It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Cummins. I send my best wishes to the good
people of Bradford, who also have a very good case when it comes to rail investment. I will leave it there, but you know exactly what I mean.
I thank the hon. Member for Neath (Christina Rees) for opening this debate on Welsh rail infrastructure, and for chairing the all-party parliamentary group. I really enjoyed her speech. Her love for the railways—if not for other modes of transport that cause her to hold her stomach—is heartwarming. As the spelling of my name suggests, Wales is the land of my father. Indeed, my daughter is now at Cardiff University, so I have a lot of time for it; it is very close to my heart.
Notwithstanding the fiscal challenges facing the Government, the March Budget confirmed funding for rail enhancements for the next five years. We are supporting ambitious and transformative growth plans for our railways. Through the excellent collaboration mechanisms that we have established with the Welsh Government and other stakeholders in Wales, there is now a real opportunity to drive forward sustainable, integrated transport solutions that deliver for the people of Wales and the wider UK economy.
Sir Peter Hendy’s recent Union connectivity review, which hon. Members have mentioned, recognised and endorsed the quality of work undertaken by the South East Wales Transport Commission and other pan-regional groups in Wales. I look forward to the North Wales Transport Commission’s report later this year, and to working with stakeholders in Wales to tackle strategic transport needs and deliver improvements for all rail users.
I want to address the points that hon. Members made about rail funding in Wales and the case for HS2, but first I will take a moment to address the basis on which rail enhancements are funded across Great Britain. The UK Secretary of State for Transport is responsible for funding and specifying Network Rail infrastructure for England and Wales, and Scottish Ministers have devolved responsibility for funding and specifying rail infrastructure in Scotland. The funding arrangements follow those responsibilities. The UK Department for Transport is therefore funded to spend money on heavy rail infrastructure in Wales, but rail in Scotland does not benefit from any UK Department for Transport spending. The Scottish Government receive Barnett-based funding so that they can fund Network Rail themselves. Those arrangements are the same as for other responsibilities that are reserved in England and Wales, but devolved in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Turning to HS2—