It’s a pleasure to contribute to this important debate and to move the amendment in the name of Rhun ap Iorwerth.

It’s certainly true that there’s been a grave lack of investment in the Welsh roads network. The figures demonstrate that clearly. Since 2011, for example, the expenditure on roads in Wales has reduced by £32 million and, if truth be told, if we look at local roads, the situation is even worse. In 2012, the total expenditure on local roads throughout Wales was £362 million. That has reduced, in the last year we have figures for, to £209 million. That’s a reduction in just four years of almost half—42 per cent, in fact. And, if we compare that, Presiding Officer, with the situation in Scotland, for example, it has flat-lined; it has remained the same. So, there are no excuses here. If we compare with England, by the way, then there’s been an increase over the same period—almost £800 million, which accounts for a quarter of the total 25 per cent increase in England as compared to what is almost a 50 per cent decrease in expenditure on local roads in Wales.

Let’s be quite clear about the importance of this, because, as was noted in a recent article by Ifan Morgan Jones on nation.cymru, this impacts on the citizens of Wales. Indeed, it has, on occasion, the most tragic impact on people: 723 accidents on the A487 over a period of 10 years, and that is a direct result of the fact that we have a road network in Wales that isn’t fit for the last century, never mind this century. It is disgraceful. Anyone who has tried to travel from the south of the country to the north—it is scandalous; it is a national disgrace, and that is reflected in the accident figures. There was a consistent reduction in the number of road deaths in Wales over a number of years up until the year 2010, when the figure of 89 deaths was recorded, which is the lowest figure ever. Since then, it has started to increase again, and it’s been quite consistent for some years at around 100 to 103 for the last years we have figures for.