, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales
We would, because I think for a Minister to say that they can't prove any value for money, and maybe I'm unfair in paraphrasing it that way, but certainly as a committee responsible for scrutiny, that raises a few flags in our minds.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales
Okay, thank you. And finally on this, then, in the past we've had transport Ministers tell us that it's impossible to measure the impact of some of the funding that the Welsh Government is providing for this kind of activity, because it's mixed in with other…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales
Okay, and conversely, then, how are you going to make sure that devolved regional spending is actually accountable to those local authority voters who are most being impacted? Because there was, of course, concern with the whole corporate joint committees…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales
I'm pursuing a little bit further the devolution piece, which, in principle, is, of course, welcome. But with that shift happening, how will you be ensuring, for example, that the funding that you provide is spent in a way that aligns with the Wales transport…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales
Thank you. Back to you, Janet.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales
Yes, that would be useful, certainly, although we still have a few more questions on this particularly. Joyce.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales
Okay, thank you. Janet.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales
Okay, thank you for that. So, just moving on, then, to local and regional transport policy, given that regional transport plans are due to be finalised in the next financial year, how is the budget going to support a move from local to regional transport…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales
Okay, because that isn’t specifically itemised in the list of responsibilities of Ministers on the Government’s issued list. Maybe that could be refined a little bit to be clear. That’s just something to take away.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales
And what about the ports, sorry? Because obviously you gave us a statement yesterday on Holyhead as well.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales
There we are. Okay, thank you for that explanation. Janet, over to you.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales
We will be coming back more specifically to these. Just to pursue this national policy developments and projects revenue BEL line, can you clarify the comment in your paper? You say that you’re increasing the transport strategy related revenue budget…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales
Okay, thank you. Yes, very briefly—okay, very briefly, because I've got something else I want to ask about that particular line.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales
Please, yes. Chris.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales
Indeed. Peter.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales
Yes. Okay. That’s useful. Thank you for that. And just whilst we’re on the structural nature of questions around the budget, could you provide us more detail, Cabinet Secretary, of what will be funded through the national policy developments and projects…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales
We’ll come back to it, particularly related to active travel, later on, but was there a point more generally about the MEG that you wanted to make?
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales
We’re going to go deeper into active travel later on, if you’d allow us to maybe pause. I can see Peter’s put his hand up and, Peter, if it’s appropriate, maybe we can come back to this in a moment, unless it’s something specific.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales
Welcome back to this meeting of the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee here at the Senedd. We will be moving to the third item, which is a continuation of our scrutiny of the Welsh Government's draft budget for 2025-26, and to look…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Thank you very much for your attendance. You will receive a copy of the transcript to check for accuracy, but, with that, thank you very much, and we look forward to welcoming you back for the general scrutiny in the next few months. Thank you very much. The…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
There we are. We'll keep our powder dry on that, and we'll try again later on. [Laughter.] Okay, diolch yn fawr iawn. Can I thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for your attendance and that of your officials this morning? I think we've covered the bases that we…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Well, we can pursue this in our next session with the relevant Cabinet Secretary. Julie, did you want to come in on this?
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Maybe you could drop us a note on that.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Yes, we are showing our age in referencing that. [Interruption.] No, I'll tell you later on. [Laughter.] Okay. I'll tell you over a pint of Allbright. Carolyn.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
No, no. Okay, diolch yn fawr. Thank you.
