Lee Waters: Well, an important element of what the taskforce has done, which has been behind the scenes really, has been stitching together different bits of Government activity on the Valleys footprint to make sure we have an integrated approach, and that's not something that really makes it into a ministerial statement, but I think that's been one of its key contributions within Government. The example...
Lee Waters: Thank you. Our strategy is to lay a strong foundation for change across the region. I updated the Senedd yesterday on the progress we have made with the Valleys taskforce. In addition to that, the Tech Valleys programme has made commitments of over £22 million to help create 600 sustainable jobs, and our £90 million transforming towns programme has a strong Heads of the Valleys focus too.
Lee Waters: Well, I agree with that. I think towns are facing a swirl of change. There's no doubt that digital disruption has had a huge impact, was already under way before the pandemic, and the pandemic has certainly accelerated that. But on the other hand, as Alun Davies rightly points out, there are opportunities from changes in attitudes and behaviours. It's one of the reasons why, when we set our...
Lee Waters: The evidence on enterprise zones is mixed, and certainly the economy committee's report on them a few years ago reinforced that. We set out yesterday the activities, specifically in the Valleys taskforce area, on a whole range of interventions around placemaking, and we have set out considerable financial support for those businesses in distress because of the pandemic. We've also set out a...
Lee Waters: I'm sure the Member is deliberately putting me in a difficult position, because she knows full well my view on investment in roads versus sustainable transport, and certainly in our Wales transport strategy we've set out that, in future, we want to shift our emphasis towards modal shift. In terms of this particular project, as she knows and as the First Minister has pointed out to her, the...
Lee Waters: We warmly welcome the direction of travel in the report and we are considering the recommendations in detail. Improvements to the Ebbw Vale line need to be part of the package of improvements and enhancements to rail infrastructure right across the region.
Lee Waters: Firstly, on the cost point, from January, TfW announced—January of this year—that tickets were being reduced by a percentage, which has been going against trend. Clearly, the real answer to affordable fares over time is to make sure we have a successful public transport system that is heavily used, and that we have ongoing investment in it. In terms of the Ebbw Vale line, as the Member...
Lee Waters: Diolch, Llywydd. I'd like to update the Senedd on our response to the recommendations made by the South East Wales Transport Commission.
Lee Waters: The Welsh Government, along with Transport for Wales, have now completed an initial review of all the recommendations made by Lord Burns and his fellow commissioners. And, again, we thank them for their work. Today, we have published a line-by-line response so that we are completely clear on the status of each of the recommendations. It's a bold and practical set of recommendations, and they...
Lee Waters: Thank you. Well, a range of questions there. I'm glad that the Welsh Conservatives welcome the recommendations. Russell George asks about scepticism about the delivery, and, of course, I understand that, because Welsh Governments have been planning to tackle congestion in Newport for some time, and the congestion is still there, so there's certainly room for us to jump into that void and show...
Lee Waters: Can I thank Helen Mary Jones for welcoming the approach that we've set out today, and for her constructive set of questions? We do, of course, support the devolution of rail infrastructure in Wales, and there was a debate and a vote in the Senedd back in February 2019 that called for that. So, I think I just want to make sure that point is understood by Plaid Cymru—that is something that...
Lee Waters: Well, thank you for your supportive comments. It is absolutely the case that if the UK Government is sincere about its rhetoric about levelling up, then we need to see the proof of that in their response to this report and the investment that they're prepared to put into it, and Network Rail's willingness to prioritise these routes. As you said, recommendation 1 is the game-changer really in...
Lee Waters: Thank you very much. I can just reassure David Rowlands that there is no ambivalence in using the term 'accept in principle'; it's simply the fact that this is a 10-year vision and the detail of some of this may need to flex as the practicalities are explored as we go along, and not least there are statutory processes to go through, which the Welsh Government has a role in, and the lawyers...
Lee Waters: Thank you for that. Rhianon Passmore is right to draw attention to again the iniquitous decision on aviation by the UK Government, which is all the more reason why they need to step up to the plate on this package to show that they are as committed to levelling up in all parts of the UK as they say they are. To answer Rhianon Passmore's question, as I say, certainly people within the...
Lee Waters: Laura Anne Jones is telling us that there's no practical solution been presented, and here we are discussing a practical solution that has been presented by a commission of experts on transport planning. We have a practical blueprint for the next 10 years, so I've no idea what she's on about, that there's no practical solution presented. That's exactly what we're talking about, Laura Anne....
Lee Waters: I appreciate Mark Reckless's comments about what a substantial body of work has been carried out by the report, which does command both respect and support across the virtual Chamber. In terms of the funding of it, rail infrastructure, which forms a large part of the report—apart from the central Valleys lines, which have now been devolved to the Welsh Government—lies with the UK...
Lee Waters: Well, I can agree with some of that, but I think you're pushing your luck on all of it. [Laughter.] It's certainly the case that there are things that we can be getting on with while we do the work with Network Rail and the Department for Transport on the rail planning process. As I say, we've started that work already, and of the six new stations that Burns identifies, three are under way....
Lee Waters: I'm certainly prepared to look at that proposal. Of course, what we are doing in Newport is rolling out a pilot of our demand-responsive bus project there—we're calling it Fflecsi—and that's built on a tried-and-tested model of providing people with an on-call bus network, if you like. That has already proved to be very successful in the parts of Newport where we've tried it. In fact, its...
Lee Waters: That's why the new Wales transport strategy is so important, because it puts all these sorts of options on the table, and they'll be different for different communities. So, I think the demand-responsive network I mentioned, particularly for areas like yours, Nick Ramsay, which doesn't have inherent railway infrastructure, is a way of getting people out of cars and moving people around in the...
Lee Waters: I entirely agree with that last point, and that's why it's important that, through the creation of the joint transport committees, we put the planning of our bus network on a regional footing, so that these connections can be laid out and achieved. As I said, I had a very encouraging conversation with regional and local government leaders earlier this week on supporting that vision. I think...
