5. 4. Statement: The Public Local Inquiry on the M4 at Newport

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:21 pm on 21 June 2016.

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Photo of Jenny Rathbone Jenny Rathbone Labour 3:21, 21 June 2016

It’s interesting to hear the argument from David Rowlands, which is an argument for staying in the EU, because of course if the M4 is considered a trans-European network, then there may be some way in which we could get some contribution from the Irish. But, anyway, putting that to one side, I welcome very much the rigour, the transparency and the caution with which the Cabinet Secretary is approaching this very, very large decision, and ensuring that we have value for money and we have the ability to pay back any sums that we would need to borrow. I think the world has moved on in the last 25 years since we started talking about the M4, and we now have the metro project on the table, and so I’m particularly glad that the Cabinet Secretary has included the metro and the impact it will have—if, of course, it goes ahead as a result of us remaining in the EU, then I think that’s incredibly important as a way of seeing which is the best way forward that will actually deliver the relief of congestion and any barriers there are to economic development. I just wanted to ask the Cabinet Secretary whether you will be considering the whole-system approach that Bristol is taking to integrated transport management, using an item that we all carry with us most of the time, which is the mobile phone, which emits a signal as to exactly when people are leaving home to travel to work, to travel to school, and how that can be used to map the integrated travel plans of all our citizens in light of the increasing numbers who are going to be living in the Cardiff capital region.