, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Transport scrutiny with the Minister for Climate Change
One of the things we're doing, Huw, is we're developing this new national travel survey, which I think you're familiar with, to try and help us more accurately track progress. It's very difficult to answer that question if we don't have accurate baseline data…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Transport scrutiny with the Minister for Climate Change
Okay. So, we've completely changed the way that we manage TfW since Lee and I took over this portfolio. So, we have quarterly meetings between Lee and the TfW chair to discuss performance and issues. We have support and oversight at an official level—so, a…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Transport scrutiny with the Minister for Climate Change
Well, in theory, I suppose that's true, Janet, but this has been the worst budget process I have ever been through in all the time I've been here, so I don't want to overpromise the committee that. I think there's every chance that we will publish a much more…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Transport scrutiny with the Minister for Climate Change
If I'm honest, I think that's probably where we are.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Transport scrutiny with the Minister for Climate Change
But I suspect the answer is, briefly, 'Yes, we are and, no, we probably can't'. [Laughter.]
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Transport scrutiny with the Minister for Climate Change
Well, I suppose any Government wants to project itself into the future, but it's not a year's fix.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Transport scrutiny with the Minister for Climate Change
Well, it's not very clear to me that they've got any chance at all to get any of the things through in the rest of this parliamentary term. They've only got a year even if they go to the bitter end, and the transformation necessary to do some of this is much…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Transport scrutiny with the Minister for Climate Change
It's worth just mentioning as well—. I just mentioned the fact that the CEO of Wales and western has just resigned. That's because the Office of Rail and Road has been doing an investigation. I don't know what the ins and outs of her resignation are—whether…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Transport scrutiny with the Minister for Climate Change
So, the headline of that, Jenny—and Peter will talk about the technicalities of this—is a pretty easy concept, really. The track has to be good enough for the train to go over. We all know that you need better track for higher speed trains, and the trains…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Transport scrutiny with the Minister for Climate Change
Well, I'll ask Peter to answer that, Chair. That's rather more specialist than my knowledge extends to.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Transport scrutiny with the Minister for Climate Change
That's well beyond my level of technical expertise.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Transport scrutiny with the Minister for Climate Change
Yes, okay. So, that's a series of slightly more complicated things, because Burns was, again, not just about rail. So, that is also tied up with some of the road space differential and with bus services, with bus franchising, and with some of the more local…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Transport scrutiny with the Minister for Climate Change
It is now, because we've just said—[Laughter.]
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Transport scrutiny with the Minister for Climate Change
That's the Burns stuff.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Transport scrutiny with the Minister for Climate Change
Yes.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Transport scrutiny with the Minister for Climate Change
I'll come back to Peter for some specifics here, but, just to give you an example from my neck of the woods, rather than the Cardiff one, we've helped the city deals and the corporate joint committees—who are now about to do the regional transport planning…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Transport scrutiny with the Minister for Climate Change
The UK Government has put the—
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Transport scrutiny with the Minister for Climate Change
Let's let Peter talk about some of the negotiations that have been going on.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Transport scrutiny with the Minister for Climate Change
So, I'll come to Peter for some of the detail of this.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Transport scrutiny with the Minister for Climate Change
Well, I'm not going to argue with that. Quite clearly, we think we have a current UK Government that does not understand at all the value of public transport or public services and they clearly are having problems at UK Government level, because of the way…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Transport scrutiny with the Minister for Climate Change
Yes. So, it's not just about rail, I suppose is the bottom line there.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Transport scrutiny with the Minister for Climate Change
They absolutely do. But what I would say about it is that the metro is not just a rail project; the metro is an integrated transport project. And so there are a large number of other factors for the metros, which include things like new bus fleets, hydrogen…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Transport scrutiny with the Minister for Climate Change
I don't know if you've seen, but the CEO of—I've forgotten the name of it—Wales & Western has just resigned after an investigation into the way that that's been managed and the investment programme has been run, so it'll be interesting to see what the outcome…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Transport scrutiny with the Minister for Climate Change
There are a few things to unpack there, Jenny.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Transport scrutiny with the Minister for Climate Change
Well, surprisingly well, actually, considering all the other challenges that we've had. So, we've managed to keep the programme on target. We've had to recalibrate the capital programme inside, particularly in the transport directorate, which Peter can talk…
