Part of 1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure – in the Senedd at 2:04 pm on 29 March 2017.
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.