2. Will the First Minister outline the Welsh Government’s priorities for transport infrastructure developments in the fifth Assembly? OAQ(5)0015(FM)

The national transport finance plan sets out our investment for transport infrastructure up to 2020.

Thank you for that answer, First Minister. One of the key things in the election that was recently held for the Assembly in South Wales Central was the proposal for a Dinas Powys bypass. This has been much mooted over many years, and various reincarnations have been brought forward about policies and proposals to try and bypass the village of Dinas Powys. With the huge developments that are going on now in Barry—the waterfront development, with 2,000 houses—and recent applications in Sully being approved as well, the demand for this bypass is ever greater now than it has ever been. What proposals will the Welsh Government bring forward in this term so that the residents of Dinas Powys can feel confident that you will support an application for funding for a Dinas Powys bypass?

I’m familiar with the stretch of road, of course, and it is a busy stretch of road. It’s a matter for the Vale of Glamorgan Council to consider. It wouldn’t be a trunk road; it would be a road run by the local authority, but, of course, we’d be happy to examine any proposals that they might wish to bring forward.

First Minister, the early borrowing facility of £500 million that the UK Government has announced in respect of an M4 relief road should, I believe, be available for whatever the Welsh Government thinks is the best solution for the problems on the M4 around Newport. Would you agree with me that, in line with the spirit of devolution, it should be up to Welsh Government to decide how to use that early borrowing facility?

Well, the situation is this: the borrowing facility will be made available generally but early drawdown is possible for the M4. Of course, we wouldn’t agree to a situation where we would see a permanent situation where there’d be strings attached to any borrowing powers that would be exercised, but that is the current situation—the money can only be used for the M4.

Given the questioning from his own back benches, does the First Minister share my concern that, if he doesn’t look at other options aside from the black route, we may find that no M4 relief road is built at all?

I think it’s hugely important that there is a public inquiry. Without prejudging the issue, that is certainly my view. I think that public inquiry needs to be as broad as possible. It needs to be a public local inquiry, and I believe that that inquiry would need to look at a wide range of issues including alternative proposals. I think that’s important so that the public can examine for themselves the advantages and disadvantages of the different projects. I would expect that inquiry to commence in the autumn and it would take around a year for the inquiry to come to a point where a decision can be made.

First Minister, as well as considering infrastructure to support long-distance journeys, would you consider investment in infrastructure to support reducing car use for short-distance journeys? Around 20 per cent of car journeys are for journeys of less than a mile, and these add considerably to local congestion. At the end of the last Assembly term, the enterprise committee issued a call for stronger leadership and greater investment to implement the Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013. I know he’s very proud of that Act. Would he consider how, with his Ministers, he can make sure that that Act reaches its potential and review its implementation to date?

Absolutely, and that’s why, of course, we have the metro proposals. We know that roads cannot be the solution to everything; they must run in tandem with public transport improvements. That’s what the metro in the south-east of Wales is intended to deliver. It’s a model that we look to use in other parts of Wales, such as the north-east, in the future. Convenience of service, reliable trains, regular service—these are all ways in which we can encourage more people out of their cars.