Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:56 pm on 16 January 2018.
It's no secret that our preferred scenario would have been to be able to run Welsh railways via a not-for-profit, arm's-length, Welsh Government-owned business, but we were prevented from doing that by the Conservative Government in London. They're happy to let Scotland do it, but as far as Wales is concerned, they're not happy to let—[Interruption.] He's groaning away, the leader of the opposition, again, not supporting this, of course—but the reality is that we were prevented from doing that. But that, nevertheless, was our preferred option. We were stopped from doing it.
He asked the question about Abellio. Transport for Wales has the appropriate expertise in place to deal with this. We are in discussions with Abellio Rail Cymru about the complex situation—and it is complex—that arises from the announcement. Whilst the difficulties encountered by part of one of the consortium bidders is disappointing, it is important we remain focused on the evaluation to keep procurement on track. I can say that Transport for Wales continue to evaluate the competitive bids received whilst ensuring equality of treatment of the bidders in line with procurement law.