Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:33 pm on 6 October 2020.
Well, Llywydd, of course I agree with Lynne Neagle that young people should not be disadvantaged for the sake of being young people. But I do know that it is the case that there are trains that can appear to have spaces on them, but those spaces are necessary in order to comply with the regulations that have to be observed by Transport for Wales on both sides of the border. Transport for Wales is providing 70 different bus services to help those young people who otherwise would be unable to go to college or to school in the normal way. An additional carriage has been added to a train arriving in Hereford at 08:53 in the morning since last week, in order to assist some of the young people that Lynne Neagle has referred to. But, travelling by bus, while it is often not as convenient as a train journey, for young people who are cohorting and who are together in a bubble for education purposes, it can be a way that allows those young people to travel safely together.
So, we continue to work on the issue, and while I absolutely agree that young people should not be treated differently for the sake of being young people, Transport for Wales, in very challenging circumstances, are working hard to make sure that Lynne Neagle's constituents, and young people in all parts of Wales, have the transport they need to be able to access their education.