4. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on support in improving road safety in Mid and West Wales? OAQ(5)0154(EI)

Yes. The road safety framework for Wales sets out the actions we and our partners are taking to achieve our casualty reduction targets. I announced capital and revenue road safety grant funding on 22 March.

I was particularly pleased to see that, as part of that announcement last week, there was funding for road safety measures in my area, and particularly near schools. Hakin and Hubberston, Newtown High School, Presteigne primary and Lampeter are all now going to benefit. So, I thank you for that. But, under the Wales Act 2017, Welsh Ministers will now have more power over roads and transport, and that actually includes national speed limits. So, will you be exploring, Cabinet Secretary, how those powers might be used to further advance road safety, particularly in reduced speed outside schools and in built-up areas?

Yes, I most certainly will. I’m keen to see more 20 mph zones introduced around schools. There is only so much that our financial resources can achieve through educating young people. Other measures must be introduced and I do believe that we should look at reducing the speed of motorists passing places of education. For the next financial year, as the Member has highlighted, we’ll be making available almost £4 million in road safety capital grants to fund 31 road casualty reduction schemes across 16 local authorities, and we’re also delivering schemes that are benefiting 21 schools across Wales. But I do think that we need to continue to roll out our Safe Routes to Trunk Road Schools programme, which is seeing a huge number of schools in areas that are adjacent to trunk roads have 20 mph limits introduced. In terms of the powers that are to come to the Welsh Assembly through the Wales Bill, at this moment we don’t have powers to set a national speed limit. But the Wales Bill will give us the power to vary the national speed limit on local and trunk roads, including special roads, and it will also give the National Assembly the ability to legislate on national speed limits. I am looking this year— the Member may be interested to know—at the speed limit review, which is a review that examines whether speed limits should be reduced in congested areas, especially where there are schools. I’m looking to update that this very year because, as I said, I think it’s imperative that we do reduce the speed at which vehicles are travelling outside and near schools.

Cabinet Secretary, you will be aware that heavy goods vehicles frequently leave the road on the A470 between Talerddig and Dolfach where there is no road barrier or curb in place. You previously informed me that you intend to carry out another speed limit review of trunk roads this summer, which will prioritise a list of sites. However, the speed limit isn’t really the problem here; it’s the layout of the road and the fact that there are no warning signs or barriers. So, can I ask: will you commit the Welsh Government to assessing other preventative measures in addition to the imposition of speed limits on main trunk roads throughout mid Wales?

Yes, I’d gladly do that. And can I suggest that I visit that particular stretch of the A470 with the Member? I recently had representation from the Member’s colleague Darren Millar concerning a similar road in his constituency. I took a site visit there and, as a consequence, we are now looking at altering the signage at the road, which is often confusing. I think it’s absolutely essential that we give a clear indication to motorists of what is a safe speed, and not just the speed limit. Where the speed limit needs to be reduced we will do so on an evidence base, but also in conjunction, often, with the concerns of local communities. But where a road requires additional work to make it safer, I’m more than happy to consider investing in the particular infrastructure.

I’m particularly interested in cycle safety in my region. Can I draw your attention, Minister, to the active travel route map for Aberystwyth, which doesn’t include the Ystwyth trail? Now, the Ystwyth trail is the only traffic-free route from Aberystwyth out to suburbs like Rhydyfelin and Llanfarian. I know it well and it’s a very well-used route. However, it can’t be mapped, apparently, because the crossing across the trunk road in Trefechan isn’t up to standard. The trunk road is in your purview, but the local authority cannot map that and include it as an active travel or safe route because the crossing is deemed a ‘critical fail’, according to the Sustrans audit of the route. What action can you take, together with the local authority in Ceredigion, to try and improve that crossing so that we can include the Ystwyth trail, which has been constructed at some expense—including European money—in order to include it in our active travel so that it becomes more well-known and well-used in Aberystwyth and its environs?

Can I thank the Member for bringing this particular matter to my attention? It shames me to say that I wasn’t actually aware of this particular concern until today, but I will bring together officials of the local authority with trunk road officials to examine how this particular problem can be overcome, because on the basis of what the Member outlines, this challenge is not insurmountable and, first and foremost, we must consider the safety of cyclists, and we’ll do just that.