, Plenary
Topical Questions
I think there's an opportunity for the UK Government to take stock of the arguments here. There's certainly a role for the Conservative MPs elected from Wales to make the case in the Treasury to make sure that the tone-deafness is not repeated. Because, as I…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
Thank you for that. As I mentioned, we have been in touch with the Treasury, who simply tell us that this is part of the integrated rail plan that was published in November 2021. It remains unclear whether that will be administered through Network Rail or the…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
Dirprwy Lywydd, that's a poor response. I met with the Secretary of State for Transport in recent weeks, actually, and I'm committed to a constructive relationship with him, as our officials are. This is not about building a constructive relationship with…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
Thank you. I agree with the analysis, clearly. For those listening who are not as familiar as my colleagues are with the way this works, when a project in a wholly devolved area is announced in England, we would expect to get a population share of that…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
Thank you for the question. The UK Government should classify Northern Powerhouse Rail as an England-only project, with Wales receiving a population share of this funding. It would be completely unacceptable if the UK Government treats the funding for this…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Climate Change
Thank you. Well, I do hope the letter wasn't lost in the post, but we did reply to a written question from you on this very same subject, and the letter's reply would have said exactly the same as the reply we submitted to you on the written question, which…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Climate Change
Thank you. We are working to improve access to public transport in south-west Wales. Recently, we've invested in converting the T1 TrawsCymru service to using an electric fleet, and we are working on a groundbreaking hydrogen pilot, which will be implemented…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Papers to note
We will move on, therefore. On the agenda, we have papers to note—that's item 4. Are you happy to note all four papers together? Yes. Okay. Thank you very much.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
The Welsh Government roads review and funding for Wales' bus networks - scrutiny of the Deputy Minister for Climate Change
Thank you very much. And happy St David's Day.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
The Welsh Government roads review and funding for Wales' bus networks - scrutiny of the Deputy Minister for Climate Change
The problem we have with the buses is a short-term problem. The suggestions you're making are not short-term solutions. That's the real dilemma that we have. We are in a short-term fix, which is distressing for all of us. It's not where any of us want to be…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
The Welsh Government roads review and funding for Wales' bus networks - scrutiny of the Deputy Minister for Climate Change
These are private companies who are free to make their own decisions. The only control we have is we give them all the money. When we don't give them all the money, we can't control the decisions. But the conversation we're trying to have with them is, 'In…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
The Welsh Government roads review and funding for Wales' bus networks - scrutiny of the Deputy Minister for Climate Change
Well, that's what we're working through now with the industry, and to be honest, we don't know. We've asked them for projections of, 'If funding was adjusted by x, what would the impact be?' 'What service could you run for so and so?' We can't get a clear…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
The Welsh Government roads review and funding for Wales' bus networks - scrutiny of the Deputy Minister for Climate Change
I'm not where I want to be in this situation, as I've discussed before. We've been working really hard to try and get a flat £1 bus fare, which I think would have been a significant intervention to have been able to have done, both to encourage modal shift…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
The Welsh Government roads review and funding for Wales' bus networks - scrutiny of the Deputy Minister for Climate Change
Well, this is a really good and interesting area to explore, because clearly from a climate change and a modal shift point of view, bus has a far greater potential to achieve modal shift than train does. Bus deals with a great social inequity in a way the…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
The Welsh Government roads review and funding for Wales' bus networks - scrutiny of the Deputy Minister for Climate Change
Well, it’s the amount of money we’ve put in to sustain an industry. There wouldn’t have been school contracts when there were no schools open. So, I understand the position the industry are in. They’re in a bind, and we are working with them and talking with…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
The Welsh Government roads review and funding for Wales' bus networks - scrutiny of the Deputy Minister for Climate Change
And, just to say, we don’t just give the bus industry bus emergency funding. There’s well over £100 million of annual funding for the bus industry from the bus support grant, from concessionary fares, from school buses. So, we are putting significant ongoing…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
The Welsh Government roads review and funding for Wales' bus networks - scrutiny of the Deputy Minister for Climate Change
Well, it's been an evolving picture really. As the extent of the pressures within rail have become more apparent, we have got significant cost pressures, as has every infrastructure project in the western world, because of inflation, because of supply chain…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
The Welsh Government roads review and funding for Wales' bus networks - scrutiny of the Deputy Minister for Climate Change
It's all right; I've got a cough I can't get rid of.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
The Welsh Government roads review and funding for Wales' bus networks - scrutiny of the Deputy Minister for Climate Change
Yes, I completely agree and that's one of the purposes behind the regional transport plans—that we do take regional multimodal approaches with carrot and stick.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
The Welsh Government roads review and funding for Wales' bus networks - scrutiny of the Deputy Minister for Climate Change
Well, there's always a balance between taking people with you and doing it quickly, and that, I think, is the tension. Now, there's a strong case for cracking on with it, but the powers to do it are complex and the planning around it is not simple. So, it is…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
The Welsh Government roads review and funding for Wales' bus networks - scrutiny of the Deputy Minister for Climate Change
Well, as you know, the air quality Bill will include the option for clean air zones. You'll know that Cardiff Council are developing plans for road user charging in Cardiff and, in conjunction with the city region, potentially across the region too, and that…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
The Welsh Government roads review and funding for Wales' bus networks - scrutiny of the Deputy Minister for Climate Change
Again, a good question and a fair challenge, and one we're very alive to. So, some of this is about using the skills we already have, but within a different policy context. So, we're not saying we're stopping building roads. We're going to need roads, but…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
The Welsh Government roads review and funding for Wales' bus networks - scrutiny of the Deputy Minister for Climate Change
Yes, we do.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
The Welsh Government roads review and funding for Wales' bus networks - scrutiny of the Deputy Minister for Climate Change
So, we have the metro regional teams, for example, within TfW. We have the Burns commission delivery unit in south-east Wales, which is a tripartite of the local authorities, the Welsh Government and TfW. Hopefully, we'll have the same in north Wales as a…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
The Welsh Government roads review and funding for Wales' bus networks - scrutiny of the Deputy Minister for Climate Change
I think we have the ingredients, Jenny; it's just about putting them together for the best recipe.
