have been guided against a set of high-level outcomes, which include, amongst many, reduced overall journey times by providing faster and more frequent services and better interchanges between modes, an increase in people using public transport through the provision of new and improved passenger services and having the capacity to meet demand during peak periods and special events. Those who are part of Transport for Wales offer that expert technical advice to ensure that these high-level outcomes can be achieved.

In terms of the north Wales metro, I outlined to Dai Lloyd the vision for the metro, the broad vision, which is to connect north-east Wales with the north-west of England but to also ensure that there is seamless integrated travel right across north Wales and further south, both within mid Wales and to the west midlands.

The delivery of an outline business case for metro north, which will set out the preferred solutions for modernising transport across the region and supported by stakeholders, is an early priority of mine. Costs will be gathered from the national infrastructure investment plan and with possible inclusion of funds from any growth deals on either side of the border.