Economy Secretary in Liverpool to meet Metro Mayor Steve Rotherham

Ken Skates was also keen to use his time in Liverpool to learn lessons from the city, as Wales works to achieve its vision of a new, fully integrated transport network across Wales and progress its plans for metro systems in South and North East Wales. This builds on recent meetings with Metro Mayors for Manchester and the South West.

The Economy Secretary said:

“With around one million cross border journeys each month taking place between North East Wales and the North West of England alone there is no doubt that effective cross border travel is essential to economies on both sides of the border. Indeed  we know that there is significant potential for job growth in this cross border area.

“This only emphasises the need for improvements to both public transport and the road network, and I have stressed to Steve Rotherham that the Welsh Government is absolutely committed to working with partners in Wales and England to develop an integrated transport system that meets the needs of people on both sides of the border.

“This commitment  is reflected in our vision for transport in North Wales and our plans for a North East Wales Metro which includes a strong focus on cross border connectivity. I know that there  is already strong engagement with partners on both sides of the border in taking forward this work and I look forward to this progressing over the coming months.

“My meeting with Steve also provided me with an opportunity to learn from Liverpool’s experience in developing its own transport system that has improved the public network in the area, and these discussions will be valuable as we progress and deliver our own plans in Wales. We also had a fruitful discussion on how we could work together to attract new businesses to the cross border area.

“Another issue on which Steve and I had much to discuss was the pressing  need to rebalance the UK’s  economy, and ensure that UK government investment and wider prosperity is spread much more widely.

“This supercharging of regional economies is a key theme of my recently published Economic Action Plan. It is something I am absolutely committed to and through working together on the right HS2 connectivity and other issues, I know the potential benefits for both North Wales and North West England could be genuinely transformative.”