5. Statement by the Minister for Economy and Transport: The Global Centre of Rail Excellence in Wales

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:33 pm on 21 May 2019.

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Photo of Ken Skates Ken Skates Labour 4:33, 21 May 2019

I thank Dai Lloyd for his questions and his contribution. It is, of course, a very bold vision—we have significant ambitions for the rail sector in Wales, alongside the £5 billion journey that we've embarked on with Transport for Wales, delivering a new Wales and borders franchise, and the huge and transformational metro programme in south-east Wales, alongside the advanced manufacturing research institute that will boost gross value added in the Welsh economy by £4 billion, and alongside the development of the international convention centre and many other magnets that are either being delivered or are planned. We believe that we are delivering on the objectives of the economic action plan, which is about creating the environment, the facilities and the opportunities to bring forward the private sector to invest as much as possible in long-term sustainable employment opportunities within Wales. 

Dai Lloyd asked the very important question about the financial ask and the financial risk on the taxpayer, on the public purse. I do wish that the Minister for Finance were here to be able to hear me say this very clearly, but I do not expect the taxpayer to pay for this monumental facility—this game-changing facility. All of the soft-market testing that we've done so far leads us to confidently say that this will be a facility that the sector itself will pay for. That said, Dai Lloyd is right to identify the risk of a 'no deal' Brexit. A 'no deal' Brexit would, of course, create difficulties in terms of being able to get rolling stock from continental Europe here and back swiftly. However, there is huge demand for facilities of this form across the European Union and, furthermore, there is ample demand from within the British sector, the British market itself, to justify the creation of a test facility of this scale. And therefore I am confident of its success, regardless of what happens in the coming months.

Dai Lloyd is also right to reflect on what could have been had Wales received what it should have benefited from in terms of rail infrastructure, and £1 billion is a very significant figure, a huge amount of investment that could and should have been made in rail track, stations and level crossings across the Wales and borders network. That's why I'm hoping that the Secretaries of State for transport and business and industrial strategy will actually recognise the benefits of this particular facility being based in Wales, and in turn, and in so doing, will ensure that this particular facility benefits from the rail sector deal, and that the UK Government will back it up by ensuring that innovation funding is steered towards it.