5. What discussions has the Minister had with Cabinet colleagues regarding transport connectivity in north Wales? OQ57543

I regularly meet with Cabinet colleagues. Our new multimillion-pound north Wales metro programme will transform rail, bus and active travel services across north Wales. It will make it easier and faster to travel across north Wales and build better connections with the north-west of England.

Diolch. Speaking in last month's Westminster Hall debate on transport connectivity in Merseyside, Vale of Clwyd MP James Davies, who, topically, also chairs the Mersey Dee north Wales all-party parliamentary group, called for hourly rail services between Llandudno and Liverpool, which had been promised from the end of 2023, to be brought forward, stating:

'direct rail services from the north Wales coast ceased in the 1970s. Thanks to the reopening of the Halton curve, hourly services are promised from Llandudno to Liverpool, although not, I think, until December 2023. Will the Minister join me in calling on Transport for Wales to bring that forward if it can?'

Thanks to the £14.5 million Halton curve project, funded through the UK Government's local government funding awarded to the Liverpool city region local enterprise partnership, direct daily services between Wrexham and Liverpool, which you know of, were introduced in 2019, but the promised direct services between Llandudno and Liverpool are not expected until the back end of next year. What discussions are you, therefore, having with your Cabinet colleagues regarding an earlier introduction of the service by Welsh Government-owned Transport for Wales to help build our region back from the pandemic, attract visitors, boost the local economy and encourage more people onto rail for the good of the environment?

Thank you. You are correct; at the moment, our commitment is to deliver a new hourly service between Liverpool and Llandudno from December 2023. We'll also look to extend the current Llandudno to Manchester Airport service to include Bangor. I think one way the Member could help is that, in the absence of appropriate devolution of rail infrastructure and a fair funding settlement, we do need the UK Government to fulfil their responsibilities for improving the rail network in Wales. 

Building connectivity is about designing and building transport networks that are responsive to the needs of our communities. This means we do need to regulate the bus industry in a way that places community need and networks at the heart of our decision making. But we know, Minister, that the current regulations brought in under Thatcher's Government were based solely on profits. They stop cross-subsidy of routes and they see providers using the competition authorities to close down routes of rivals. Can I ask the Minister, therefore, do you agree with me that reregulating the bus industry should be at the top of our agenda, and, when we do look at that piece of work, that we should look to bus worker representatives, like Unite the Union, in which I declare an interest as a member? They should be involved, and we should listen in particular to them and to their 'get home safely' campaign, which promotes viable transport options for workers in the night-time economy.

Absolutely. We welcome the Unite union's 'get me home safe' campaign, and we'll continue to work with local authorities, Transport for Wales and obviously our bus companies to provide safer, more attractive late evening public transport services. As you know, we are looking to bring forward during this Senedd term a new bus Bill, which will incorporate new powers for local authorities to franchise out bus services across Wales to provide a more stable, accessible, attractive and integrated bus network for passengers. I think we are going to work really hard to transform the quality of bus and rail travel across Wales, and we will continue to provide funding to local authorities to improve the accessibility and safety of bus stops, because that's clearly an area of concern.