<p>The Wales and Borders Franchise</p>

Part of 1. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:55 pm on 17 October 2017.

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Photo of Carwyn Jones Carwyn Jones Labour 1:55, 17 October 2017

I think that’s best. With regard to the franchise agreement, progress is being made in that regard now. There were some blockages that needed to be cleared; they have been cleared. The sad thing is that the UK Government refuses to allow the people of Wales any kind of control over their own rail network. We don’t even have the power to direct Network Rail—the Scots do; we can’t even direct Network Rail. The reality is that only 1.5 per cent of rail investment comes to Wales. Now, that share should be 6 per cent or 6.2 per cent based on a Barnett share; we get 1.5 per cent. It’s ludicrous. On top of that, of course, we know the Scots are able to look at an arm’s-length, not-for-profit public sector body as an option for running their railways. We were specifically forbidden from doing it, presumably on the basis that we would, in some way, contaminate English stations with strange notions about not-for-profit, well-run railway services. But that is the difference between the treatment of Wales and England and Scotland by this Conservative Government. When it comes to rail, we get no fair play at all; we get broken promises. But we, as a Welsh Government, make up for their deficiencies.