I’d like to thank Mark Reckless for his questions. First of all, one of the reasons—or two of the reasons—that it’s taken 18 months is because we’ve had two general elections, one across the UK, and one in Wales. This also concerns an operation that crosses a considerable border as well. So, given those two factors, it’s no surprise that negotiations have taken place over a period of 18 months.

I very much welcome the comments that the Member gave about the need to ensure that fares are affordable. We will ensure that, as part of the high-level outputs from the operator and development partner, any plans encourage increased patronage at off-peak times on services where patronage is currently low, and also provide discounts for the cost of travel for people working irregular patterns of work or part-time hours. It’s essential that the development of the metro should drive social mobility and enable people to access quality jobs closer to their homes. Where those jobs are not near their homes, then they should be able to access them on affordable, sustainable transport.

The operator and development partner, of course, during the course of working through the high-level outputs—how to meet those outputs—will be able to present various solutions that best match the problems that face each respective community. I do not see, necessarily, heavy rail as being the solution for every problem, nor do I see light rail being the only solution. Instead, there will be a mixed offer of transport solutions that will also include, for example, rapid bus transit and active travel.

In terms of the frequency of services—and the Member is not alone in raising concerns about current frequencies—the metro will run at least four services an hour across the entire network when needed and even more at the network core. Travellers will be able to move easily across the south-east Wales region with improved capacity, improved quality and improved passenger information. The metro will also deliver a network where interchange is easy using vehicles designed for speed and for capacity.