6. Will the First Minister outline the Welsh Government's plans for future transport provision in North Wales? OAQ(5)0123(FM)

We are taking a number of actions to improve all modes of transport provision in the north, and the planned metro north Wales project will bring further improvements.

How do you respond to the submission by user groups in north-east Wales to the Welsh Affairs Committee inquiry on the Wales and borders franchise devolution to Wales that English bodies such as Rail North must have devolved franchise responsibility alongside the Welsh Government for those cross-border services, such as Wrexham-Bidston into England, which remain in the devolved franchise?

It’s difficult, of course, to draw an absolute line, given the nature of the Wales and borders franchise. What I would not agree with is one suggestion that did come from the Department for Transport that any service that terminated in England should be run from England. That would mean that literally no service running across anywhere in north Wales, except the Conwy valley line, would be controlled from Wales at all. The same, exactly the same, for the central Wales railway, the Heart of Wales railway, many of the Cambrian coast services as well, as well as inter-city services and many of the services that run to Manchester and that run, at the moment, beyond the border. That would be wholly unacceptable. So, whilst we want to make sure that the Wales and borders service, with its franchise, is run from Wales, we believe we can provide an equally good service to people living in England as well.