I do welcome the vision set out in the document, and Professor Barry putting forward £2 billion-worth in current net terms over a period of 60 years. The risk, of course, is that, at the current rate, it’ll take 60 years before we see these benefits emerging. Now, what he says, of course—and I sincerely wish the Cabinet Secretary all the best in making the case for Wales—is that we can’t be restricted by a process that has a history of putting Wales under a disadvantage. The question I’d like to ask of the Cabinet Secretary, therefore, is: what is plan B if we are still treated so appallingly? Some of these projects, of course, are crucial to the economic and social progress of Wales.

Now, the Welsh Government does have the right, under the Government of Wales Act 2006, to invest in infrastructure and to create new services. To what extent is the Welsh Government, therefore, making these business cases to the UK Government so that they shoulder their responsibilities? Are we also identifying those projects that we simply can’t wait for a decision from Westminster for, and therefore we have to make progress in delivering them for ourselves?

Electrification, of course, has been referred to, and Professor Barry is still saying that electrification is crucially important to the main lines in north and south Wales. Recent estimates have suggested that the price of completing the electrification between Cardiff and Swansea may be a third of what was anticipated—£150 million. That would mean borrowing, over a period of 30 years, £6 million per annum. Now, surely the Welsh Government should be reviewing the possibility of investing in that sort of initiative. The Welsh Government, of course, is looking at new stations—there is reference to the Deeside industrial park station that is a strategically important investment for the economy of north Wales. Are we also, then, preparing our own plans for the Swansea bay and western Valleys metro? In conclusion, it’s good to see, for the first time, a detailed outline being put forward in terms of the Swansea bay and western Valleys metro. There is reference to the possibility of reopening rail services in the Amman valley, in the Swansea valley, the Dulais valley and the Neath valley, but they are identified as investments for the future, where the priority at the moment, according to what’s included in Mark Barry's summary, focuses on the city of Swansea. In referring back to what the Cabinet Secretary said on striking the right balance, can I appeal to him to ensure that those areas, the old western Valleys areas, are seen as priorities in the first wave of investments for the Swansea bay and western Valleys metro?