Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I move the motion.

In 13 short months, the running of most of Wales’s rail services will transfer to a new franchise. This is an exciting moment, and one that offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity for a new chapter in public transport in Wales and the borders. And it’s, of course, absolutely crucial that the Welsh Government gets it right.

The Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee’s report we are considering today sets out our views on the Welsh Government’s procurement of the next Wales and borders rail franchise, and phase 2 of the south Wales metro. The report sets out 10 key priorities for the new contract, based on a survey of almost 3,000 people in Wales and the Marches. This was a substantial and complex inquiry, which I think is appropriate, because this is the most substantial and most complex procurement process taken by the Welsh Government in almost two decades of devolution. It is the largest single investment decision Wales has ever made. And on top of being big, the process is innovative, which brings new opportunities and challenges.

The Welsh Government and Transport for Wales are using a competitive dialogue procurement procedure. A system that has been tried and tested in other fields—for information technology contracts, for example—but never before for rail procurement. They are also seeking to award the first major vertically integrated contract for rail services in Britain, where the successful bidder will manage the tracks and train services on the core Valleys lines. Now, considering this is the first time the Welsh Government has procured a rail franchise, I think it’s fair to say that it has not taken the easy or the safe option. What they are attempting to do is incredibly ambitious. In fact, I think I said at the launch that it’s heroically ambitious, and I think I used that term when I launched the inquiry.

The committee made 19 recommendations in this report, in three main areas: the procurement process, priorities for the franchise specification, and some rail infrastructure issues that came out of our evidence. On the procurement process, we identified a number of risks and challenges, and these include the need for agreement with the UK Government on devolution of procurement powers—still not devolved despite agreement being reached to do so in 2014; funding; and also the transfer of ownership of the Valleys lines to the Welsh Government. Since the report was published, there has been much discussion between the UK Department for Transport and the Welsh Government. Public correspondence between the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure, Ken Skates, and the Secretary of State, Chris Grayling, has only served to put some of the tricky issues that remain to be resolved into the public domain. I know the Cabinet Secretary will tell us this afternoon–as he told us in committee this morning—that progress has been made.

The delays we have seen so far mean there is very little room for contingency. From now on, everything will need to run exactly to timetable, which isn’t always the case as regular rail users will know. For passengers, the priority is getting the new contract in place and getting services running, and I hope both Governments will do what they can to resolve these differences and allow passengers in Wales to enjoy the twenty-first century rail services that they are crying out for.

The second part of our report covered priorities for the franchise specification, and the committee set out its top 10 priorities to improve the quality and value for money of rail services, and they include: one, effective monitoring; two, a greener railway; three, an integrated network; four, adaptable services; five, affordable fares; six, new trains; seven, better communication; eight, modern stations; nine, fair fares; and 10, reduced disruption. The committee’s survey received almost 3,000 responses from all parts of the network. That’s an overwhelming response, I think, to a committee survey from the Assembly. And key priority areas for passengers were, in this order: punctuality and reliability; capacity of seats when you travel; journey times and frequency of service; price of fares; and handling delays and disruption. Just below that level, passengers wanted to see: connections with other train services; quality; clean trains; access and facilities for older people and for people with disabilities. Our results mirror findings by consumer watchdog Transport Focus in their annual surveys. Passengers want and expect the basics done right in the next franchise.

The third and final area we covered was rail infrastructure issues. We hadn’t intended to cover these, but the evidence we received was of sufficient concern that we could not ignore it. The committee urged the Welsh Government to continue to lobby the UK Government for rail electrification in north Wales, and the redevelopment of Cardiff station. Our concerns about the Swansea line proved to be well founded as, following publication of the report, the UK Government Secretary of State for Transport announced that plans for rail electrification to Swansea would not take place. The arguments being used by the UK Government to justify this decision—faster journey times while avoiding disruption—cast a shadow of doubt, of course, over the north Wales electrification as well.

In its response to our report, the Welsh Government has accepted 10 recommendations, with the remaining nine accepted in principle. I’m pleased that the Cabinet Secretary shares the committee’s vision of a high-quality integrated transport network. I look forward to the publication of a summary of key elements of the new franchise specification in due course. I also look forward to the urgent resolution of the outstanding issues to be agreed with the Department for Transport and Network Rail. There remain questions—